Difficulty of This Schedule

<p>Calculus 3
Enriched Physics with Calc 1
Professional Writing for Engineers
Intro to Electrical Engineering
Sociology</p>

<p>I was a 4.0 GPA student in High school, never got an A- in my life, only straight A's, but I am incredibly nervous about pursuing my degree in Electrical Engineering. I hear that if you don't get a 3.0 GPA you will basically be working at McDonalds for the rest of your life.... this is causing some serious pressure on me to do well. How hard is that schedule for a freshman and how hard is it for an Electrical Engineer to maintain at least a 3.4-3.5 GPA? I am just incredibly nervous....</p>

<p>Seems fairly straight forward first quarter freshman schedule, I would say overall pretty easy. And the below 3.0 GPA thing is not true at all. When it comes to getting jobs the GPA is not even the most important thing, previous work experience and/or personal connections are weighted way more.</p>

<p>You’ll be fine</p>

<p>Are you really ready for Calc 3? The rest of it is standard Freshman stuff.<br>
GPA does count. Don’t let anybody kid you. The big name places get the top grads and the under 2.7 people end up working for the place that just makes the bearings or some other fairly simple component. You have to be in the 2.1 - 2.2 range to be stuck at McDonalds, but you would be in management rather than flipping burgers. Plenty of “yeah I graduated” engineers go into something entirely different and do very well. I can’t tell you how many announce in my alumni magazine that they have gotten a teaching degree or gone into the ministry. Not always because their grades suck either. Sometimes it is just about the work.</p>

<p>Yea I feel that I am ready for calc 3, I am pretty good at math. I am shooting for a 3.3-3.5 because I want to either go to grad school or get a good job, how hard do you think it is to get a 3.5 in electrical engineering? I know I am gonna study my ass off and if it means I wont have a life (even though I am at University of Florida, a great place to meet new people), then I will sacrifice my social life to keep the grades up. I just dont want to get into a major that is going to put me way over my head in work and stress.</p>

<p>I think you’re being overly nervous about your schedule (Isn’t this like your 4th thread on the same thing??). You’re schedule is definitely doable and if you put in a little effort you can get the 4.0 your first semester AND have a social life. </p>

<p>EE is hard but if you’ve been a 4.0 student your entire life then you should be able to adjust accordingly. Work experience is an important factor for obtaining a job after graduation, probably more so than GPA.</p>

<p>I have a friend that’s an EE student (at your school) with a ~2.9 ish GPA. He was able to get an internship with a local company in the spring and this fall is pursuing a co-op with GE. He’s slipped up a little in his earlier classes, but with a little hard work anything is doable. </p>

<p>I think you’ll be fine, just check out your classes within the next week and see if you can handle them.</p>