<p>Hi everyone, I will be going to college (Texas A&M G-d willing) this coming year and I had a few questions.</p>
<ol>
<li>I want to take a large amount of math courses. Do I get to decide which math/physics courses I take?</li>
<li>What are some engineering options to double major in ME that can provide me with versatility that has some overlap?</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks
Kenny</p>
<p>Edit: What calculator/laptop should I be getting for college and hopefully grad school?</p>
<p>you want to double with ME? are you originally a math/physics major? </p>
<p>and dont worry about computers/calculators yet. esp not for grad school.</p>
<p>No as an undergrad. I am a high school senior right now.</p>
<p>You will choose which courses you take, but ultimately you will have to fulfill all of those that are required by your major. You will be given a little leeway in some areas to choose your specialty but not much. But you will take a lot of math as an engineer whether you want to or not, so don’t worry too much about that.</p>
<p>For double majoring, let’s get a couple things straight. First of all, engineering courses are hard. Expect to spend some time in school if you want ME + something else. Second, as an engineer you are already shouting at employees that you’ve got serious math and analytical skills, so it is fairly broad in and of itself. You might take programming classes which can benefit you in engineering and can help you find employment outside of engineering. But I don’t think it is necessary or advisable to tack on another major unless it is something you are really interested in.</p>
<p>Other people have suggested getting a graphing calculator that can handle calculus and a scientific for classes that bar the big calculators. I got a TI-83 which is only slightly less expensive, and it is really not much more useful than a scientific. As for laptops… I think they are overrated. Unless you need to cart around data or papers, it is not a big help.</p>
<p>One more thing: Go Longhorns!</p>
<p>the only major that overlaps “well” with mech e would probably be material science, maybe chemical engr.
there are plenty of other fields that have aspects that well, but not the whole major.
ie. electrical engr. systems/signals and control systems could overlap very well, but semiconductor physics is a bit of overkill. </p>
<p>a math minor might be useful, but don’t force it. generally, if you need a math skill, your school should teach it to you. in mech engr, though, the two biggest fields you could always learn more about are Partial differential and numerical analysis. if you took real math courses in this field the supplement your engr degree, that would make sense. </p>
<p>and i dont know about your school, but at mine, you don’t need a calculator. a lot of my classes have become entirely symbolic in the math, so calculators are useless.
(ie. a block of mass M is falling with gravity g a distance l, etc)</p>
<p>and if you want to take a lot of math courses, just take a lot of math courses though. if you find abstract algebra interesting, take it! although as a engr major, you probably wont have a lot of “free” electives. you might have to displace classes meant for GEs with your free electives. then over summer, make up those GEs or use ap credit.</p>