I am a junior mechanical engineering major at Cal Sate Northridge. Lately I have been having trouble keeping up with my undergraduate full time studies mainly because I have to work 30 hours a week while taking major classes. I plan on some point to stop working most likely my senior year for my final design project. However I am worried that attending part time will hurt me when applying to grad school. I have seen the effects of exhaustion and lack of sleep on me and, frankly I dont want to go through what i went again. I was in therapy for anxiety and depression this past yer (2016). Doctors have recommended me to slow down which I fully intend to. But, I would like to know if my opportunities will get hurt while doing so? Now, with this said, even though i only take around two courses per semester, these are courses like thermodynamics, multi-variable calculus, physics, etc, so I still have a pretty hard semester regardless, but i sleep more, which has been crucial in my recovery. I have a 4.0 GPA and I plan on attending USC for mechanical engineering graduate studies
Do not worry about this. When you apply to grad school, you will have plenty of opportunity to discuss your work experience, and what you have learned from putting yourself through college that way.
Follow your medical advice. Don’t try to take more classes than you can keep up with while maintaining the GPA you want to maintain. That GPA will matter a lot when it comes time to apply to grad school.