<p>So I am a Freshman at the University of Arizona, who has NOT taken any classes yet. Currently, I am enrolled as an Undecided major in the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. I've been considering Engineering but since I'm not super positive on it being a good fit for me, I wanted to enroll into the Introduction to Engineering course my school has offered for freshmen to test the waters. But this class is reserved for freshman Engineering majors only. So, as unfortunate as this sounds, I will have to go through all this BS of switching majors just to try one class. It's really exciting.</p>
<p>Averages of Engineering freshman last year at my school:
27 ACT
3.7 Unweighted GPA</p>
<p>My stats:
3.0 Unweighted GPA
25 ACT</p>
<p>I'm obviously on the short end of the stick, but it seems to get worse. I barely passed the math section on the ACT when I took it. My science was fantastic if that matters here. The College of Engineering also considers rigor of classes, and I took dual enrollment wherever possible, and when it was not, I took AP. So I don't know how they will evaluate that. The good side? I got an 83% on a Math placement test my school offers that allowed me to get into Calculus, and I'm literally taking identical coursework as Engineering freshman except for that one class. Also, I am a female, so this may be a benefit to me as the percent of females is in the high 20s if I am correct in the college of Engineering. I know UA has made quite an effort on raising the ratio, and the news that they've gotten a new record on the highest percent of women attending this year has made them gone rampant.</p>
<p>I would like to enroll into this class immediately as it is a prerequisite and the Engineering majors take a plenty of major classes. Also, if I am not fit for this, I have a bit of backups I'm considering, and I can always go through the BS again and switch out. The sooner the better, though. My other option, if I can't enroll into this class in the fall? Wait it out until I finish the first semester (and pass Calc 1 with a C or better, same with Chemistry 151) and try again. Then I will be a semester behind, which will make it tough for me to stay over the summer to catch up, or I might be overwhelmed in the spring semester assuming that I'm accepted.</p>
<p>Thoughts? Should I bother with the major-switching now when I'm against the odds or should I pull through the first semester then try to switch?</p>
<p>I have found that any red tape to take a course in college can often be bypassed by the professor teaching the class. Have you talked to the professor? Have you talked to your advisor?</p>
<p>I talked to my current advisor, who was then like, “Hey, you need to talk to this guy.” So I sent the Engineering advisor an email so I can switch maybe, but he won’t reply it’s really aggravating. I also can’t seem to access him over the phone either when I call their office. I’d go in personally if I wasn’t a couple hour drive away.</p>
<p>Also, for instructor it says “Staff” <em>rolls eyes</em></p>
<p>Have patience… it is summer. The Engineering Adviser my be on vacation. Perhaps you could try figuring out if there is other staff in the office that could discuss this. </p>
<p>The Intro to Engineering course will be interesting. But it probably won’t expose you to the rigorous engineering courses that will be part of your final decision. The good news is that there is less risk of low GPA than with full engineering courseload. That is key at schools that have minimum GPA requirement for transfer to other programs.</p>
<p>Find out what time the class is and just go there.</p>
<p>I’m just worried that the class will get filled up and I won’t be able to take it at all. If it doesn’t fit I would love to know and get it out of the way quickly. There isn’t a lot of classes here I can take. Currently, there is only ONE spot left for ONE class. The rest are for the Honors college kids, which I’m not in. I also find it hard that the adviser would be on vacation for three weeks at one time, especially when I called and the lady claimed he was there, but actually wasn’t. It’s odd how they are acting like this.</p>
<p>XtremePower, I might just do that on the first day of class, if I can’t make any more progress on this.</p>
<p>There is a fudge factor of a few seats that the prof can override, or a department adviser. </p>
<p>If you’re only a couple hours away (which is equivalent to 20 minutes for those of us in more densely populated areas :)) I’d say pay the place a visit… Before the masses show up for 1st week of class. Browse at the textbooks, maybe even get one or two for summer reading, etc etc. Above all talk to someone live who can provide override, whether prof, engineering dept adviser, etc.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine it would be a problem getting in, but you will have to try and convince the professor and/or department that engineering is of serious interest to you. They will be more likely to let you in (assuming the class is full) if you show them that you’re motivated about engineering.</p>
<p>The important thing to remember here is that professors and/or departments are not in the business of “selling” you on any particular major. That’s entirely up for you to decide. </p>
<p>And as colorado mom already said, you wont have much exposure to the rigors of engineering by taking the intro class - these classes generally just give you a cursory look at your engineering major with basic problem solving exercises and team work projects. If you’re looking for a weed-out class, this is not the class you want to take.</p>
<p>I think you should talk to your advisor first. They can give you some insight on what to expect from engineering, rigor, career outlook, day-to-day life of engineers, etc. If, after all of that, you are interested in engineering, see if your advisor can point you to the right person who can help you get in to the intro class.</p>