Time flies! Can’t believe it’s already been a year since I graduated high school, and I already finished my first year in university.

I still remember back then I was so hopeless because I got rejected by Cornell or UIUC, and instead had to come to a university I just found out during college application, but everything seems to be alright now, and even better then I would ever expect!

Anyways, this blog is to revise what I did in freshman year, and some hopes for my sophomore year.

Academics

I would give myself a 9/10 for my academic performance. I was able to secure 4.0/4.0 on both semesters, and I aced honor linear algebra, getting more than 100 on the final grade (Since I got a 3 point bonus question right in the first midterm). I also did really well in the graduate machine learning course, although that class was more of a weird fever dream…

Something I think I could’ve done better was to challenge myself academically more in the first semester. The classes I chose were all extremely easy, and I basically didn’t go to any classes.

Social

I think a 7/10 is fair. I definitely could’ve been more proactive in this part, but my introvert ahh ass just couldn’t. I really hoped that I could know more about the folks in the UPL, as they seem pretty chill.

But I think I did try socializing more than I expect, and I got alot of great friends that are kind and willing to help me grow.

Competitive Programming

Well, I would give myself a 3/10 in CP. I have basically given up on it at this point since I think I am more passionate in ML/AI stuff than CP. Although obtaining this skill does help a lot in algorithmic thinking, and I had alot of fun doing ICPC and Hacker Cup.

Research

I would say 7/10. The two main researches I did in freshman is the UDA on Maps from Academia Sinica and LLM knowledge from Skunkworks.

For the first one, we are currently under review, so it’s done for now. The latter one is more of a joke, although this oppurtunity did led me to some valuble friends I would say.

Summary for Freshman Year

I would give my freshman year an 8/10. I am quite satisfied with what I accomplished, especially in terms of academics. I think the biggest transformation for me is that I’m confident in myself and can think positively, thinking life is amazing. I hope I can keep this passion and mentality throughout my whole life.

Wishes and Goals for Sophomore Year

I do have quite some wishes and goals for my second year in university. Some are simple, while some are ambitious. I will try my best to do them! (Difficulty not sorted)

  1. Maintain 4.0: My goal is to maintain 4.0 throughout my whole undergraduate years. I will be pursuing a double major in cs + math though, and math will definitely be challenging to get straight As.

  2. Obtain sophomore research fellowship: This is a scholarship that is awarded to sophomores that conducts research. It is pretty competitive, but two of my closest friends have it, and I hope to get it as well.

  3. Obtain a national level scholarship: It is doable (I talked to a Barry Goldwater recipent a couple days ago that is also a sophomore, and works with the professor I will be working with next semester), but this is perhaps one of the most challenging ones in this list.

  4. Get an internship: If possible a ML research-oriented internship. I’ve always wanted to try out industry positions, and this would be a good timing to do so.

  5. Start investing: This is something I’ve always wanted to do, but failed to dedicate myself into doing, and I think knowing how to keep and accumulate your money is an important skill.

  6. Workout: Well, I’m not saying to become a powerlifter or something like that, but I hope I can at least workout regularly to be healthy.

  7. Publish 5 papers: This sounds a bit crazy (I don’t even have my first one yet lol), but I think it is doable, since I will do an REU in summer, and after finishing my work in Academia Sinica I could ask for a new research, plus I will work with a professor next semester. The point is, I hope the research I will do is more of a fundamental type research, and not just implementing a method on a subject type research.

  8. Be confident and love yourself: You can do it! :D