<p>Hey satn87. I think engineering students who do not have AP English credits must do an english course as the elective right?</p>
<p>satn-</p>
<p>are engineering majors now required to take a foundation seminar? when i enrolled the first semester requirements for engineers were calculus, physics, that survey engineering course, and a humanities/social science. they did not take foundation seminars. id be very surprised as that would be a lot of work for a first semester student.</p>
<p>at that time first year english was also required for engineers (taken either first or second semester).</p>
<p>if this has changed, please let me know! id hate to provide false information in the future.</p>
<p>how generous is bucknell with financial aid? and is it near or in a big city?</p>
<p>I just completed my freshman year as an engineering major. First semester freshman engineers will take Calculus, Physics, Engineering 100, and an elective. Engineering 100 serves as the foundation seminar for engineering students. If the student is in a residential college, their elective will be a foundation seminar for that college. </p>
<p>As far as English goes, engineers are still required to take an english class, and many take it first semester. I got out of taking an english class because I got credit for AP English in high school (4 or 5 on the test) and I took a W1 class (the foundation seminar for the environmental residential college) first semester. Just getting credit for AP english or just taking a W1 class doesn't get you out of it, but having both together does. Or at least that is what I understand. It might have changed since last year, so I'm sorry if what i'm saying is no longer true.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if what ericatbucknell said about first semester not being tough for engineers is true. Maybe if a junior engineering student took those classes, they would think that they were easy. As with all freshman, the transition into college is a challenge in itself. I did not have a strong Physics class in high school, so physics was a challenge for me, while it was less challenging for those who had had several years of AP physics in high school. I had one friend remark "We covered everything I did in a year of physics in the first lecture." The class is fast-paced, but the professors are extremely helpful and accessible. Calculus depends a lot on the professor, but it's a change from high school calculus. I got a 5 in both AB and BC calculus, but calc 3 was one of the most challenging classes I have ever taken. Engineering 100 is made up of several projects, most of which are group projects. You will not have homework every night, but there will be a big project due every few weeks. Many students will agree with me that group projects often present challenges of their own. Basically, a lot of the challenge has to do with your high school education. If you had to work hard in high school and had very solid physics or calculus classes in high school, you will probably have an easier time transitioning into college classes. </p>
<p>mojojojo69, Bucknell is in Lewisburg, PA, which is not a big city at all. It is not near a big city either, although the school offers frequent trips to New York, and a few trips to Philly and Washington.</p>
<p>calc 3 is one fun class at bucknell, that i can confirm! its hard, and if youre not very well prepared you can be looking at a 'c' or worse very easily, especially if there are a couple of evil math majors (like myself) killing the curve on every exam. unless youre very confident in your abilities, id honestly recommend retaking calc 2.</p>
<p>also, i didnt intend to imply that the first semester curriculum for engineers was easy. rather, i meant quite the opposite. i couldnt imagine anyone approving a plan that would have engineers taking an ADDITIONAL class (a foundation seminar) their first semester. as i said, that would be A LOT of work. as harasbunk pointed out, they have a lot of work first semester as it is.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Engineering 100 serves as the foundation seminar for engineering students.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Hey harasbunk, so we do not have to choose a foundation semiar other than Engineering 100? But in the course registration we are required to choose three foundation seminars. Was it the same to you last year?</p>
<p>are you sure that the selection of 3 foundation seminars isn't just for the arts and science students? I wouldn't think that they would change something like that, but I really don't know. Give Bucknell a call and ask them. They are extremely helpful...I know my dad probably called them 10 times between when I got in and when I finally got to Bucknell and he always commented how nice and helpful the people were.</p>
<p>ah, ericatbucknell said that he would recommend taking calc 2 again. </p>
<p>I was wondering about that when I went to my admitted students day. I spoke with a senior engineering student and asked him what he would recommend. He told me that he would AP out of as much as possible and go straight into calc 3. He said it would free up your schedule (which it did) so I would be able to take more engineering electives in my later years, do research in my later years, and have more flexibility if I wanted to study abroad.</p>
<p>This past semester I was trying to figure out my schedule for the next three years with my engineering advisor and APing out of so many classes HAS given me greater flexibility with my schedule and opened up many options, but he commented on my calc 3 grade saying that he wishes he could tell students to just take calc 1 in high school and to learn the more difficult calculus here. He said that every year he sees students who did wonderfully in calculus in high school and who do extremely well in all their other classes, but cant seem to get the same high grades in calc 3. </p>
<p>So I guess I have mixed advice. Like ericatbucknell said, if you are extremely confident in your abilities, go ahead and take calc 3. I had a couple freshman engineers in my calc 3 class who set the curve on nearly every test and quiz. If youre going to AP out of a bunch of other classes, you might want to take it I found out that when you free up too much time, you run into issues. It really depends on what is important to you, getting calculus out of the way or possibly getting a better grade. </p>
<p>This really is only directed at engineering students and Im sorry its so mixed.</p>
<p>how generous is bucknell to minorities in respect to financial aid offers?</p>
<p>im not sure i can think of any other courses for which i would make a similar 'retake' blanket statement. i used a ton of ap credits, myself, and was probably one of the reasons the university decided to stop accepting more than eight external courses for credit. im definitely not against using them in general for the precise reason harasbunk outlined: flexibility. in short, calc 2 is just the exception to the rule.</p>
<p>i think the problem occurs when students come into calc 3 without a very good theoretical understanding of exactly how and why everything works in two dimensions, something college calculus stresses more than the ap curriculum. the math and conceptual understanding needed to be successful in calc 3 are challenging enough for most. having to struggle with exactly why a derivative or integral is written out as it is (so you can add a few dimensions) on top of that is simply too much to ask.</p>
<p>but enough of that!</p>
<p>mojojojo-</p>
<p>i really dont know enough about bucknells financial aid policies to answer your question fully. however, the universitys need-based packages for all students are quite competitive, so thats the worst youre going to do. on top of that you should check out bucknells 'above need' aid program. as a minority you would likely be at an advantage for a presidential or deans scholarship ($12500x4 and $10000x4 above need, respectively) and may also be in very good shape for a university 'campus enrichment' scholarship, which is $6000x4 above need. i doubt you would be awarded both, however.</p>
<p>the university also has numerous privately endowed scholarships, many of which are earmarked for underrepresented groups. these are applied for en masse (one application) upon matriculation and vary greatly in size (i had a $2000 annual award and a one time $500 award this year). an important consideration here is that bucknell will not reduce the value of your university grants if you earn outside scholarhip monies. your personal/family contribution will be reduced first, then the university will eliminate your loan eligibilities, and only then will the university begin taking away your university grant monies. in other words, you get to keep everything, but they wont pay you to attend. </p>
<p>bucknells scholarships and grants page: <a href="http://www.bucknell.edu/Admissions_Aid/Financial_Aid/Types_of_Aid/Scholarships_and_Grants/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bucknell.edu/Admissions_Aid/Financial_Aid/Types_of_Aid/Scholarships_and_Grants/index.html</a></p>
<p>wow thanks! that was really helpful, does Bucknell compete with other financial aid offers? just curious...</p>
<p>mojo-</p>
<p>sorry that i somehow missed your question. i am pretty sure bucknell does not have an official policy on matching/beating other schools financial aid offers. however, am aware of cases in which they have matched or beaten offers for top students.</p>
<p>Eric, how would you define a "top student?' I'm also wondering if they try to match financial aid pkgs...My d has 690V/660M/730W; NM Commended student; A+ weighted; ACT 29 last yr/took it again this June/12 AP courses by the time she graduates next year/top 1% of class of 545/started Japanese club/NHS member/vp French club/tutors during the yr/ Think she stands a chance for $$$? Does Bucknell take into consideration what the student wants to major in?</p>
<p>lbp-</p>
<p>perhaps i should have been more specific. when i was admitted i approached the finaid office with an ivy league aid package in one hand and my best package (from colgate) in the other. half an hour later my best package was matched. i know two other people who had their packages matched/beaten as well; both has also been admitted to elite colleges. as such, i am aware of cases in which offeres have been matched or beaten for top students. thats really all i know!</p>
<p>times have changed, however, and 'above need' merit aid is now in full swing at bucknell. your daughtor might want to raise her sats 10 points! much of bucknells merit money is reserved for students with demonstrated need and consequently serves in much the same way as the matching process i recalled above (only better, since bucknells packages are competitive to begin with). does that mean the practice is no longer in place? i dont really know. it just means that policies, official or not, may have changed.</p>
<p>to the question of the consideration of a students major, i doubt that has much impact on either the admissions or academic merit scholarship process. however, your daughtor does seem as if she would be a very strong candidate for merit aid at bucknell if she qualifies for need and can get a qualifying score (either from her recent act or an sat retake) regardless of prospective major. </p>
<p>hope that helps. and good luck!</p>
<p>Eric- what's the policy on doing a dual major?Does it take 5 years to complete? I read on the bucknell website that they staryed a new program called management for engineers. Can you tell me anything about that?</p>
<p>satn-</p>
<p>unfortunately, your first questions do not have a simple, single answer. for liberal arts ba students it is very, very easy to complete a double major in four years (i did it in three!). its still relatively easy for most bs candidates but would be quite difficult for an engineer without ap credits/summer coursework.</p>
<p>what i can say is that anyone who is considering a double major needs to sit down with his advisor and carefully go through the requirements for each program. if a course is going to be 'double counted' (used toward both majors) it is advisable to run the idea past both departments before proceeding. one of my friends (who triple majored) assumed everything would be okay... until he was told otherwise fall of senior year. fortunately, he got everything straightened out, but it was not a fun time.</p>
<p>also keep in mind that getting that extra major is not always terribly important. you can take accounting courses without being an accounting major, additional math courses without being a math major, et cetera... the only difference being how you will present your experience on your resume. in fact, i was told by both my advisor and a member of the career development staff that having several majors can often be detrimental in the job search process.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>to your question on the new joint degree management/engineering program, i know relatively little about it. it is a five year program that results in two degrees: a bachelors in the engineering discipline of the students choice and a bachelors in management for engineers. lehighs acclaimed 'integrated business and engineering' honors program also requires five years to earn both degrees (the four year version only yields the business degree).</p>
<p>the engineering & management webpage:
<a href="http://www.bucknell.edu/Admissions_Aid/Department_Fact_Sheets/Engineering_Management.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bucknell.edu/Admissions_Aid/Department_Fact_Sheets/Engineering_Management.html</a>
a nice article on the program:
<a href="http://www.bucknell.edu/News_Events/Publications/Bucknell_World/April_2006/Bucknell_Express/Bucknell_Offers.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bucknell.edu/News_Events/Publications/Bucknell_World/April_2006/Bucknell_Express/Bucknell_Offers.html</a></p>
<p>hope that helps!</p>
<p>Eric- thanks for the reply on dual majors. it cleared up a few things. I have another something to ask you. I received 3 brochures(?) yesterday on banks at lewisburg - mtbc, sovereignbank , M&T bank. Any suggestions on which one to go with?</p>
<p>satn-</p>
<p>i didnt establish a bank account in lewisburg so i cant speak first hand. however, if you are planning on establishing an account there, sovereign is the way to go. they have an atm on campus as well as branches downtown (walkable) and near walmart, making it by far the most convenient choice. i know little of the specific student plans, but i doubt they differ much: most are non-interest bearing with no required account balances and minimal fees.</p>
<p>one other thing to consider is the ease with which money can be deposited into a student account by parents. i stayed with my local bank for this reason... the occasional atm charges were a minimal price to pay for not having to establish a new account, my parents being able to deposit money into my account easily, et cetera.</p>
<p>Eric- thanks for the reply on banking. I will probably be going with sovereign. Here's another question that i have, though probably only an engineering major can answer this:</p>
<p>i saw that for engineering students, their required courses include ELEC 480 and ENGR 139/138, both of which are listed as W2 courses. Does that mean that both my W2 course requirements are taken care of & i don't have to take any more W2 courses through my electives?</p>
<p>satn-</p>
<p>youre welcome! and yep, that means youre set on w2s.</p>
<p>ideally, w2s are intended to be academic/professional writing courses for your field of study, so every major offers several courses that are writing intensive. it just happens that both of yours are also required.</p>