<p>hey, ive always been good at physics and math, and not only that, ive always loved them. i like chemistry a bit too, but not as much as physics, so i figured it would be good for me to go for engineering. the problem for me is what type of engineering. i thought electrical engineering and computer science were the things for me, but ive read a lot that eecs majors usually have prior experience, which i have none, beyond my ap physics and calculus classes. i guess i would fit into chemical engineering somehow, but the problem i have is that everyone else seems so much more experienced in the major they r choosing b4 they go to college, and already know a lot of info. i need help defining my major so that maybe i can increase my skills in that particular field this summer b4 i get to college. ne suggestions?</p>
<p>It is always a nice idea to increase your skills in the summer. However, you do NOT need to have prior experience in engineering to be accepted into a good engineering program. You can also go in Engineering Undeclared for your major and settle in on which engineering field you want during/after your first year. Don't worry.</p>
<p>As to ideas for related experience - are the Robotics ECs at your school? Are there some technology firms in your area where you could either job shadow (my S did this as part of hs Senior Transition Project) or seek a summer internship (paying job may be unlikely - or not, but perhaps they would allow you to intern).</p>
<p>A good idea for you would be a General Engineering degree, which prepares you well for any type of engineering, and then you can choose which field to specialize in later.</p>
<p>Ameer,</p>
<pre><code> Don't worry about prior experience, most engineers have none before they start their classes. The nice thing about engineering is that you can usually decide what type of engineering in your freshman year. Most programs have a pretty common freshman year, so you can change engineering majors pretty easily. When you get to your freshman year, make sure you ask some professors about different fields of engineering. By talking with some different professors I bet you can find the field of engineeering that is right for you.
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<p>thnx guys for the input, i appreciate it.</p>
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that you can usually decide what type of engineering in your freshman year.
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<p>Make sure that's actually true in your school. I know at Berkeley, you have get admitted into a certain specific engineering major as a freshman and it is not trivial to change it later. Every year, some MechE's and Civil E's try to switch into EECS and are denied.</p>
<p>ameer i'm in a similar position, although i'm a junior (i don't know what year you are)</p>
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that you can usually decide what type of engineering in your freshman year.
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<p>At cmu, you take two intro to engineering courses in your first semester and then you decide on a major.</p>
<p>Except, at CMU, the electrical and computer science major is more competitive than the other engineering majors, so you may not be able to major in it if you go in under a different major or engineering undecided. But, if you apply and are admitted to ECE, you can always switch to a different type of engineering.</p>
<p>I would get freaked out if I was in a major I did not like and be denied the chance to change the major.</p>
<p>NoobTakular, I think you misunderstood me. You are never denied the chance to change the major. But, there are certain majors that it very hard to switch into. (For example, ECE at CMU or the School of Computer Science at CMU). So, if you were to go in as a MechE, and you don't like it, that's fine- you can switch to CivE, or to the college of humanities and social sciences, or many other things. So, what I was suggesting, is if you are considering ECE, then apply there directly. Because it is easy to switch out, just not in.</p>
<p>aw man, thats not good. berkeley is the school im probably going to. now im worried.</p>
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I would get freaked out if I was in a major I did not like and be denied the chance to change the major.
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<p>I don't know if this comment was directed to me regarding Berkeley or to chocolatluvr88 regarding CMU, but if it was directed at me, then I would have to say that that's all part of the "fun" of being a Berkeley engineer. Every year, some Berkeley engineers do poorly enough to hate their major, try to switch out, and find out that they can't switch into any other major. That's because all of the other engineering majors are competitive to some degree. So even if you are in a highly demanded engineering major like EECS and you want to move to a less demanded one like Civil Engineering, you can get denied if your EECS grades aren't decent. That's because a lot of people try to switch into every engineering major every year, even the less demanded ones, and so when you try to switch, you are going to have to compete with all of those other people trying to get into the major (i.e. like physics majors trying to switch in, community college transfer trying to switch in, etc.). </p>
<p>So you might say that then you might want to switch to a liberal arts major in the Berkeley College of Letters & Science. Big problem - you also need good grades in order to switch colleges. Generally, you need at least a 3.0, and often times you need higher than that for L&S to take you. It is VERY easy to end up with far less than a 3.0 in engineering.</p>
<p>The upshot is that some people at Berkeley want to get out of their engineering majors and can't because nobody will take them. In fact, it's really rather ironic that this happens. People want to switch out because they're doing poorly, but the fact that they're doing poorly prevents them from switching out. So in essence, the reason why you want to get out is the reason why you have to stay in. Paging Joseph Heller.</p>