<p>Daughter switched major to Engineering. We didnt attend engineering info sessions during college search because she was math/physics. I want to make sure this is reasonable.</p>
<p>She has to keep a 3.0 & 100 community service to keep her scholarship at Northeastern. She was an excellent and responsible student in HS so Im probably being a worry wart mom that needs some reassurance.</p>
<p>It would depend on the actual classes, but this would worry me too. In fact, my D13 is looking at CS at Case Western and their suggested first semester freshman schedule has 18 hours. She may be able to apply some AP credits to lower it, but 18 hours seems like a lot to me, especially for first semester freshmen.</p>
<p>15-18 is usually what’s normal, so this is on the high end of normal. If she’s an excellent and responsible student she’ll probably be fine. I don’t know how hard Northeastern is, but in general I think the difficulty of Engineering is a little bit hyped.</p>
<p>It depends on the student (rigor of hs academics, engineering aptitude, organization skills) and the college/program. It will also depend on how many labs - they are usually one credit, but intense. </p>
<p>"I think the difficulty of Engineering is a little bit hyped. " - I disagree. But as stated above, much depends on the student and the college.</p>
<p>Also consider that first semester freshman year for engineering majors will include math/science courses and courses to meet general college graduation reqs- not heavy duty eng. classes. She presumably has a good HS background in and should be well prepared for the math/science. Those 18 credits could be only 4 courses (assuming lab part of the science course). </p>
<p>Don’t worry. Liking her college and being motivated will help her do well.</p>
<p>Looks like the course plans listed here:
<a href=“http://www.coe.neu.edu/coe/undergraduate/studentservices/curricula.html[/url]”>http://www.coe.neu.edu/coe/undergraduate/studentservices/curricula.html</a></p>
<p>have 17 credit units in the first semester for class of 2017 engineering students. They all seem to be like:</p>
<p>4 Calculus I
4 General Chemistry for Engineers
0 Recitation for General Chemistry
1 Introduction to Engineering
4 Engineering Design
4 Arts or Humanities</p>
<p>A 4 or 5 on AP calculus AB or BC is allowed by Northeastern to fulfill Calculus I (and II for BC); that may allow her to start in a more advanced math course. If she has AP calculus credit but is not sure whether to do so, see if old final exams from the Northeastern calculus courses are available for her to check her knowledge.</p>
<p>Given that this is a fairly normal looking course load of four courses, plus a 1 credit course that is probably a seminar in which engineers tell students what working as an engineer is like, this should not be especially difficult. A student who finds it difficult may have more difficulty later on in subsequent semesters.</p>
<p>She will begin in Cal 3 due to AP credit and is very confident in doing this. Signed up for engineering design, chemistry & one elective plus 2 one credit required courses. </p>
<p>She will place out of English so we hadn’t considered her dropping the elective. It’s actually the kink that requires her to go to class from 9:15 to 4:30 without a break for lunch.</p>
<p>18 credits as an incoming fall frosh? That’s too many. Even the best high school student could faulter with that many credits. Are a number of those credits small 1-2 credit frosh engineering program credits? If so, that can mean a LOT of classes to keep straight.</p>
<p>Isn’t there a suggested semester by semester sequence in the undergrad catalog? </p>
<p>Does NEU count any AP credits? If so, can those lighten the schedule?</p>
<p>crossposted with UCB and TxCMom</p>
<p>I don’t understand why students can’t start any school (HS or college) with the same number of credits the first semester as in later ones. She should go for it and max out on her education from the beginning. This also gives her more flexibility later. The best HS students are used to doing the work.</p>
<p>My worries would be with the community service is that 100 hours per semester or year? Engineering for some kids is not so hard, for others, it is difficult. Don’t underestimate AT ALL the amount of outside class work engineering requires. Many bright HS kids approach Engineering like HS courses and freshman semester can knock their socks off unless they are a kid that really studied in HS and are disciplined in their work. CALC 3 if the foundation is weak is like Calc by a fire hose.</p>
<p>My engineering grad daughter took 18 credits at least each quarter she was in college…and this included her first quarter as a freshman. She had 20 credits most terms because she played in the orchestra and took private instrument lessons. She was a conscientious student who budgeted her time well. She also worked 10-15 hours each week. </p>
<p>She tells me that most of the engineering majors at her school had 17-18 credits per term.</p>
<p>It sounds within reason. Key is not to get behind. If she is already up to calc 3, that will help.</p>
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<p>Because high school and college are very different. College is a lot harder than most high schools - especially in an engineering curriculum. The landscape is littered with students who excelled in high school and then flamed out in college. </p>
<p>The need to maintain a 3.0 is what would really concern me. This student has no adjustment period - she needs to maintain a B average from the start. </p>
<p>OP, if you know your daughter well enough to be confident she will be able to ignore all the distractions that bedevil college freshmen, and hit the ground running as a committed, serious, “grind,” then 18 credits may be appropriate. Otherwise, I would seriously consider advising her that since she’s starting ahead of the game, with AP credits, that she drop something out of that first semester schedule.</p>
<p>It looks like a very similar schedule to my son, but he is 16 hrs - he won’t have the 1 hr seminar. He’ll take a calc, an engineering elective, the required freshmen writing and a science. But throw in the labs and workshops and it can be a lot of time. </p>
<p>A semester is 15 weeks so 100 hrs will be 6 - 7 hours a week, which in all likelihood would be an all day Saturday thing. Then put a 3.0 requirement and imo, that could be a lot. I’d be wary of jumping over too much math if you think she could use a little breathing room to get her feet under her with her other responsibilities.</p>
<p>I would seriously have her consider taking calc I. Have her ask her engineering advisor. H.S. calc and college calc are two different animals. </p>
<p>Taking calc I would be a good GPA booster, ease her into college and make sure she has the basic math down pat.</p>
<p>It would free up some extra time for chem and engineering course work.</p>
<p>There is no downside to this at all. Coming out of freshman year with a high GPA will help lower any stress level for the next few years.</p>
<p>Many many kids with 5’s on there AP classes will be retaking calc.</p>
<p>Yes, 17 or 18 is normal for the freshman year in engineering. You can’t average 15 per semester and finish an engineering degree in 4 years, at least not without summer school. On the semester hour basis, if an arts & sciences degree is 120 hours, then engineering is 128 to 132. But this is not unique to engineering; for example, nursing also requires more hours.</p>
<p>If GPA is a concern, she ought to consider ratcheting back from Calc 3. Math is the biggest risk to freshman engineering students, not the number of credit hours. AP Calculus is not at the same level as what engineering students take. If your daughter does attempt Calc 3, make sure the school offers a special section for AP students and that she’s in it.</p>
<p>Our younger son had 17 CR first semester and 18 CR second semester his freshman year and did fine (above a 3.0). He was an indifferent student in high school, but understood that college would require an entirely different work ethic. Our older one had a similar number of credits in engineering his freshman year. Also found it hard, but manageable.</p>
<p>They both knew the workload would be harder in college than in high school. I would not anticipate a problem, assuming a decent math background. Our current son’s engineering program requires 131 CR and he had zero AP or other credits going into college, so every semester has a heavy workload. Also, both of my boys found that the work load got harder not easier as they got into upper level classes.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=13648390[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=13648390</a></p>
<p>One thread of many with similar themes…</p>
<p>My s’s are both engineers, and both took 15-18 (sometimes more!) credit hours/semester. If your school also has core courses that have to be taken as a freshman and have to get the engineering sequence courses on schedule, it can be a big load. My younger s’s school also had a required # of community service hours for all students. ITs doable. Not easy, but doable. Good luck!</p>
<p>My son’s e’school has a 15 credit minimum. The eight semesters range between 15-18 credits. Some students are able to lessen the 18 credit semesters due to AP credit, however most simply taken another class towards a minor or another area of interest.</p>
<p>I think I understood another poster earlier recommended sliding back to Calc 1 instead of moving on to Calc 3? I wouldn’t recommend that at all! I would really speak with the university about what is best. For instance, at my son’s school Calc 2 is notoriously difficult and a huge weed out class. Anyone with credit through Calc 2 is encouraged to move on to Calc 3. That advice may not apply to another school. On the other hand, students are encouraged to retake Physics 1 even if you have a 5 on the AP as high school rarely covers everything. Talk to the advisors at your students university, it really does vary widely.</p>