<p>Hi everyone. Can you tell me what the Engineering classes are like for girls? Would you say students tend to collaborate or work individually?</p>
<p>mamarama-
As a soon to be second-semester freshman at Bucknell, I have only had one engineering course so far (ENG 100) which introduces you to the different engineering majors that Bucknell offers and encourages people to work together in small groups. This course also has a capstone-esque project the enables your group to build a working "gizmo" designed to help teach students in local schools different concepts of science and engineering. All of the professors are very helpful and I have not had ANY problems with being a female engineer at Bucknell. If you still have concerns, I suggest you sign up to attend the SWE (Society of Women Engineers) Accepted Student Welcome which should be held on Friday, April 11, 2008 and is planned to coincide with Bucknell's Admission Day on Saturday, April 12, 2008.</p>
<p>Engineering at bucknell is actually not that competitive between students as the students do tend to work together and do group studying. Even the ones that do study by themselves (like me) will help out other people when asked. And as mentioned in the previous post, the professors are very friendly and approachable and it isn't difficult to talk to them one-on-one if you need to. You can just drop in for a chat if they are free, and they are happy to talk to you. My electrical engineering class is 20% girls. But girls don't seem to go for EE too much. there are a lot more girls in Chemical & Mechanical Engineering in my year. If you want to do engineering, then go for it. the atmosphere at bucknell is more relaxed than at other engineering schools, but you learn just as well.</p>
<p>by the way, ENGR 100 is the 1st semester engineering course but that is actually divided into 3 sub-courses. 1 course/project each from 3 engineering disciplines of your choosing. I had Electrical, Mechanical and Civil as my choices. Each sub-course ends with a project, and you do get a good introduction to the different engineering majors, before you officially declare what major you want to be. for example, I came in as Mechanical, but switched to Electrical based on my ENGR 100 experience (and i don't regret it at all). </p>
<p>One thing i will point out is that engineering by its nature is a tough subject, and the courses will naturally get tougher as you go along. however, as i said, it may be easier to do engineering at bucknell because the atmosphere is more relaxed and people will help if you're in a tough spot.</p>
<p>I'd bet those classes are precisely the same for girls as they are for boys, don't you think?</p>