<p>After looking at some of the other posts regarding difficulty and coursework schedule, would anyone like to comment on the following suggested chemical engineering coursework schedule recommended for 1st year? </p>
<p>Suggested Schedule
FIRST YEAR-FALL HRS</p>
<p>MATH 1501 CALCULUS I 4
CHEM 1310 GENERAL CHEMISTRY 4
ENGL 1101 ENGLISH COMPOSITION I 3
BIOL 1510 BIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 4
WELLNESS 2</p>
<p>TOTAL SEMESTER HOURS = 17</p>
<p>FIRST YEAR-SPRING HRS</p>
<p>MATH 1502 CALCULUS II 4
CHEM 1311 INORGANIC CHEMISTRY I 3
CHEM 1312 INORGANIC CHEMISTRY LAB I 1
ENGL 1102 ENGLISH COMPOSITION II 3
PHYS 2211 INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS I 4
CS 1371 COMPUTING FOR ENGINEERS 3</p>
<p>That’s straight from the handbook, so your son has an advantage of taking that schedule with most freshman ChBE’s. </p>
<p>The first semester is a lot of class time (chem and bio lab, and 5 days / week of calculus), so he’ll definitely be busy, but it’s not that bad if he has previous exposure to chemistry, biology, and calculus. </p>
<p>That second semester is a little ambitious with Physics, CS, and Calc II together. What I would do is watch the first semester grades. If he does well (3.3+), go with that plan. If he does OK the first semester (around 3.0), then maybe drop Physics 2111 and add Econ 2100/Psych 1101 (this has the obvious disadvantage of pushing back some things from the schedule: Physics 2111 to Fall 2010, Physics 2112 to Spring 2011, then probably Diff Eq to Fall 2012 - but doesn’t “mess up” the schedule too much). If he does poorly in the first semester, then drop Physics 2211 and take just 14 hours (which probably adds a semester to his studies).</p>
<p>I can’t remember - is your son coming in with credit? The ChBE curriculum is brutal in 8 semesters with no AP credit.</p>
<p>He is taking AP physics, chemistry and calculus. </p>
<p>Took Biology his jr year, but it was not AP and received an A. He decided to not take the AP tests in the other classes because he did not want to test out and find out later he should have take the courses for review and preparation for other GT classes. He has received A’s in all of the AP classes. The only class which has been a bit of a “push” has been AP cal. but he still has received an A. </p>
<p>Based on this recommended schedule by GT, how many hours outside of class might he expect to spend per class to prepare? Lets say he is an average or below average student at GT. How might he expect to do grade wise and time required to work outside of class? This may be a worse case scenario, but its better than assuming he is able to walk on water and handle the classes without difficulty.</p>
<p>The schedule you have above will work for an above average student. If he’s an average or below average student, I would scale back both semesters: drop health in the first semester, then drop physics in the second and take wellness then. His GPA is not very robust that first year (one bad grade can doom it), and if he’s going to intern or co-op, you don’t want to put him below a 3.0 and restrict his opportunities.</p>
<p>If he can test out of Chem I, I suggest he does that (he’ll have much more flexibility). If he’s having trouble with Calc, I wouldn’t test out of it - Calc II is a killer. I also wouldn’t test out of physics. The real valuable AP credits are for English I, US Government, and foreign languages.</p>
<p>Sounds as if the schedule is manageable, but…a student has to be very focused and ready to work. I have some followup questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Based on your experience, besides applying oneself to these classes, what are the critical study habits a student should apply to be successful?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there any sample tests or examples of homework from these classes for him to view? It would help him determine how much he feels he can handle. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In high school, he has been an outstanding and very successful student. What is considered below average, average or above average in high school may be very different at GT - He is motivated to do well at GT but its difficult to judge his potential ability without really knowing the difficulty and amount of work.</p>
<p>Not every professor removes the class website after the term is over. For example, I used the search feature on gatech.edu to find a webpage for Math 1502: [Math</a> 1502 - Calculus II](<a href=“http://www.math.gatech.edu/~harrell/1502/]Math”>Math 1502 - Calculus II) . I use this usually to preview what kind of content is actually learned in courses.</p>
<p>As they say, at GT, it’s not about IQ, it’s about ‘I do’. Plenty of people graduated from GT in the last 12 years with SATs in the 1000’s and 1100’s (on 1600 scale), some with honors, or even highest honors. It’s good to be smart, but it’s much better to have a work ethic and some resilience.</p>
<p>Looks a lot like everyone elses first year schedule ;)</p>
<p>I’d skip on taking cs1371 though…save that class for your 2nd or 3rd year…its not imperative you take it right away (15 credits feels a lot better than 18).</p>
<p>These are all great responses. Son is leaning toward Chem E, but still has interest in Computer E. The responses have raised more questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If a student goes in his first year “undeclared engin.” how many of the classes will apply to both Chem E and Computer E? </p></li>
<li><p>Also, how soon would he really need to declare his major to still graduate “hopefully” in four years?</p></li>
<li><p>There is a BS and MS combination option in both Chem E and Computer E. If he wanted to pursue this option, when does a student need to apply? If he decided to spread out taking some of the courses such as cs1371 to another year, it appears it will also potentially extend his time to graduation. If this is the case, maybe he should just plan on going for his Masters too. Any comments?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Skylark, most people don’t graduate engineering at GT in 4 yrs. I think 4.5 to 5 is avg. In order for your child to be successful at tech he needs to be able to prioritizes his schedule. Your son will probably always feel likes he’s behind in his work because he will always have assignments/studying to do. This will probably go on until his last semester. The best study habit your son should have is to make sure he gets on top of things early so that they don’t pile up, because things will pile in a hurry.</p>
<p>I graduated in 4 years (8 semesters), so it’s possible.</p>
<p>That schedule above works for both CompE and ChBE in Fall, so that’s not a problem. In Spring, Chem 1311 and Chem 1312 are only required for ChBE, and not CompE. He really can’t delay those courses for ChBE (it would delay the O-Chem and P-Chem sequences), so realistically, he needs to chose by Spring 2010 to avoid “wasting” classes and delaying graduation.</p>
<p>In both majors, he would apply for the BS/MS program at the start of his Junior year.</p>
<p>Ok, this is beginning to show a pattern for recommended study.</p>
<p>The class schedule as recommended by GT is doable, but challenging.</p>
<p>Second semester in particular will be difficult. Classes which could be delayed to Soph. year are Wellness, Physics 2211 or perhaps cs1371 depending on how well he is doing 1st semester.</p>
<p>By Spring, he should narrow his focus in order to stay on track and to be able to complete in four years (hopefully).</p>
<p>Now, lets say he does want to do an internship or potentially apply for the grad program his junior year.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If he decides to take fewer classes in order to potentially achieve better grades, will taking fewer classes (such as forgoing, Wellness, Physics, or CS1371), impact his chances for an internship or applying to grad school?</p></li>
<li><p>Will he need CS1371 if he decides to do computer engineering instead of chemical engineering?</p></li>
<li><p>How receptive are the professors in having Freshmen ask questions when they are trying to decide a major? </p></li>
<li><p>He is signed up for Freshman Experience. There is a 1 or 2 credit course that is part of this program. Can this Freshman Experience course be substituted for Wellness? Could he take the Wellness course as a distant learning class?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As you doubtless know, interviewing skills and connections play big roles in getting internships. Setting that aside, it would largely depend on which classes haven’t been taken by the time your son applies for an internship. Simply taking fewer classes doesn’t by itself negatively impact the chances.</p>
<p>I don’t see why taking fewer classes would at all affect grad school admissions, especially if it’s only during the first year.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>All engineering majors require CS 1371.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>GT 1000 – the freshman experience course – isn’t required for students in Freshman Experience, and it’s not required for graduation. Wellness, on the other hand, is required for graduation. As for distance learning, I’m not totally sure on this. I can only tell you that it is possible to take wellness at another college and transfer it; I did that last summer.</p>
<p>No. He will need to take those classes anyway, but for internships, all that really matters is 1) GPA, 2) major, 3) work experience (any experience in the workplace is good - even lifeguarding), and 4) how well he interviews. His salary and projects will be based on his year in school.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes. He’ll need CS1371 AND CS1372 for CompE. For ChBE, he just needs CS1371.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It depends on the person, but we get it all the time, even from non-freshman, so it’s not a problem. Each school also has a “career counselor” who can also be very helpful. If you want some references for ChBE, he can PM me when he’s on campus and I can introduce him to someone over there. I don’t have too many contacts in CompE, though. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, FE can’t be taken in place of wellness. It’s not really a class, though. There is 0 work in the Psych 1000 class - you show up and listen then talk about your feelings. It’s sort of like going to a group psychiatrist. Your homework is things like “get a picture with the highest-level person at Georgia Tech that you can get”.</p>
<p>It’s extremely rare for a company to pull a transcript before the first or second interview. Usually, the recruiters are looking for a certain major at a certain year in school (sometimes they’ll want a junior or higher, sometimes a sophomore or lower). </p>
<p>I did know of one case where a pharma company was looking for someone specifically to do a reactor design. They specifically wanted a student who had a B or higher in Process Kinetics and Reactor Design (which is a 4000 level course). That’s the only time I’ve specifically heard of that, though.</p>
<p>First, thank you all for the wonderful responses. The objective for getting feedback is prior to attending FASET, we thought it would be wise to get some “insider” info so he can ask the right questions when selecting courses for next year.</p>
<p>I like the idea of taking the Wellness class somewhere else and having the credits transferred. Not only could it lighten his schedule, but…if they accept the credits from an instate school (we are out of state) it will cost less:) I would be interested in knowing if there are other similar required courses he could take and transfer. This could be a real advantage if such an opportunity exists. It could save time and money.</p>
<p>GPBurdell thank you again for the detail responses. I will let him know about your offer to connect him with someone in the Chem E department via PM. Do you know if anyone will be around for FASET 2 - July 12 - 13 in the Chem E dept. who might be willing to discuss the program? If this is a possibility, it sure would be worthwhile before Fall semester begins.</p>
<p>I’ll have to see who is around this summer. In the summer, most faculty work from home or are out of town (either on personal vacation or traveling with a “Summer Abroad” program). If you could have him remind me a week or two out, I’ll send an email to see who is over there (and would be a good person to talk to).</p>