Hello, I’m looking to get my RN/BSN. Which online school in Orlando, FL offers a good program. I need to be able to still keep my current medical assistant job. Please comment below of good online nursing programs. Thank you

So I’m a freshman in high school and am graduating my sophomore year. Since I was 10, it’s always been my dream to go to MIT.
I’m going to have all the required credits to graduate high school early, but will I still have a shot of being admitted into MIT?
My other qualifications are being in robotics for years, competing in Mathletes, knowing Python and C++ programming, taking engineering, chemistry, and physics classes, being treasurer and class president, starting 3 clubs, 2 of which are volunteer work, having a summer internship at an engineer in department, having experience with arduino and raspberry pi, and learning math up to Calculus 3. I’m hoping to study mechanical engineering at MIT

Hello, I am a 25 y/o F. It feels like my life is spiraling down. I just started a new job and I am having issues with my relationship. I recently graduated nursing school, got my license and I am currently training fulltime on a neurosurgery floor working 12 hour shifts. I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years, he is my first boyfriend and we are long distance. He is a great guy, very caring and kind and genuinely cares about me. When in a long distance relationship, someone has to eventually move to the other person and there is no way he is coming to my small city so I would need to move to him. The issue is he lives in another country, America, and I am in Canada.
I was homeless and depressed and attempted su**ide many years ago. I am much better but lately, things haven't been good for me mentally/emotionally and I have no one to speak to. My parents are unavailable. I would need to move to America but the issue is I am not sure if I even want to move there ... I just started building my life here, I want to go back to school for more years but I am 25 and when will I move there? When I am close to 30? Then we live together, decide if we even want to be together, get married and have kids, which will take time. I also need someone in real life, I see him for a couple days every 2 months and it's not enough. When youre in a relationship, you want to be with that person, you need that person. He knows I am thinking of ending things but we decided to take a 1 month break ... I have to think about our relationship and what is next because I don't want to keep wasting each others time if we don't even have a future together, but it difficult because he is a good person.
I need to make a decision, to end things or continue. I feel alone, I feel like there is more to being in a relationship. His passion is his work, which I admire a lot. It was always be his priority. He is not very active and I would love to travel the world and do adventurous things and always dreamed of a partner who is interested in that as well but he isn't like that. Which isn't a big deal. I don't know if I am self sabotaging, the emotional stress is a lot. At work I see intense things, I see people die, I speak to patients and families who are suffering. It's a lot emotionally right now, especially since I am fulltime and training, learning new stuff but I am also dealing with this relationship issue. I think I still have a lot of anxiety and some depression. Finding a therapist is difficult but we all need therapists so I am going to look for one once I finish training and am part time.
I just don't know what to do, I know I should focus on work and doing well so my manager says I can start working alone, not with another nurse by my side. I also need to make a decision about my boyfriend, which probably isn't the time to do so but it's affecting me a lot. He spoke to his friends and they all said I don't want to commit to him and probably think I can find someone like him or better in my area. I know this will pass but it feels like it won't and has been going on for a while, I am not sure what to do. What choice to make, I stay with him and potentially regret it in the future, things probably won't be same either... or I end things and I lose a good guy.

Hello, I am a 25 y/o F. It feels like my life is spiraling down. I just started a new job and I am having issues with my relationship. I recently graduated nursing school, got my license and I am currently training fulltime on a neurosurgery floor working 12 hour shifts. I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years, he is my first boyfriend and we are long distance. He is a great guy, very caring and kind and genuinely cares about me. When in a long distance relationship, someone has to eventually move to the other person and there is no way he is coming to my small city so I would need to move to him. The issue is he lives in another country, America, and I am in Canada. I was homeless and depressed and attempted su**ide many years ago. I am much better but lately, things haven't been good for me mentally/emotionally and I have no one to speak to. My parents are unavailable. I would need to move to America but the issue is I am not sure if I even want to move there ... I just started building my life here, I want to go back to school for more years but I am 25 and when will I move there? When I am close to 30? Then we live together, decide if we even want to be together, get married and have kids, which will take time. I also need someone in real life, I see him for a couple days every 2 months and it's not enough. When youre in a relationship, you want to be with that person, you need that person. He knows I am thinking of ending things but we decided to take a 1 month break ... I have to think about our relationship and what is next because I don't want to keep wasting each others time if we don't even have a future together, but it difficult because he is a good person. I need to make a decision, to end things or continue. I feel alone, I feel like there is more to being in a relationship. His passion is his work, which I admire a lot. It was always be his priority. He is not very active and I would love to travel the world and do adventurous things and always dreamed of a partner who is interested in that as well but he isn't like that. Which isn't a big deal. I don't know if I am self sabotaging, the emotional stress is a lot. At work I see intense things, I see people die, I speak to patients and families who are suffering. It's a lot emotionally right now, especially since I am fulltime and training, learning new stuff but I am also dealing with this relationship issue. I think I still have a lot of anxiety and some depression. Finding a therapist is difficult but we all need therapists so I am going to look for one once I finish training and am part time. I just don't know what to do, I know I should focus on work and doing well so my manager says I can start working alone, not with another nurse by my side. I also need to make a decision about my boyfriend, which probably isn't the time to do so but it's affecting me a lot. He spoke to his friends and they all said I don't want to commit to him and probably think I can find someone like him or better in my area. I know this will pass but it feels like it won't and has been going on for a while, I am not sure what to do. What choice to make, I stay with him and potentially regret it in the future, things probably won't be same either... or I end things and I lose a good guy.

I’m looking for input from people who specifically struggle/have struggled with BOTH ADHD and anxiety (but also if you have depression that “helps”). I have ADHD (combined type), generalized anxiety disorder (and possibly social anxiety), and have struggled on and off with severe depression and s*icidal ideation for years (although I’m kinda at a point where the depression is the least of my concerns and I’d argue it’s mostly caused by capitalism).
Do any of you take a medication, have a medication combo that has worked wonders for you??? What can I research into and talk to my doctor about that might actually help with both the anxiety and the ADHD?
Thank you in advance!!!
I’m inquiring because I currently don’t have access to a psychiatrist and my primary doctor is my current prescriber. Psychiatry is not his speciality and although he regularly prescribes psychiatric meds to his patients, he’s not familiar enough with all the different medications and combinations off the top of his head to be able to provide the help that I need with my combination of disorders. However, he’s always willing to hear my opinion and inquiries, and if I were to come to him with research and potential medication suggestions, he’d take them into consideration.
The medication combos I’ve been on before are: Adderall XR, Adderall IR, Prozac, and Xanax (only for panic attacks, as needed); Adderall XR and Adderall IR; Adderall XR, Ritalin, and Prozac; just Strattera
More detailed explanation of my situation below if it might help:
My biggest issue is that because I have both ADHD and terrible anxiety, stimulants make me more anxious if I’m already having a high-anxiety day, but they’re the only thing that has every actually helped my ADHD symptoms. Adderall 100% helped me get through uni (albeit I had an absolutely trash GPA), it helped me focus, get work started, got me sitting in one place finishing my work for hours, it helped me nap, helped me communicate better, and even improved my mood. But I also hated taking it every day (and often forgot to take it/pushed it off) bc it often made me more anxious, it decreased my appetite, made me feel less like myself, and gave me headaches when it was wearing off. I’ve also always had a fast metabolism and the Adderall XR only ever helped for 5 hours at a time and the IR only 2-3 hours.
I’ve been on Adderall XR (15mg and 20mg at varying times) and Adderall IR (7.5mg and 10mg at varying points) before, but since the shortage and being out of school I’ve been off of it (due to my anxiety I HATE dealing with doctors and pharmacists and fighting to have Adderall).
I recently started Strattera for my ADHD and anxiety. I’m 5-6 weeks into taking it (currently at 40mg) and I feel almost no positive benefits. It hasn’t yet at all lessened my symptoms or helped me manage the ADHD and anxiety. At first, I experienced being able to wake up earlier, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore and I’m also dealing with some insomnia. I’m also starting to feel a bit more irritable and angry, as well as constipated. I’d be willing to deal with all that if I was actually seeing benefits. I don’t know if I should ask to continue the strattera when I see my doctor next, have the dosage upped or ask to try something else.
I’ve tried Ritalin in the past as well and it made me feel awful and only increased my focus for 30 minutes or so, and I stopped taking it after a week. And for my anxiety and depression I’ve been on Zoloft and Prozac in the past. Zoloft was awful for me. And Prozac was actually okay, I didn’t experience many negative side effects, except maybe some increased s*icide ideation and headaches.
I’ve never been well medicated. And a huge reason for that is that I still have never seen a psychiatrist or psychologist. At uni, I was being prescribed meds by nurse practitioners at the school’s health services and from a big therapy/psychiatrist office where my old therapist worked. And then my primary care doctor took over and he’s been the one prescribing me meds for the past couple of years, but he’s not at all a specialist in psychiatric medicine so he’s not knowledgeable on all the medications and on how to help me. He and I want me to see a psychiatrist but a psychiatrist isn’t accessible to me at this time.
When my parents were still responsible for all my health bills, they either always rejected or were apprehensive about me seeing an actually competent prescriber bc of the cost. And I’d always beg my mom to help me research psychiatrists who specialize in ADHD and who are in-network but she never did. (I feel a lot of resentment.)
And now that I’m out of uni, they (understandably) expect me to pay, but I’m unemployed (for many reasons, main one being that my ADHD and anxiety are completely out of control to the point where they’re debilitating) and I can’t afford it. I have my parents insurance still but a lot of the psychiatrists and psychologists in my areas don’t take any insurance, some take insurance but not mine, and the rest are either completely booked, don’t specialize in ADHD, or don’t seem trustworthy. And I’ve also learned that since I haven’t met my deductible, I’d be still paying at least $100-300 for an appointment with a psychiatrist.
I feel stuck in a hole that’s only getting deeper.

I am a very recent English graduate with a focus in creative writing. I have an opportunity to continue my education for free and I'm struggling to decide what to do with it. My passions are in writing, but I don't feel like an MFA will lead me to finding a job. I genuinely think I would love being a school librarian because I love books and children but the training required seems like something I'd hate. Ideally I would take my time and consider things but I need to begin school almost immidiately in order to get the full benefits of the free program I am applying for. Any advice is welcome.

NWS encourages anyone with an interest in public service to join the SKYWARN® program. Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches and nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are encouraged to become a spotter. Ready to learn more? Find a class in your area. Training is free and typically lasts about 2 hours

Undergrad doing chemical biology major here, also with a minor in data science. I just got my grades for my junior spring semester and I got C+ in a molecular bio course and pchem 2, both of which I feel like I put a lot of effort in relative to the grades that I got. Both these classes are not super related to what I do, especially pchem, but still count as major classes. That and the amount of burnout caused my GPA slipped from 3.61 to 3.52. I wasn't really a straight A student but a C+ is something I've never had before. I'm really not sure as to what my directions are from here, I go to a really prestigious undergraduate program so pretty much all of my upperclassmen friends have graduated to go to grad school like Harvard, Stanford, MIT etc.
I've been doing research for every semester apart from sophomore Spring, and I've been with my current lab since last year, but I don't think I'll get published anytime soon. Originally I wanted to do a PhD program straight out of grad but at this point I don't know if my entire application has already been jeopardized. I have an internship this summer, and at this rate I'm thinking if I should just ditch the PhD program and hope my company gives me a return offer, work for a few years, and if they really need me to get a PhD I'll just change career paths. Please help me I'm super stressed out and I'm at a loss since it's really late in my academic career and these are the most dire grades I've ever received.

I was a victim of crime when I was around nine or ten that resulted a few mental health problems that followed me well into adulthood. It's something that I'm still dealing with to this day but have much better control over and I have more good days than I have bad days. Because of it, I missed a lot of school due to anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD. Eventually got brought into a program at a hospital to try to get some of the education that I was missing in a more secluded, personal setting.
I ended up going back to high school and entering grade 10 but ultimately dropped out for good because the son of my abuser transferred there, too, and that sent me spiraling once again because his father was arrested since the police did end up getting involved.
I'm 29 now and I do have a job that pays cash. I watch children before and after school ( private carpooling ) from the moment they're dropped off to start their classes until they're picked up to be sent home. I'm actually in pretty good graces with the school because I've been doing this for two years now and they told me to put in my CV and they can try to get me in for a lunch room supervisor but I haven't heard anything back, unfortunately. I think I'm too embarrassed to ask about it, too. My resume is lacking because I didn't finish my education and my mental health was just too terrible lot of my life to get a job, and that's on me. I live with my mom but she's sick now and I think the reality of the situation is finally hitting me.
I want a more steady job. I want to work. The problem is a lot of the jobs require experience and education that I don't have, even when I was looking around at fast food jobs and retail.
Any ideas how to get started, basically from scratch, at my age? I plan on applying for the CAEC because I also want the education that I missed. I'm not picky with jobs. Work is work and I want to work but everything just seems a little bit too out of my range with what they want from their workers vs what I can offer them.
Thank you so much!

Looking for advice on becoming OE if anyone is feeling froggy. I just don't know what I could do, but debt keeps slowly piling up and there's no good end in sight. Crap keeps happening and we add a little more debt each time. You all seem to have yourselves together, but I also think you are working with more knowledge & experience in the fields that make OE possible. I'm going to apologize for the length in advance.
I am 46. Intelligent, but far too dumb to do anything with it in high school when I would have qualified for full free rides to college if I'd put any effort into it. They called it gifted and put me in special & advanced classes. I outscored the valedictorian on the advanced grammar final without studying. This is relevant; I swear. I just want to lay out what I'm capable of despite the path I put myself on due to early poor decisions.
Graduated at 17 despite no effort (I started school early; back then you could do that if the kid tested high enough), working full time right away in food service. Got pregnant at 18, got a job at the bank. Started as teller and ended as the Vault Manager. Over the next few years, I did switchboard for a large construction company and Club Secretary for one of the local country clubs. Turns out I thrive in support roles. I'm a people pleaser.
Still in my early 20s, I was a legal secretary for eight years specializing in everything but criminal and domestic. I can do transcription, correspondence, and manage calendars. I can create pleadings, estate planning documents, rental and purchase agreements, corporate filings and even some PI work. Mostly my dictation for creation of documents went like, "We need a will. Use the Smith's as an example. Each other's PRs, then the daughter. Everything to each other then the kids, per stirpes. Separate share trust with distro at 25 and 30." I cannot create a full will with all the legalese, but I can edit an existing template to fit the customer. By the end, I was reminding the atty of the provisions he was forgetting to add to some agreements.
After that, I started my Exec Asst gigs. Three years for the CEO at a healthcare facility until they eliminated my position and four years for the President of a manufacturing facility. That's when they promoted my boss, he headed back to Germany, and I got the boss from hell. He fired me for refusing to come in on my day off to work for free (not to mention the subtle fat shaming). I guess they do that in Belgium, but not here buddy. HR tried to tell him. He didn't listen. I'd not been fired before, but I was mad and took the free vacation.
After unemployment and my little settlement, I took a small job as a receptionist seven years go because Exec Asst jobs are not a dime a dozen in this Midwest region and I didn't want to waste all of my savings being lazy. I tried to leave within a few months because I did find something better that still had quite a commute, but my employer had issues in the past filling this role so they threw a bunch of money at me to get me to stay. I've been answering a busy phone on top of other tasks I was assigned once they realized that I could do more than answer a phone, but still got exec asst pay. Only recently were they able to find another receptionist so I could focus all my time on being the boss' asst. I guess four lines lighting up at once isn't something everyone can handle.
I have a lot of down time while on the job, in office. I can't do remote for them because most of my job is harassing my boss to do his (the joke is he pays extra for the harassment), and another physical job is impossible because the commute is just over forty-five minutes each way. I have an eleven hour day. I'm physically driving for an hour and a half, I'm lunching for an hour, but I'm only actually working about 2-3 hours on some days while I'm here. I do like it, especially the people and my boss(es) are great. It's not overly challenging unless you count flighty customers who can't seem to decide what day they want my tech to fly there for service, and I don't have to take stress home. Kids are grown, so I only need to be in the room with the spouse for "quality time" once I get home at 6pm.
I'm proficient in all Microsoft Office programs, Google office programs, I've learned some user-unfriendly management software over the years like SAP and Prophet 21. It's been awhile since I've done much Adobe, but I can get through it and make some damned good looking business cards. I book travel and coordinate meetings, I plan events, I create flyers (Canva for this because I'm not that creative), etc. Basically, lots of support tasks and I just figure out what I don't already know. That's what Google's for, right?
I've not done any social media management nor QuickBooks, but I think learning one of those might put me in the direction I need...maybe? Seems like those might be things that would make finding remote work easier, but I'm only speculating. I want to ask you all, but that seems rude...and time consuming.
I need something either sporadic enough or with enough deadline leeway I could do it on my down time or even a tad after I get home in the evening if I couldn't get to it during the day. I was thinking Virtual Asst, but that market seems flooded with people from overseas willing to work for nothing. I can do cheap tasks, but I can't work for $5/hour. Maybe reach out to some law offices for spill over dictation? I did do that over my unwanted sabbatical through a service. I think I'm going to have to learn to market myself, maybe. I do still have a foot pedal.
Does this sound familiar to anyone? Do you have advice for me on how to get started? Do you have a suggestion for what I could pull off based on what you read about me? Do you have suggestions on things I need to do/learn before I even attempt something?
Any knowledge you wish to bless me with would be greatly appreciated.

I've recently completed my third year of computer engineering at UofT, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the courses I've taken. I hope this will be beneficial to incoming first, second, and third-year engineering students. My area of depth is 6 (Software) and my areas of breadth are 4 (Control) and 5 (Computer hardware/networks).
Difficulty: How hard it was to comprehend course material and/or complete practice problems accurately. Keep in mind that difficulty is subjective but I tried to eliminate personal bias and be as objective as possible.
Workload: The amount of work to complete outside of lectures (labs, assignments, homework, studying for tests/exams).
All engineers take the exact same courses in their first year first semester and similar ones in second semester. I took these courses in 2021 during covid so some information might be outdated.
First Year Semester 1:
APS100 Orientation to Engineering:
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: N/A
There is no technical material in this course. All coursework consists of Ethics analysis, creating a schedule for time management, creating your resume, and discussion board participation. During tutorials, the TA typically asks behavioral questions to the class and covers slides pertaining to engineering principles, the learning environment, test readiness, and related topics.
APS110 Engineering Chemistry and Materials Science
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B
This course blends elements of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, requiring lots of formulas and memorization. The assignments and online quizzes were moderately difficult. Not sure if he’s still teaching but Scott Ramsay was a really good professor. Really enjoyed watching his video demonstrations.
APS111 Engineering Strategies and Practices I
Difficulty: 3/10 Workload: 6/10 (Variable) Course Average: B
Students are organized into groups of 5-6 and are assigned the task of developing a solution for a client, following the engineering design process. Success in this course heavily relies on your team. Throughout the semester, there are several milestones where you need to submit large reports with your team, making it crucial to have capable teammates. Many teams resorted to last-minute cramming the night before each milestone (not a good idea). Additionally, there are two peer reviews, so make sure you contribute to avoid being perceived as an unproductive member. In most cases, you don’t need to worry about this though. You’d likely all be good friends by that point (and give each other a perfect review).
CIV100 Mechanics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: C+
The consensus among most students in my year was that this was the toughest first year course. It's incredibly calculation heavy, with questions that may appear straightforward in theory but require multiple steps to solve. Even a minor error can screw up your entire calculation process. The assignments are extremely time-consuming, and the quizzes pose significant challenges. I suggest you work in a group for the assignments. Furthermore, both the final exam and midterm were exceptionally difficult.
MAT186 Calculus I
Difficulty: 4/10 Workload: 4/10 Course Average: B
If you’ve taken IB or AP this course will be a breeze. Even without that background, it's still relatively straightforward. Very little on integrals, mostly derivatives, rates of change, and graphs. PCEs and WebWorks were trivial, and the midterm and exam were easy.
MAT188 Linear Algebra
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
The majority of the course revolves around relatively straightforward operations on matrices and vectors. However, it does introduce abstract concepts like higher-order dimensions, which may require some deeper thinking to fully grasp. Webwork assignments were slightly more challenging compared to MAT186's, and completing assignments took a while. Once again, you should work with a partner or as a group. Pay attention in the MATLAB practicals because you’ll be using MATLAB pretty often in future courses.
First Year Semester 2:
APS105 Computer Fundamentals
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B-
If you’ve taken programming in high school, you will likely find this course very easy (2/10 difficulty). The course covers simple programming syntax, along with basic sorting algorithms, without delving into more advanced concepts beyond linked lists and binary trees. I think that this was one of the more enjoyable courses of first year.
APS112 Engineering Strategies and Practices II
Difficulty: 5/10 Workload: 7/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
This course is essentially a continuation of APS111, but with the added component of being assigned an actual client with a real-world problem statement. Each group works with a unique client, and at the end of the term, you present your final report directly to them, along with your supervisors. As with APS111, the quality of your team plays a crucial role in your success. Another thing to note is that unlike APS111, there were multiple individual assignments to complete on top of your team reports.
ECE110 Electrical Fundamentals
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: C+
Definitely one of the harder first year courses. This course marks your introduction to circuits. Topics covered include capacitors, Ampere's law, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's laws, AC/DC circuits, magnetism, Thevenin and Norton equivalents, and more. The material is extensive and requires thorough understanding, as many future courses will build upon its concepts. Make sure that you understand the content well, given its foundational importance in subsequent courses.
ECE191 Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 1/10 Course Average: N/A
Seminar course. You just need to show up to the lectures (one per week) and submit a 100-ish word report about what you learned.
MAT187 Calculus II
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
The workload in this course is comparable to Calc I, but the content is more challenging (obviously). It delves deeper into integrals and introduces concepts like ordinary differential equations and polar coordinates. But again, you’ll manage just fine if you did decently in Calc 1, and especially if you’ve taken AP math or IB HL math.
MIE100 Dynamics
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload 4/10 Course Average: C+
I personally found this to be the most challenging course in first year, but it seems that most people disagree with me. It shares similarities with CIV100, but you’re instead dealing with dynamic systems (moving) rather than static ones (not moving). Some concepts may prove difficult to grasp initially. However, if you focus on memorizing the relevant formulas and understanding when to apply them, you should be okay. Expect an emphasis on physics in this course.
Second year was the worst (for ECE) and a very big step up from first year. If you struggled in first year, you better lock in for second year.
Second Year Semester 1:
ECE201 ECE Seminar Course
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 0/10 Course Average: N/A
Another seminar course, except you just need to attend 7/10 lectures to pass. Most students just scan their Tcard at the entrance then leave right after. The lectures are pretty useless except the Magellan one where they show you how to choose courses for 3rd and 4th year.
ECE212 Circuit Analysis
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course provides a deeper exploration of circuits, extending beyond circuit solving to include frequency and sinusoidal analysis. Questions tend to be long so careless errors will cost you. Personally, I found the labs challenging, particularly because they required working with oscilloscopes at a higher level than I was used to, and I could not for the life of me figure out how to use that thing.
ECE241 Digital Systems
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B-
This hardware course focuses on the foundation of hardware. A lot of the content is at the fundamental level so it’s not too hard to comprehend. However, the main challenge lies in learning Verilog, a hardware description language. I hate Verilog. All the labs are done using Verilog, and frustratingly, the course provides no instruction on the language, nor are there many helpful resources available online. This lack of guidance made what should have been straightforward labs much more difficult. Thankfully if you are in CE, you’ll never need to take another course with Verilog again. The midterm was easy but the final was borderline impossible.
ECE244 Programming Fundamentals
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
This course is the sequel to APS105, delving into more advanced concepts like pointers, constructors, polymorphism, and inheritance. Many of these topics may feel familiar if you have prior programming experience, particularly from high school. Consequently, if you're already proficient in programming, as many computer engineering students are, you should be able to navigate through this course well. The labs were generally manageable, although a couple of them were time-consuming.
MAT290 Advanced Engineering Mathematics
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload 8/10 Course Average: B
In this course, you’ll learn a lot of miscellaneous mathematical concepts that will be relevant in future courses. The goal is to establish a strong foundation to facilitate understanding in third and fourth-year courses. There is also a quiz every week. They were terrible from a time management standpoint, but as long as you spent 3-4 hours per week completing the assigned textbook questions, you should be alright since one (out of two) of the questions on the quiz is guaranteed to be an assigned textbook question (at least, that was the case when I took the course).
MAT291 Calculus III
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload 9/10 Course Average: B-
The entire workload comes from studying for those damn weekly quizzes, much like MAT290. Personally, I found it to be one of the most difficult courses I've ever taken. Think of calculus 2, but now everything is in three dimensions, encompassing concepts like surface integrals, flux integrals, and more. Additionally, the course introduces abstract topics that I still struggle to grasp. Balancing the demands of this course alongside everything else was an incredibly stressful experience.
Second Year Semester 2:
ECE216 Signals and Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload:7/10 Course Average: C+
I think everyone hated this course. It was so poorly taught and the midterms felt haphazard and unpredictable. I relied on the power of BS to pass (worked surprisingly). Other than working with many graphs and MATLAB, I don’t remember much about this course because it was so uninteresting.
ECE221 Electric and Magnetic Fields
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course serves as an introduction to fields, while also expanding on the principles covered in ECE110. Many concepts build upon intuitive ideas, such as the repulsion of identical charges and attraction of opposite charges, which can make seemingly complex topics less intimidating. There are also many procedures that you need to know to solve specific types of questions. The labs are generally straightforward. You just need to follow the steps on the lab worksheet and answer a few simple questions from the TA.
ECE231 Intro to Electronics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: C+
This course is basically circuit analysis but significantly harder. It combines everything you've learned about circuits thus far, introducing new topics on top of that foundation. There are so many new concepts to learn and the final pretty much tests you on all of them. I’ve encountered multiple scenarios where I saw two concepts that I thought were completely separate from each other being integrated into a single question on an exam. Also very calculation heavy. Despite my experience in this course, I must admit Khoman Fang was a great professor.
ECE243 Computer Organization
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: B
This course is a direct continuation of ECE241, and surprisingly, I found it a lot more enjoyable than its prerequisite. The focus is on Assembly language programming, which I found to be way more understandable compared to Verilog. Assembly operates at a fundamental level, so you’re technically working with the most basic building blocks in programming. The labs often involved seemingly simple tasks like counting to 10 on a HEX display, but the nature of Assembly meant that achieving this could require hundreds of lines of code. I appreciated these labs as they provided a refreshing change from the usual programming tasks. Final and midterm exams were relatively easy.
ECE297 Software communication and design
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
Despite the demanding workload, this course was one of my favorites. The main project involved collaborating in teams of three to develop a geographical information system (similar to Google Maps). Unlike other courses where teams are assigned, here you have the freedom to choose your own teammates. Starting off, your team is given only the OpenStreetMap database, and the APIs, granting you complete control over your project's design, functionality, and optimization. Performance enhancement and pathfinding algorithms were key components of the project. It's crucial for all team members to contribute effectively for success in this course; And trust me, this is not a one or two person project. To succeed in this course, all three members must be doing their share.
Third Year:
They say that third year is the easiest year for ECE, but that depends on what courses you choose. For me, it was only slightly easier than second year but still significantly harder than first year.
APS360 Fundamentals of Deep Learning
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload : 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course felt fundamentally very different compared to the other programming related courses. If you’re unfamiliar with deep learning, the content can be overwhelming but the inner workings behind AI are both fascinating and challenging to grasp. Fortunately, much of the coding in the course revolves around preparing data, setting up AI architectures, and training/testing models, rather than building an AI from scratch. While the labs are manageable, the final project can be very time consuming, particularly as training a single model can require hours or even days. Regarding this aspect, make sure you start early. Both the midterm and final exams were quite difficult.
ECE302 Probability and Applications
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: B-
The first half of this course is very straightforward. Just an introduction to probability. The second half is where the difficulty quickly ramps up. Make sure you don’t underestimate the second half of the course. I made the mistake of assuming the material was easy after performing well on both midterms (midterms were very easy), leading me to neglect the final third of the course so I flunked the final. FYI, our marks were determined solely by the 2 midterms and the final.
ECE344 Operating Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: B
This course had the most difficult and demanding labs I’ve ever seen in my life. They are due every two weeks and some of them took most students more than 15 hours to complete. I’ve seen people staying up all night in the GB computer rooms to finish these labs. One positive aspect of the course if Jon Eyolfson is your professor, is that all lectures are both recorded and live-streamed, allowing attendance in person, online synchronously, or asynchronously. But if you have Ding Yuan, good luck. I heard he is not only bad at teaching, but also makes you program an operating system from scratch. The course content is quite interesting and the Midterm and final exams were fair.
ECE345 Algorithms and Data Structures
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B+
If you're one of those programming geniuses who have been doing Leetcode since like 3 years old, you’d have likely already learned all course content before you’ve even started the course. You could probably write midterm and final exams without attending any lectures. However, if you're not as experienced, attending every lecture, taking detailed notes, and staying focused is crucial. Personally speaking, some algorithms were incredibly difficult for me to grasp, while others were simple. Assignments typically include both coding and long-answer components, which can be time-consuming, but you can work with a partner.
TEP444 Positive Psychology for Engineers
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: A-
This course overall was very enjoyable and a nice refreshing experience from the other technical courses. You go on excursions to various locations with your group and write reports. It's an excellent opportunity to expand your social circle and make new friends. If you aim for an A- grade (80-85), you can breeze through with minimal effort. However, achieving a higher grade (A or A+) would require significantly more work (like 5 times more, no joke), which is not worth the extra effort in my opinion.
CSC343 Introduction to Databases
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: Unreleased
The content of this course is actually pretty interesting and is taught well. But the assignments were excessively time consuming. There are only three in total, but each one demanded such a significant investment of time to the point where I contemplated dropping the course altogether. You do work with a partner (going solo isn’t even an option if you want to complete the assignments) but even so, be prepared to invest 15-30 hours per person, per assignment (they also mark hard). Despite the workload, I do recommend taking this course because knowing SQL can substantially benefit you in the future. Just start the assignments early. On a positive note, the midterm and final were relatively straightforward.
ECE311 Introduction to Control Systems
Difficulty: 10/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course didn't come with a heavy workload, consisting only of three labs and two midterms. However, I found the content to be very challenging. It felt like they condensed and combined every concept from every engineering math and physics course into one. Topics ranged from circuits and dynamics to Laplace transforms, matrices, Bode plots, and more. It didn’t help that Prof Scardovi didn’t record any lectures, has messy handwriting, and uses a damn chalkboard instead of modern technology like other profs do. The midterms and final were somewhat lenient compared to the lectures, but this course still ended up being my lowest mark.
ECE361 Computer networks I
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: B
This course requires a lot of memorization compared to other courses. You’ll have to understand calculation processes but also memorize a lot of general knowledge about networks. A problem with this course is that some concepts that show up in tests are not adequately explained in lectures. By far the best way to study is to do past exams. Professor Valaee often recycles questions, sometimes even directly copying past midterms and finals (like he did in my cohort). Unlike other courses, there is no big assignment/lab for this course, but it makes up for it with quantity. There’s a quiz every week, a wireshark lab every 2 weeks, a programming lab every 2 weeks, and a midterm. The programming labs are already difficult by themselves, but this cumulative workload felt very overwhelming.
ECE472 Engineering Economics and Entrepreneurship
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B+
This is straight up an economics course, no engineering at all. You’ll learn about investments, equity, financing, and related areas. There are 4 quizzes throughout the semester, with quiz 3 (quiz 3 specifically) being by far the hardest (average in the 50s). Since you're able to bring your textbook to the quizzes and exam, my biggest tip is to write past quiz and exam solutions in your textbook, as there's a limited pool of questions, and new questions often resemble some kind of variation of past ones.
ECE421 Introduction to Machine Learning
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: unreleased
While the course content itself may be challenging, surprisingly, the midterm and final exams were pretty easy. There's a slight discorrelation between the lecture material and what appears on the exams, but relying on past exams for preparation should be enough. The course leans heavily on mathematical concepts, much more so than APS360. The assignments were difficult and tedious but I recommend you work with others to complete it.
With that, I've covered my thoughts and tips for all the engineering courses I've completed. Transitioning into your next year in engineering, particularly if you’re transitioning from high school, can feel daunting. However, remember that you're not alone in this experience – many of your peers are facing similar challenges. If you need any more advice or have questions, feel free to reach out to me via DMs!

The title basically says it all. I just moved from Montréal, Quebec to Xenia, Ohio and am having a very hard time job hunting. I was making about $21/hr at an insurance company in Montreal. I have a useless degree that I earned later in life. I don't mind going back for a short while to gain a certificate but I generally do not plan to return to university.
For some background, I graduated high school in 2011 in Texarkana. I went to Texarkana college until 2013 and then moved to Montreal and went to Concordia University in 2014. I did a summer program in Beijing, China that same year. Came back and changed my major. Got home sick and returned to the U.S. Then moved back to Canada to finish what I started when I started to feel like a loser in 2018 and graduated in 2020. I got my post grad work permit and stayed the full duration until 2024. Once it expired I decided I would give a crack at living in the States again. I chose Ohio since that's where my family is all from.
Well... it's almost been a month and the only companys that respond to me (most ghost) do so to tell me that I unfortunately didn't make the cut or that they will only reconsider if I lower my expecting pay to $16/hr.
It's so bad now that my self-esteem is taking a hit and I feel like a bum. I'm too old to not have any direction in life. Although I wasn't making too much, I had a comfortable life in Canada. A fulltime job with decent pay (my rent was only $750/m), great health and dental benefits, vacation time, personal, sick, volunteering, and birthdays off. Right now I'm staying with my sister until I can procure a job and apartment. My life feels pretty derailed.
Sorry this was very long-winded, but I'm basically wanting to know if anyone has been where I am before? If so, how did you overcome it and what are some suggestions?
Addition:
I have social anxiety and am very shy (awkward) so I've never been good with front of shop customer facing positions ( e.g., cashier). I'd prefer something where I can be sort of independent and move away from customer service. I'll post my shitty CV in the comments. I think its format and the fact that I moved around makes it look sketchy to potential employers maybe.

Hello I'm currently a high school graduate. My stats are very average since I was a B'ish student almost all my high school life. Although I was able to end my senior strong with majority A grades, I was unable to attend my dream school. Tuj was an option for me since I live near the university, but seeing the bad reputation it has on the subreddit I've been really hesitant about committing there.
My family has suggested taking a gap year and improving my sat scores and what not. However since I am a Japanese resident I do not have the same programs/internship opportunities that American residents have, I am scared that I will have nothing to productively spend my gap year on to write in my personal statements..
Does anyone have any advice on what I should do?

I would like to buy a house in the future and I’m curious if I’d have better odds of getting approved if I bought now with my part time job that I’ve been at for 9 years, or if I waited until I graduated nursing school in a couple years and got a much better paying full time job.

Clarification:

1. I am currently practicing as a licensed therapist but just at a Master’s level.

2.When I say worth it I mean in terms of fulfillment or enrichment, not just “do you make more money?” (Though I am curious about that aspect too.)

1. Any lived experiences of returning to school after getting a masters and working are appreciated! Especially if you also have any marginalized experience or are neurodivergent. I’m hesitant to trust academia fully.

Context:
I am independently licensed and currently work in group practice. I enjoy the work I do, and have specialized in working with Neurodivergence for several years. But lately my supervisor keeps encouraging me to consider going back to school for a doctorate or Psy.D and network or consult with other Psy.D providers.
I love the concept of continued learning, the potential to actually have proper credentials to assess and diagnose ‘neurodevelopmental disorders’ instead of just referring out. Plus the potential to be respected and valued for my perspective, the opportunities to do research from a lived experience lens, is all appealing.
I find with increased competency I’m starting to feel bored with basic trainings and consult groups. But I have ADHD and while I graduated with a 4.0, it majorly cost me my health to get through grad school. It took years to recover. I accrued massive debt. I’m still scraping by.
I was undiagnosed at that time, so perhaps now I could return to school with accommodations but I am hesitant to think doctoral programs in psychology wouldn’t have the same ableism I see in most academic institutions. Plus potential bigotry regarding my other identities. Am I being too jaded about doctorate level education?
As well, is there a way to do doctorate programs without completely giving up any normal type of life? I have car payments and vet bills and rent to pay. How the hell do people go back to school after they’ve established some responsibilities in life? I don’t have children to worry about but I also don’t have a trust fund to live off of if I quit working!

Date: 05/16/2024

Reading time: 14 minutes, 2817 words

🪖 Military

Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg unanimously adopts motion expressing support for Armenia

The Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg unanimously adopted a motion expressing support for Armenia. The motion condemns the forced exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's military operation. It calls for the immediate release of Armenian PoWs by Azerbaijan.

Armenpress, Luxembourg lawmakers urge government to act for implementation of ICJ orders by Azerbaijan

Russia expels U.K. defense attache in tit-for-tat move

Russia has expelled Britain’s defense attache in a tit-for-tat response to the expulsion of one of its own diplomats from London last week. A. T. Coghill must leave the territory of the Russian Federation within a week.

Armenpress

Ruben Vardanyan's detention period was extended for another 5 months

Vardanyan was arrested on September 27, 2023, at the Azerbaijani checkpoint of Hakari Bridge. He was charged with three counts: financing terrorism, creating and participating in armed units and/or groups. Azerbaijan confirms presence of about 23 Armenian prisoners.

CivilNet, Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months

Training sessions will be held from June 11 to August 30

From June 11 to August 30, training camps of reservists will be held in Armenia. Up to 5,151 citizens will be involved in the training sessions, of which 4,647 are rank-and-file and junior non-commissioned officers. It is planned to provide 45 units of road construction equipment.

CivilNet

🏛️ Politics & Government

An opposition figure was killed in Azerbaijan

Natig Mehdi, a member of the opposition Musavat party of Azerbaijan, was killed in Baku. Mehdi's disappearance was reported by his nephew on May 9, and his death was announced on May 14. His colleague Elsevar Islamov is accused of the murder. Islamov worked as a security guard at a Baku school, and Islamov was the school's deputy financial director.

CivilNet

Zelenskiy visits Kharkiv describing the situation there as “extremely difficult”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travelled to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Thursday. He described the battlefield situation in the region as "extremely difficult" but under control. Zelenkiy postponed all his foreign trips on Wednesday as the situation deteriorated. Russia says it has taken control of 12 villages since it launched its attack.

Armenpress

Red Cross visits Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives visited Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan. Among those detainees are representatives of the former military and political leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku officially confirms capture of 23 Armenians, 17 of whom ended up in Baku after Azerbaijan's military aggression last September.

Armenpress

France accuses Azerbaijan of interference in New Caledonia riots

France accuses Azerbaijan of ‘interference’ in politics of its Pacific territory of New Caledonia, which has seen deadly riots in recent days. Azerbaijan swiftly denies the charge, adding to a growing number of tensions between France and the hydrocarbon-rich Caspian Sea state. The riots were sparked by moves to agree a new voting law that supporters of independence say discriminates against the indigenous Kanak population.

ArmRadio

No new Armenia-Azerbaijan border created, the border existing at time of USSR collapse being reproduced – PM’s Office

No new border is being created between Armenia and Azerbaijan; rather, the existing de jure border at the time of the USSR’s dissolution is being reproduced. The border description is exactly as presented on the 1976 map.

ArmRadio

Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation

Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

PanArmenian

Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan receives EU Delegation

Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan received the delegation led by Adrien Kirali, Director of Neighbourhood East and Institution Building of the European Commission. Interlocutors highly appreciated the Joint EU-US-Armenia high-level meeting held on April 5, 2024 in Brussels.

Armenpress, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meets with EU Trade Commissioner

Armenian, Jordanian Foreign Ministers express concerns over tense situation in the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem

Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were held in Yerevan. The parties commended the current high level of political dialogue between Armenia and Jordan. The interlocutors exchanged views on the prospects of developing cooperation between the two countries.

Armenpress

Armenian Foreign Minister, PACE President exchange ideas on regional issues

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met with the President of the PACE Theodoros Rousopoulos in Strasbourg on May 16. The interlocutors exchanged views on the issues related to Armenia’s engagement in the Council of Europe.

Armenpress, Armenia involved in efforts to reopen regional communications: Mirzoyan

Prime Minister Pashinyan meets with World Bank and International Finance Corporation leadership

Nikol Pashinyan received the World Bank's Senior Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Vice President Alfonso Garcia Mora. The progress of joint projects, as well as the potential for diversifying Armenia's economy, were discussed.

Armenpress

Speakers of the Parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan have brief conversation

Alen Simonyan and Sahiba Gafarova had a short conversation in Geneva. The main meeting of the speakers of the parliaments of the two countries is expected to take place in the evening.

Armenpress

Armenian Foreign Minister signs Oviedo Convention in Strasbourg

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan signed Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine (Oviedo Convention) Armenia is the 37th country to join the Convention.

Armenpress, Armenia signs Council of Europe’s Bioethics Convention

Government approves housing provision program for Nagorno-Karabakh displaced people

The government approved the housing provision program for forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno Karabakh. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan presented the relevant project.

Armenpress, The housing problem of Artsakh residents will be solved in 3 stages, 2-5 million drams will be given. the government accepted the plan, Armenian government approves program to support refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia to establish Embassy in Cyprus

Armenia will establish an embassy in the Republic of Cyprus, the residence in Nicosia. The project was included in the package of non-reportable issues at the May 16 session of the government. The justification for the project states that the two countries accept each other as traditionally friendly countries.

Armenpress, Armenia will have an embassy in Cyprus, Armenia to open embassy in Cyprus, Armenia will open an embassy in Cyprus, Armenia to open Embassy in Cyprus

Legal basis for border delimitation with Azerbaijan relies on the last maps of the USSR- Pashinyan

Pashinyan: It was fundamental for Armenia not to create new borders, but to reproduce the borders previously confirmed by the Alma-Ata Declaration. The last maps of the Soviet Union, de jure having legal significance, he said.

Armenpress, In the issue of border demarcation, Armenia has adopted the principle of "the border passes where it passes". Pashinyan, The border demarcation commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a protocol, Pashinyan on Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation agreement: ‘I think it’s major success’, Pashinyan commented on the agreement reached with Azerbaijan on the issue of border demarcation in Tavush

Armen Grigoryan and Bogdan Klich discussed regional and extra-regional developments

Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia Armen Grigoryan received the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Senate of Poland Bogdan Klich. The parties discussed the Armenia-Poland bilateral agenda. Ideas were exchanged on the possibilities of expanding cooperation in various fields, particularly focusing on promoting trade and economic relations.

Armenpress

World leaders should steer clear of Baku climate conference unless political prisoners are released

Hrair Balian: World leaders who stand for a rules-based international order must decline participation in the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku unless 23 Armenian political prisoners jailed illegally in Azerbaijan are released. Balian says Azerbaijan is one of the most corrupt despotisms on the planet. Azerbaijan wants to turn the COP29 into a “Cop of peace”, urging countries participating in the summit to observe a ‘Cop truce”

CivilNet

State revenue committee chairman meets with WBcolleagues

Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan met with his colleagues from the World Bank. The meeting discussed the progress of programs implemented with the assistance of the Bank. An agreement was reached on possible areas for further cooperation.

Armenpress

Slovakia's prime minister not in life-threatening condition – deputy PM

Slovak PM Robert Fico is no longer in a life-threatening condition after being shot several times, deputy prime minister says. Fico's surgery had gone "well" and he was "not in a [life-threatening situation] at this moment", deputy PM Tomas Taraba says. Earlier the defence minister said the prime minister was "fighting for his life" after being gravely injured in an attack.

Armenpress, Slovakia PM Robert Fico no longer in life-threatening condition – deputy PM

Healthcare Ministry to receive additional 3 billion AMD to cover government-paid services

The Armenian government has decided to provide the country’s Healthcare Ministry with an additional amount of 3 billion drams to cover government-paid medical services for citizens. Half of this money will be spent on aid to low-income families, 400 million on emergency aid, 500 million on hemodialysis, 300 million on cancer treatment, 200 million on transplantation, and 100 million on treating infectious diseases.

ArkaAm

Yerevan Mayor visits Missak Manouchian’s tomb at French Pantheon

The official delegation led by Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan visited the French Pantheon, where the remains of French national hero Misak Manouchian and his wife Meline are buried. The ceremony took place on February 21, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the execution of the executed soldiers.

ArmRadio

💵 Economy

EEU membership is beneficial for Armenia- Pankin

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Pankin said participation in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is beneficial for Armenia. He said the growth of the Armenian economy and its involvement in the flows of commodity production cooperation is statistically confirmed by various indicators.

Armenpress

Granting market status to Armenia's economy discussed in USA

Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan met with U.S. officials in Washington. Focus was on Armenia-US bilateral trade and granting Armenia the status of a market economy. In January-March 2024, the Armenian-American trade turnover amounted to more than $108.9 million (37.4% decrease compared to the first quarter of last year)

ArkaAm

''Learn & Work: YSU Expo- 2024'' launched at Yerevan State University

"Learn & Work: YSU Expo- 2024" has gathered applicants, students, graduates, university divisions, and employers under one roof. The Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine CJSC has joined the Expo with great pleasure. The mining industry is one of the most important branches of Armenia's economy.

Armenpress

Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients

Yerevan State University students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. The Bank and the university have a history of successful collaboration. 10 YSU students were granted nominal scholarships of AMD 1 million each, while five others received tuition reimbursement.

ArkaAm, Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients

EBRD and EU boost funding for Armenian firms via Inecobank

The EBRD is providing a US$ 7 million loan to Inecobank for on-lending to Armenian firms. The EU is complementing this support with grant incentives of up to 15 per cent and free local and international consultancy services. At least 70 per cent of loans provided to Ineco Bank will be allocated towards funding investments in green technologies.

ArkaAm, EBRDis providingUS$ 10 million financial package to ArmSwissBank for on-lending to Armenian MSMEs, EBRD plans to invest up to 500 million euros in Armenia in 2024

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso re-elected for a second term during annual meeting in Yerevan

Odile Renaud-Basso re-elected for a second term as the bank's president. The EBRD is the leading institutional investor in Armenia. The bank has invested more than €2.1 billion in 211 projects in the country’s financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors.

ArkaAm, EBRD Governors re-elect President Odile Renaud-Basso for a second term

Ardshinbank hostspanel discussion on economic and trade sanctions as part of 33rd EBRD Business Forum

Ardshinbank organized a panel discussion on economic and trade sanctions. The main objective of the discussion was to exchange views and assist participants in the practical implementation of sanctions compliance. The meeting also discussed the role of financial institutions in ensuring sanctions compliance, mechanisms for collaboration between the public and private sectors in combating sanctions evasion, and the importance of information transparency.

ArkaAm, Ardshinbank held a panel discussion on economic and trade sanctions within the framework of the 33rd EBRD conference (PHOTO)

Armenian customs find amphetamine in package from US, suspect detained

90 pills of amphetamine found in package sent from U.S. to Yerevan Zvartnots Airport. The package was sent via Globbing Shipping forwarder company. The drug, fully banned in Armenia, was found inside the package alongside edibles and personal items.

ArkaAm, SRC found 90 amphetamine tablets in a shipment sent from the USA to Yerevan (VIDEO)

Donations to Armenia:

Himnadram
ServicemenFund
Armenian Wounded Heroes
ArmeniaFund

Hi Everyone. I am a rising junior double majoring in Economics and Data Science with a minor in Mathematics. I am shooting top PhD Programs, and I want some suggestions.
Math Classes I have taken are:
Calc I/II/III (All As), Linear Algebra (A), and I will take Probability and Discrete Mathematics next semester. Before graduating, I will take Differential Equations, Principles of Real Analysis I & II and Statistical Theory (Upper division statistics class)
Economics Classes I have taken are:
Intermediate Microeconomics (A), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A), Econometrics (A), Data and Stats learning (B+)
Computer Science Classes: Introduction to Computer Science (A), Data Structures and Algorithms (A). Will take Machine Learning and Data Mining before graduating
Research Experience: I have been working as an Economics RA for the past academic year at my school, and this summer, I will pursue economics research at an Ivy League institution.
What else can I do to maximize my chances of landing a T20 PhD? I agree that I am a rising junior, so I still have some time. Any feedback and suggestions are very much appreciated.

Hello! I’m currently a senior in college and am wanting to get my masters in clinical mental health counseling after graduating. If there is anyone on here that is currently enrolled in this kind of program, I’d love to hear your daily routine, what your thoughts are on the program you’re in, and where you go to school. Thank you!!

Hi, I’m an incoming second year graduating in Fall 2025. I don’t have much on my resume for grad school so I’m trying to get more involved since I graduate so early. I just got an email about UROP and I’m looking more into it. What was your overall experience with UROP and the time commitment? Is it a full year or one semester commitment? Have any Public Health majors done UROP?

First off, congrats to everyone for the past application cycle! No matter what your outcome was, it's a big accomplishment to have gone through the whole process. I'm a non-trad who was accepted to Queen's this year, on my 2nd application cycle. I will be 27 when I start this Fall. It feels surreal and I always told myself I'd write a post about my journey if this day ever came - and here we are.
I didn't decide to apply to med school until after I finished undergrad, and while doing my research, I always wished I could read/hear perspectives from others with my background. Even though everybody's path will be different, I hope that my story can provide some insight (or even hope) for other non-trad applicants out there.
Before we start, here are my stats because that's important:

• cGPA, OMSAS: 3.53
• wGPA, UBC: ~85%
• MCAT: 515 (127/129/130/129)
• Casper: 4th
• IP: BC and ON

I'll go in chronological order, briefly describing some of the major events that led me to today, starting from high school. Please ask me any questions in the comments - (almost) nothing is off limits :)
TLDR: I was a software engineer who quit after a year to go to grad school and pursue medicine. It took me 4 years from when I decided to pursue this to getting accepted at a Canadian school. I did a Masters in stats and applied 2 times. My biggest takeaway is to do a lot of what you are passionate about, do it well, and take it far (for me, that was teaching and research).
Some demographics:

• My parents and I immigrated to Canada from Asia when I was 3
• I grew up in the GTA and did undergrad in Ontario
• I'm the first person in my family to pursue med school. My immediate family and I are the only people in our whole family who live outside of Asia, and nobody in my parents' network of family friends is in healthcare either.

High school, 2011-2015: I was always interested in medicine as a kid, but math was always my favourite subject. I applied to several science and math programs, and was choosing between Western Med Sci and Waterloo Math. I did not apply to Mac Health Sci and looking back, I'm not sure why (perhaps a sign that I didn't believe in myself). I ended up choosing Waterloo Math and giving up on the medical school route in grade 12, for a few reasons: the math program had 6 co-op terms, meaning I'd graduate with 2 full-time years of job experience, and I wasn't particularly good at biology and didn't have strong reasons for pursuing medicine back then. Med school also seemed like an impossible goal, especially since I didn't have any mentors in the field.
Undergrad, 2015-2020: This was honestly a fun time for me. I double-majored in stats and CS and I did 6 co-ops, 5 of which were in software engineering roles. I had originally planned to do actuarial science, but quickly saw the earning potential in the tech industry and made it my goal to get a job at a big tech company. A lot of personal stuff happened during this time as well that affirmed my decision pursue a software engineering career. One part of it was that I didn't want my parents to worry about me, and being able to show them that I was able to do well for myself in tech felt really good.
Halfway through my co-ops, I realized that I wasn't feeling the most fulfilled in software roles, but management roles also didn't appeal to me. I didn't really take the time to fully explore this feeling, and it was easy to put it away in light of the high income and getting to live in big cities for internships. Still, I did well in my co-ops and built up my software skills. After realizing that "grades don't matter for getting tech jobs", I let my grades slip. It wasn't until 4th year that I decided I wanted to keep the door open for grad school, and starting taking classes I liked and getting better grades. I graduated with an 82% average, with my grades all over the place (which I'd later learn was bad for calculating my OMSAS gpa lol).
Throughout undergrad, I still wanted to be involved in clubs and stuff, so here's a list of all my undergrad ECs. All these were only 4-8 months long.

• 1st year: I was a member and president of my first year residence council
• 2nd year: I was in a leadership position at the statistics club
• 3rd year: I was an event coordinator for co-op students in a city away from home
• also 3rd year: I was part of a club that builds software for non-profits

Another activity from undergrad that made it onto my application was a research project I did at one of my co-ops. It was in NLP and I worked on it even after finishing that coop term. It ended up taking 4 years to get published.
Full-time software engineering, 2020-2021: I signed a return offer from one of my co-ops, and had planned to move to Seattle in the summer after graduating to start working. But Covid changed all that. I moved back home with my parents in the GTA and worked at my software job remotely for the full year.
It was during this year that I was really feeling unfulfilled in my job, and did a lot of thinking about how I wanted my career to look. I started to remember that med school was something that I once wanted to do, and I also started reading/watching a lot of content from people in medicine with non-traditional backgrounds. My partner, who is also from Ontario, was accepted to an international med school, and many of our friends were also getting into schools in Canada around the same time, so this reaffirmed to me that it was actually possible. While working for the year, I made a plan to apply to grad school (academia would be my back-up) and take the MCAT. Here's what my 2020-2021 looked like:

• July: started full-time work
• December-January: wrote personal statements and applied to 5 Masters programs in biostatistics
• February-April: acceptances to Masters programs came in, and I was studying for the MCAT
• June: took the MCAT, scored 508, and told my manager that I'd be leaving by August to start grad school

During this year, I also wrote out a 3-year plan that included my masters and 2 application cycles. I wrote out what courses I would take to fulfill prereqs, which schools I would apply to each year, and what my back-up plan would be. I think this was important to do rigorously since it gave me a clear idea of which schools I was eligible for, and how much work it would take me to become eligible for the rest of them.
I will also add that this is a rather objective recount of my process that year. In reality, I completely recognized how insane it was to quit my job to go to grad school, and I'm super lucky that I was able to.
Grad school, 2021-2023: I moved to BC to start my Masters in statistics in August. This choice was partly to gain IP status in BC, but mostly, this was really the best program for me out of the schools I applied to. Even looking back now, I would have chosen this program even without the IP consideration.
Here's a breakdown of everything I did during the first year of my Masters:

• Started a new volunteering role (tutoring) right away. Still doing this today, almost 3 years later.
• Took a first year English class to fulfill the UBC requirement. Side note: it felt very odd being a 25-year-old in a class of 18-year-olds, but I did well in both classes probably because of being older. At first, I dreaded taking these classes since English was never my strong suit. But being older meant that I allowed myself to be truly curious about the topics being taught, and I treated it more as an experience to learn more about the world than to just check off some boxes.
• Took the MCAT again, at the end of my first year of MSc. I had already confirmed a supervisor by then, and thankfully she is/was incredibly supportive of my goals. I took it in June 2022 and got 515.
• TA'd stats courses throughout the year
• Started working on my thesis research with my supervisor

First application, 2022: I applied only to UBC for my first application cycle. In retrospect, I should have just applied broadly right away, but I didn't feel like I had enough references built up by then. And UBC doesn't require references unless you get an interview. I honestly had very high hopes of getting an interview this year, and was crushed to receive a rejection in December with an NAQ of 50-75. I thought that my application was unique, but upon reflection, I realized that the lack of volunteering and community service was a big gap in my application.
So here's a breakdown of everything I did in my second year of my Masters and beyond:

• TA'd stats courses throughout the year, and was the head TA for one of them (I think this showed leadership and commitment to teaching)
• Started another volunteering role at the food bank
• Took another first-year English course
• Continued my research with my supervisor
• Got offered (and started) a lecturer role for an undergrad course at the university, which was such an amazing opportunity. My supervisor helped me a lot with getting this position, since I TA'd for her one semester and she recommended me to the department. This was a class of 150, and I was also in charge of a few TAs. I ended up teaching this class 2 more times after this!
• Finished my Masters in August 2023
• Started working full-time as a biostatistician in September 2023
• A first-author paper I started working on during undergrad was accepted in Fall 2023. I had been working on this on-and-off for the past 4 years so it was incredible for the work to finally pay off!

Second application, 2023: This time, I applied to UBC and every school in Ontario that I was eligible for: Queen's and Mac. I was rejected by UBC pre-interview again. Same NAQ, and my total score didn't change. I was totally crushed and thought it was over for this year. I was very honest with myself about the Ontario applications - Mac was a total throwaway application and Queen's felt like a complete gamble. I was rejected from Mac pre-interview but one fateful day in January, I received an email from Queen's. It had a very generic "Application Status" subject line and I opened it fully expecting a rejection. I was totally shocked when it said I was invited for the MMI! And a few months later, I was also invited to the Panel.
Some of my thoughts and preparation for the interviews:
MMI - Aside from the usual resources that are posted here, I also took advantage of the following:

• Support system: I had a lot of support from my partner, who had gone through MMIs from non-Canadian schools, and many of my friends who were already in med school.
• Resources: I paid for a prep session on AcceptedTogether and had a positive experience there. I also used the BrightStudent question bank and although the questions were good, the explanations and overall experience were mid. But their YouTube video was extremely useful.
• Mindset: Throughout my whole MMI prep, I was honestly very interested in exploring each prompt, and I think this mindset was extremely beneficial for making my answers both unique and genuine. During my Masters, I also took a class that covered topics in social determinants of health, and I semi-regularly enjoy reading about current events in this area, so both of those pieces of background were super helpful for me.

Panel - I was so happy to receive a panel interview, and knew that I could not mess this up. I prepped with a few different friends of mine who were in med school, and another friend who was going through Ontario interviews too. Going in, I felt very prepared, and in the days leading up to it, I even felt like my answers were on autopilot and a bit over-prepared. So I really tried to relax and "be myself"/answer genuinely during the panel. The real panel felt quite cold - I didn't get any feedback from my interviewers, and was a bit thrown off by some of the questions. I was also cut off by the Kira Talent timer at the end, and didn't get to say goodbye or thank you. For the rest of the day, I ruminated on all my answers. The content of my answers felt somewhere between "why would I say that" and "just fine" and "great", but I was definitely feeling a bit bad about the whole experience.
Decision Week, 2024: That brings us to this week! In the week leading up to the decision, I flip flopped between "My panel hated me, there's no way I passed the vibe check" and "My answers were good, my MMI felt good, why wouldn't they accept me". I opened the email at 6am (Pacific time) with zero expectations - I truly had no idea what was waiting for me on the other side. The first word was "Congratulations!" and I didn't read much farther than that before I started celebrating :)
So that's it. I told a lot of people I work with, my Masters supervisor, my parents, and my friends, and it felt amazing to deliver this good news. My closing thoughts about my whole journey are that even though I do think my application was great, I still got incredibly lucky. At any point in the process, I could have gotten an undesirable outcome, and there was nothing I could do to control that (other than my efforts prior). I also relied a lot on my support system, and was so lucky to have had + made friends who are in med school or were practising already.
I just feel so grateful to be starting this Fall, and I'm happy to say that my high school self would be in absolute disbelief if she could see where I am today. That statement is a sign to me that I'm on the right path, and I'm just so excited to be starting this long, hard career that is medicine.
If you've made it to the end, thank you for reading!! If you can relate to any part of my journey and have questions, please send me a comment or DM - my inbox is always open.

Hello, I've just completed 10th grade in high school in the U.S. and I've been researching the topic of moving Japan since I was in 8th grade, and now I actually want to act on this. Please tell me if this plan is terrible. Also, I've lost 50 pounds so far in a 100 pound weight loss journey, not trying to go to Japan and not be able to walk without losing my breath lol.
June 2024: Get a part time job to start saving up money for an online Japanese learning program that you can complete in 2-3 years. (please recommend some programs)
August 2024: Begin 11th grade in online school, begin learning Japanese for 3 hours a day.
Sometime in 2026: Start applying for universities in Japan. (please recommend schools, also, will I have to do a host family thing or could I live in a dorm? Since you aren't an adult until 20 in Japan.)
May 2026: Graduate high school and by now hopefully be pretty good at speaking, reading, and writing in Japanese.
Sometime in 2027 i think: Get a student visa (i have no idea how this would work) and go live in Japan. (I'll have saved up a bit of money from working part time and my parents will help me with whatever I need)
Please let me know all the flaws in my plan.

My sibling who lives with me graduated with a BA in history 3 years ago, very proud of them! They have had trouble finding work that provides enough pay. For the just under 3 years making less then minimum wage as a teacher aid. Not enough hours are given and all the unpaid days when school is closed. They get very frustrated when talking about it to the point of shutting down. For the last 2 years I have paid their rent, phone, meals and any trip we have taken. Happy to take care of them but this is a heavy burden on financial matters. Don't want this to interfere in our strong relationship I love them but it is a struggle. Would it be right if I take their resume and give it my alterations and submit it to jobs for them? How much would be invasive into their life? Honestly I need guidance in how to get best help them in getting a better job.