<p>Hello, I will be taking ENG 103 this summer and I have heard how awful it is. I was wondering if anyone has taken it in the summer or in the regular school year and how hard it was. I have taken 2 years of high school physics both honors and AP and I have 3 years of calculus. Thanks in advance! </p>
<p>Oops I meant ENGR 103 </p>
<p>I don’t know where you are getting info that this class is awful. Since you have taken quite advanced coursework in both physics and math, you will have little problem completing the work for this class. It is an introductory engineering class, which every engineering student at UA needs to take, regardless of their previous experiences, and some will find it somewhat pedestrian if they have had advanced coursework already. It will introduce you to the basics of this profession. While not necessarily a ‘weeder’ class (in terms of difficulty), it certainly might make some students re-think their decision to enter the engineering profession. Those students then give this course a bad rap? Have an open mind about the class and about the professor teaching it, and you will move on.</p>
<p>Uhhh . . . if you look at the ratings for this class on “Rate My Professor,” they’re less than glowing. Heck, they’re downright scary!</p>
<p>And, yes, I know that’s just a small sampling, so if any of your kids have taken the class and had a different reaction, please share!</p>
<p>I don’t know about this class in particular, but when checking out professors on rate my professor and other sites keep in mind that only a small sampling of students post. Don’t just check the professor but check which class in particular the review is for. Not all professors are good at teaching all classes. For instance a professor might dislike teaching the general intro class but be great at higher level specialized classes. Also check to see how old the reviews are… New professors need time to hone their craft.<br>
You can’t be afraid to take a class just because the professor has a bad rating, or is considered to give a lot of work and hard tests. If you go strickly by the ratings, you could miss out on some of the best classes at UA.
After all college is about challenging yourself.</p>
<p>who is the prof? Is it dr. T? she can be a bit of an airhead…going off-topic…but if you do the work you will get an A. both my kids had her and got As (and older son wasnt engineering oriented, which is why he changed to math major).</p>
<p>Summer prof is Monk (who comes highly recommended - most reviews fault the curriculum instead of her). Fall 2014 profs are still TBD.</p>
<p>
But that’s the OP’s concern, isn’t it? And, if I recall correctly, that’s what I saw in the reviews for the other prof’s teaching that class - the reviewers HATED the curriculum!</p>
<p>RateMyProfessor is a rating of the professor, not the curriculum or the class. A good professor will be able to help students through the worst curriculum, and Monk’s reviews reflect that. There are a couple of classes at UA within Engr that seem to draw a lot of criticism, and perhaps ENGR 103 is (becoming) one of those. The OP should have little trouble with this curriculum or this professor or this class, because of OP’s advanced work, so OP’s concerns and fears should be assuaged. There were 14 regular sessions and 10 honors sessions of this class in Fall 2013 (i.e., 1 year ago when this curriculum was introduced). There were nearly 1000 students taking this class Fall 2013, and another ~350 students took it Spring 2014, for a total of 1400 students (ENGR 103 replaced the 3, 1-2 credit classes, which used to be offered separately…and, FWIW, students used to complain about those classes as being huge time-sucks). Serious students will do just fine with this class.</p>
<p>The advice offered on RMP.com is still valid: study, come prepared, do some self-teaching if necessary, get help if needed, and keep on top of the class. Engineering is a difficult major and a challenging career. Sounds like ENGR 103 is not a cake-walk. No student should expect it to be, just because it is an introductory class. Students with real issues can & should voice their concerns about the engineering curriculum to the appropriate staff in the Eng’g Dept.</p>
<p>Are the honors sections of ENGR103 generally better regarded than the regular sections?</p>
<p><a href=“and%20older%20son%20wasnt%20engineering%20oriented,%20which%20is%20why%20he%20changed%20to%20math%20major”>quote</a>.
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<p>@mom2collegekids, how long did it take your older son to figure out engineering wasn’t for him? I understand this is a common phenomenon at a lot of universities, even among strong math students. Is math in the College of Arts & Sciences the typical direction students like him head in, or do a lot of kids opt for more “practical” majors like accounting or MIS? Were his advisors helpful to him once he realized he didn’t want to be an engineer?</p>
<p>Also, did he have to pay back the $2500 engineering scholarship he received that first year because he switched out?</p>
<p>We specifically arranged for our son to meet with representatives from the CAS precisely because he’s not sure if engineering is for him. We were very impressed with both schools and it really helped seal the deal.</p>
<p>Many students change their majors along the way, those who start out pre-med are weeded out by organic chemistry, prospective nursing students dont make the gpa requirement and other students develop a secondary interest that then takes precedence. The “idea” of doing something like being a doctor or an engineer doesn’t always quite live up to the reality. Sometimes students don’t realize what their original major would entail or what type of work whould be required. There are all types of reasons why students change or add to their original majors.</p>
<p>Persoanally, I believe that It is hard for any student to know exactly what he/she wants to do upon entering college. They simply don’t have the experiences upon which to base this lifelong decision. That is not to say that they don’t have an inkling or a certain desire, but their plans may and often do change. After all, in my opinion that is certainly what college is about…change and growth. There are many roads that will lead to the same end and It is sometimes fortunate to take an unexpected detour.</p>
<p>By the way, I have never heard of anyone having to pay back the engineering stipend if they change their major.</p>
<p>Thanks, @robotbldmom! Part of what made Alabama so appealing to my kid was that he felt he could do anything there and wouldn’t be limited to just one particular program. He was looking for strong engineering but with maximum “flexibility” if he changes his mind. </p>
<p>One will not have to pay back the engineering scholarship awarded for past semesters or the semester they change to a non-engineering major. The terms of the scholarship only state that the student has to be majoring in engineering or computer science that semester. </p>
<p>Students who switch out of engineering switch to a variety of majors. Many switch over to the business school, particularly quantitative majors such as finance, economics, and MIS. The business school also offers double majors which include mathematics. Physics and mathematics through the College of Arts and Sciences are also popular majors for those who decided not to major in engineering. I also know some engineers who became philosophy majors.</p>
<p>no one has to pay back engg money if they change majors in another semester. (my older son never got that 2500 cuz it wasnt offered back then)</p>
<p>He is extremely strong in math, but he (unlike younger son) just doesn’t have an engineering brain. he realized that after the (old-style) freshman engg class.</p>
<p>ENGR 103. Engineering Foundations. 3 sem. hrs.</p>
<p>Introductory course for students in all engineering disciplines that provides the basic skills required for engineering with an emphasis on problem solving, sketching, teaming, oral and written technical communication, and the design process.
Prerequisite(s): MATH 112 and MATH 113; or MATH 115
Prerequisite(s) with concurrency: MATH 125 or MATH 126 or MATH 145 or MATH 146.</p>
<p>neither of my kids hated this class (they did have the old version, but i doubt it changed much). My older son who changed to Math still got an A in this class even though he realized that engg wasnt for him.</p>
<p>what particularly are some kids hating (and do these kids continue in engg).</p>
<p>the class is supposed to give kids a taste of each of the various engg disciplines with hands-on group activities. </p>
<p>Any opinions on the differences between the regular and honors sections? Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>Despite what I saw here on CC, when my son was at his Avanti registration meeting, the Avanti engineering students told my son that he should take it honors and it was an “Easy A”. Not sure if these were sophomores who actually tookTHIS class or if they were juniors (the 3 classes the year before that made up this one 3 credit classes definitely were easy as my CS student breezed through them.) My freshman son did sign up for the honors section, but he has had many engineering classes in high school already so hopefully this is just a review for him. </p>
<p>Engr 103 is NOT an “easy A”. At least how it was last Fall, the time commitment, level of difficulty, math background needed, etc., was significantly more than the 3 1-hour engineering classes it replaced. I think many of the Fall 2013 freshman were lulled in to a false sense of security based on what upperclassman said about the previous 1 hour classes. </p>
<p>It is important to go into this class with the mindset of working hard and being very on top of the reading, projects, and problem sets right out of the box. In my son’s Honors class, the class average on tests/homework/quizzes etc was consistently in the low 70’s. Near as I could tell there was no curve at the end. </p>
<p>Having said that, I think it is an excellent class to introduce freshman to “real engineering” classes. The level of neatness/formatting/detail required in project reports and homesork/test problems was excellent prep/training for engineering work.</p>
<p>Well said, GAMomto4!</p>
<p>@robotbldmom I love your description of the college years. It is about discovery and there is more than one road that leads to the same end. 
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