Semester 7 is over!
Hey guys! So today I had my only exam (the joys of being a senior!). I still have a paper for my MAE 4900 and a take home exam to turn in for Math 4710, but otherwise, I'm done! =)
This semester went way faster than I thought. It's really kind of scary. Sooner or later, I'll be graduating! I am, however, looking forward to next semester since I get to find out what I'm doing next year. I do find out from one of my schools pretty soon though so that should be interesting. It'll feel nice to be accepted, but if it's a denial, that's fine too.
On that note, ED results come out soon! Good luck, guys. I applied ED to Cornell and it was a pretty good decision for me since a) I'm really indecisive, b) Cornell is absolutely amazing and c) I got to relax and focus on my schoolwork while my peers were still doing last minute applications/freaking out about schools in April. If you are certain about the school you want to go to, I highly recommend that you apply early, whether it's Cornell or any other school.
Lastly, here's some more pics of this semester which I promised...
We had quite a lot of snow in the l
ast week. It was pretty warm last Thursday and then the weather decided to slap us across the face with ridiculously yucky weather. Few days ago, it snowed enough that someone made a snowman!
I live in Carl Becker House on West campus. The house system is pretty cool on west in that each dorm is named after a famous alumnus who was a professor at Cornell. There are five houses: Carl Becker, Alice C
ook, Flora Rose, Hans Bethe and Keeton. They try to promote a very tight knit community with tutoring for sophomores and juniors in the dorms. They also have some other activities, including a house dinner every Wednesday where they get really good, freshly prepared food. Every week has a theme (next semester, I'll post a pic of house dinner, if I remember to do so).
Anyway, that's all folks! Enjoy your holidays. I know, I certainly will since I'm going to India for a few weeks this break so that should be pretty exciting. Good luck with ED results and for those of you doing RD, good luck with the apps. =) Since I will be out of the country for much of the break, I may not be able to make posts but if there's anything you have questions on, email me (
am493@cornell.edu) and I'll try my best to get back to you.
- Adaleena
Last day of classes!
Hello! As the subject says today's the last day of classes. You might also be wondering why I'm up at this ridiculously early hour, or updating for that matter. The nice thing about going home for Thanksgiving break is the heaps of sleep I get at home. On average, I get about 10-12 hours of sleep there, as opposed to the barely 6-8 hours I get in Ithaca. Of course, after getting 10-12 hours of sleep for a week straight, my body has decided it is sick of sleep so it randomly decides to get 0-2 hours of sleep a night. Nothing terribly concerning and it's also good since I'll be getting a ton of sleep next week before my finals!
Anyway, this semester was probably one of the fastest semesters I've ever had at Cornell, quite possibly, because I didn't want it to end. That's right, in the past, I was always like "GAHHH I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS SEMESTER TO END!" and this semester was quite the opposite. Why? Just the stresses of having grad school applications, job hunting and all the other characteristic things of the fall semester in Ithaca. If you've read my previous entries, you may notice that the fall semester is significantly different from the spring semester. Also, my workload was relatively light with just 16 credits (compare that with the 20s-22s I've been pulling the last few years) so I never felt the aversion to my schoolwork which I had felt in the past. I am also going back to pulling the 20ish credits next semester which will make me miss the 16 credits pretty badly.
I also thought it might be cool if I posted some of my Operation Picture-A-Day pics at this time. It'll give you a sense of what this fall semester involved without me writing another paragraph!
Outside of Carpenter after Fall Break!
The random snowstorm/cold spell we had around mid/early October....That's right, L27, H43.
View from my room in Becker when it's nice and sunny and the
visibility is nice. If you look closely, you can see the towers making up Ithaca College!
That's right, Maroon 5 came to visit Ithaca!
Cornell Bhangra at the MAACP India Gala.
Anyway, I should probably do something more productive seeing I'm up this early and have another 2 hours before my Probability lecture. I'll try to post more pics next week. If, however, I do not get around to it (which is highly probable since I need to study for finals, take finals and pack up to leave Ithaca next week), good luck to the Early Decision people! Remember, whatever happens, happens for a reason so no matter what the outcome never fear! Let me know if you have any other questions!
- Adaleena
Last prelim of the semester!
Hey guys! I just finished my last prelim for the semester. Prelims are like midterms which make up a good chunk of your grade. So like the exam I had today was worth 20% of my final grade. Stressful, yes, but relieving when done! So I get a week off of exams and then finals will begin. Lucky for me, I only have two exams -- one is take home and the other is in class. My in class one is on Dec. 11th so most likely, I'll be skipping out of Ithaca a week early and relax for a week at home before flying out to India for break (yes, I get to go somewhere warm for winter break).
But anyway, Thanksgiving is this week! I'm leaving tomorrow midday and lurking at home, getting a few applications done, looking at jobs and relaxing with family. I'm coming back on Saturday so I can get working on homework and stuff which I won't be looking at over break. I'm pretty excited (minus the homework I'll be pushing off, but that's inevitable).
It's kind of scary to know that this semester is almost over. Looking back on it, the past few fall semesters have been very stressful, tedious and tiring and to see this one just fly by is kind of freaky (I'm sure it feels the same for you guys since your apps are due soon too). In a few quick weeks, we'll all know where we're going after the hardwork we've put forth for the last few years and what we will do. And on that note, I'm going to share the MechE class of 2010 picture!!
Stolen from: http://www.mae.cornell.edu/index.cfm/page/undergrad/currentstudents.htm
=D
Let me know if you have any questions!
- Adaleena
One week later... =D
So it's 2:30 and I'm sitting in Upson, doing nothing -- watching my peers frantically scrambling to get their p-sets (or homework assignments in non Cornellian lingo) done. I have an interview in an hour or so and I'm a bit too anxious to do work right now so I'm lurking and just waiting for it to be 3:30.
This week was kind of quiet and DL (down low) and it pretty much consisted of working ahead so that I'm less stressed next week. I had my last MAE 4272 lab on Wednesday and just have a lab report left. Fortunately, for this one, we get two weeks to work on it because of Thanksgiving. That, I'm sure, still won't stop us from fine tuning things though!
So today I thought I'd talk about going places off campus. There are some awesome things off campus (i.e. several waterfalls: Buttermilk, Taughannauk, Ithaca; malls and food) and I highly recommend that you go to these places. Collegetown is great and unfortunately, I didn't set foot in it until the summer after my sophomore year. DON'T DO THAT!! There's some awesome food there and it's absolutely amazing. Additionally, go out to the Ithaca Commons as well. There, you get a taste of what we call the "townies" of Ithaca. There's so many shops there, music and other things. Of course, we, poor college students can't afford to buy things from the stores there, but it's fun to go browsing. The people at the stores understand that and are always more than happy to show you around their shops. It's walkable, but if you're lazy like me, you can utilize your free bus pass (which I also highly recommend using since I didn't use mine at all freshman year and then Cornell made us pay for it the next year and I never renewed mine since I didn't use it). The TCAT bus is free after 6pm and weekends though without the bus pass so that's pretty cool. =)
Anyway, I should go back to continuing my freaking out for my interview! I am so anxious!
Let me know if you have any questions since I'd much rather make posts about your interests than mine!
- Adaleena
Discovery
So, today, I had my last prelim for Wind Power, MAE 4020. After this, I have....approximately 4-6 more problem sets due for Math 4710 and MAE 4020, 2 more lab reports for MAE 4272, a final report and presentation for MAE 4300, a prelim for Math 4710, 2 more summaries and a final for MAE 4020 and take home for Math 4710. And then...I'm done with my second to last semester at Cornell! =)
I randomly have a brief hiatus in the amount of work for next week. With the exception of a lab report and a one page summary, I have nothing else due next week. I do have a paper and exam the following week so I guess I'll use this time to rest up and get work done. I also have a few applications (which I haven't started!) due first week of December (I guess I still have a long while to go, but like in the case of undergrad apps, it's not wise to leave it for the last minute).
So, I guess today I'll tell you about some of my favorite places to eat. Some of my favorite places are Statler's Terrace and Mac's, Trillium in Kennedy Hall and Hughes dining in the law school and The Nines and Asian Noodle House in Collegetown. Terrace has great salads and wraps. It is kind of expensive though. Meals are typically $8-10 depending on what else you get. Mac's has quicker grab and go foods, like pizzas, pastas and sandwiches. The food there is just as good and cheap. Prices range from $3-6. Trillium has a lot of foods from grills, Chinese food, wraps and salads and I guess an Indian and American fusion food. Prices are typically from $5-9 so it's good filling food at a decent price. I also love Hughes. It has a lot of delicious burgers and pancakes. Prices are about the same as in Trillium, but very filling and messy, which is great for poor, hungry college students! Lastly, there's The Nines which has great pizza and corn nuggets. It's absolutely amazing and highly recommend it. It's cheap (under $20) for a good full meal. Additionally, Asian Noodle House has a wide variety of noodles, rice curries and other food from SE Asia. It's really good and ranges from $9-15, depending on what you order. As for non a la carte places, I've come to really like the Alice Cook dining on West campus (Each of the houses on West have their own dining hall).
Lastly, my lovely words of wisdom for visiting a campus...
1) Take a virtual campus tour if you can. Honestly, the virtual campus tours will help you realize if it's worth the investment to come to visit the campus or even go to the school. If you like the campus from the virtual tour, definitely visit the campus, if you can. With that said, if it isn't possible, then do as much research on your own as you can. Look for pictures of the campus and figure out the location of the campus (i.e. you should know before first coming to campus that Cornell is NOT in New York City!).
2) Find people who currently go to the school of your interest and talk to them. They can give you insight in things you should see and can help you pickup the lingo of the campus.
3) Email professors in a department of your interest. It doesn't always help but you could go and meet with them and hear their expectations in a course. Generally, those expectations are consistent for all courses.
4) Attend a lecture (preferably in material you've already seen before). You can see the level at which the course is taught and see what a 100+ person class feels like. You can also talk to the students around you and ask how they feel about the course. Generally they can give you a comparison of the lecture with that of other classes they've taken at the school.
Anyway, that's all for now. I guess I should go back to work. It feels really weird sitting in Carpenter library and not doing work and seeing people around me frantically working on p-sets!
- Adaleena
Pre-Halloween and my 3-monthday!
Hey guys! Firstly, happy halloween eve/mischief night! Hope you guys aren't getting into too much mischief this weekend. =D Cornellians typically are so swamped during the year that we take any opportunity to let our hairdown, if we can. Halloween is no exception. Thus, this weekend there's a lot of Halloween festivities. Reflecting on it, it's pretty interesting since you spend all your life before college thinking that Halloween only involves trick-or-treating and hayrides and bonfires and then you go to college and it's a completely different holiday.
I also had my last course enroll on Monday (and also my first all nighter for the semester, oi). It was pretty simple since most of my classes were still open and I got everything I wanted. I only have 3 classes in my major I need to take: one more advisor approved elective, a senior design and Physics 2214. I'm taking some additional classes just because they seemed cool. So I'm taking:
- Physics 2214: Waves, Optics, etc.
- MAE 4530: Computer Aided Engineering: Applications to Biomedical Processes (I need to see if I can get this to be my senior design elective with the department)
- Math 4030: History of Mathematics (Advisor Approved Elective)
- MAE 5010: Future Energy Systems
- MAE 4770: Engineering Vibrations
- MAE 4900: Research with Prof. Bonassar
I'm SUPER excited about my classes next semester.
Lastly, I also want to talk about accompanying music for studying (random completely, I know). I'm sure a lot of you use music for background noise when you're studying and stuff. I know I use it a lot not only to relax me, but also to make me feel like I'm not alone in Ithaca. Here are some tips about music.
1) There are only 7 working radio stations in Ithaca (might be more, but I was pretty surprised to discover this my freshman year). Pretty much, it consists of soft rock, country, rock, newstalk and some other songs.
2) iPods and MP3 players are good and all, but get an iTunes account. You will be using your music so frequently for entertainment that it will get pretty old, pretty quickly.
3) Befriend
www.pandora.com,
www.1.fm and
http://music.yahoo.com. It will be perfect for those days when you want a break from your own music. They also expose you to songs that are similar in nature to your favorite songs.
4) Get a sturdy/strong pair of headphones. They make an awesome investment if you have a roommate next year. As similar as you guys may be, there will be times they won't want to hear your music. So, headphones are great for that purpose! Also, they're good if you like studying in the library or computer labs. I got a really awesome pair which was pretty cheap at WalMart this summer and it's fabulous since it was noise cancelling. This is really good too if you get distracted easily (although whoever comes to visit gets an Adaleena who jumped about 3 inches).
5) Lastly, meet people with similar musical interests. Friends make awesome musical suggestions! =)
As always, let me know if you have any questions.
- Adaleena
Brief hiatus!
So I'm taking a break from doing my MAE 4272 lab report. This weekend is kind of my crazy week (it's not a shocker, everyone has them). I have a prelim on Monday and a lab report due Tuesday. This sounds easy, but these lab reports are usually 30-40 pages long! It's insane.
My research lab with Prof. Bonassar has also started and today I spent most of the day on my feet, getting trained and initiating a new project in the lab. This year, I'm sharing the project with one other person and we're mainly focusing on printing collagen using the
Fab@Home. We're collaborating with another lab. Hopefully, it'll go well. =)
I also want to talk about how AWESOME my major is! My major is absolutely amazing. Most people in the department are really nice and friendly (in fact, in my four years here, I've only met two people who were stubborn and uncooperative). Also, our undergrad coordinator is the sweetest woman you've ever met. You go into her office feeling absolutely stressed out and come out, feeling optimistic and good that you're at Cornell! =) There's also some amazing classes ranging from anything in Robotics or Mechatronics to Orthopedic Tissue Mechanics. Thus, being a Mechanical Engineer means you're tailored to do a lot from running a plant to part maintenance to process manufacturing to project management. And you're trained to do it in your coursework! The MechEs in my year are also very tight and cooperative and it's not strange to go up to someone who is doing the same homework as you and ask for help. More than likely, they'll be happy to help you!
I'm also figuring out my coursework for next semester. Monday begins my last CourseEnroll at Cornell. It's kinda makes me nostalgic especially remembering back to the qualms I've had with it. Next semester, I'm thinking of taking:
MAE 4530: Computer Aided Engineering: Applications to Biomedical Processes
MAE 4770: Engineering Vibrations
MAE 5010: Future Energy Systems
Math 4030: History of Mathematics
Physics 2214: Physics III: Oscillations, Waves and Quantum Physics
MAE 4291: Supervised Senior Design Experience a.k.a my research with Prof. Bonassar
Anyhow, it looks like I'm really procrastinating on this lab report now. So, I really should get back to it...If you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me (
am493@cornell.edu).
- Adaleena
ast week. It was pretty warm last Thursday and then the weather decided to slap us across the face with ridiculously yucky weather. Few days ago, it snowed enough that someone made a snowman!
ook, Flora Rose, Hans Bethe and Keeton. They try to promote a very tight knit community with tutoring for sophomores and juniors in the dorms. They also have some other activities, including a house dinner every Wednesday where they get really good, freshly prepared food. Every week has a theme (next semester, I'll post a pic of house dinner, if I remember to do so). 
