I’m wondering if anyone call tell me about this club. Is it difficult to get in? Do they go overseas and volunteer or is it mostly fundraising? Does anyone know anything about any other engineering clubs and / or engineering clubs for women?
I have a DD14 at UF now (Industrial and System Engineering, ISE), so I may be able to answer a few questions.
First, as a rule, it’s easy to join almost any clubs, they aggressively seek members. It may be a bit more selective for design teams, or for those selected to compete in competitions…etc. Membership usually comes with requirements. For example, Engineers without Borders(EBW) require you participate in some fund raising (a key facet of the club), such as selling drinks at one of the UF home football games. Other than fundraising, UF’s EBW also makes (optional) trips abroad (which requires the fund raising and the support of partners).
UF’s engineering without Borders website. Check out the application for the Bolivia team project.
My DD14 has some friends that have participated in EBW and done a trip and really enjoyed it. She’s thinking of doing something “new” next year (fall 2017) and this may be it.
Of course, UF has a very active SWE group. You earn “participation” points by attending meetings, events, volunteering, etc. As a member, you have to earn a set amount of points. My daughter was active her freshman year, and plans on getting back into it her senior year (and attend the national conference, which I hear is great for interviewing and landing internships). As a freshman, I would highly recommend attending some meetings and making some friends.
My DD14 is currently an officer in Phi Sigma Rho, a social sorority for women in engineering.
Phi Sigma Rho is great for someone who’s looking for a much more social club. It can be more of a time commitment than SWE, but much less (time and money) than a PanHellenic sorority. It’s really a big part of her support group, with members forming study groups and supporting each other as they strive to excel in engineering. PSR does meets and greets in the fall, but rush in the spring.
Other than SWE and PSR, she gets involved in industry/major specific groups. In her case, the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and Alpha Pi Mu (IE honor society).
When she’s a senior, she really wants to get involved with an IPPD project. Design teams (UF has several) are fun, and look great on your resume.
Between the rigorous engineering curriculum and these clubs, it can sometimes feel like drinking water out of a fire hose. This week is UF’s Career Showcase, so while studying for test, she’s trying to attend the fair, schedule interviews, and go to career workshops.
https://www.crc.ufl.edu/students/events-and-programs/career-showcase/
She should try out a few clubs, they go a long ways to helping a student really “engage” with campus, and helps prepares them for the future…
Thank you so much for all the helpful info!
How does DD feel about the size of the school being so large?
Doesn’t really have a problem with it. Parking? Yes, but the size? nope. Once you create your circle of friends, and get into your major, it really doesn’t seem that large.
Her major is one of the larger engineering programs, based on enrollment, and she is a bit jealous of friends who are in the smaller programs, like Materials Engineering or Nuclear Engineering. In those programs you get to know ALL of your peers and most of the professors. For comparison, Nuclear Engineering has 27 juniors and they all take the same classes together (they got a “band of brothers” thing going on…), while ISE has 105, and ME (the largest) has 252. However, she’s made plenty of friends and always has 3 or 4 in each of her engineering classes.
http://profiles.asee.org/profiles/6790/screen/20?school_name=University+of+Florida
I asked my daughter to take a fairly light load her first semester (13 or 14 credits), so she would have time to adjust and to join several clubs and start making friends. That first semester, away from home, is always hardest.
@Gator88NE Thanks again for all the helpful info. I really appreciate it! Of course, we don’t even know if she’ll get into to UF but it’s her first choice in the “affordable” school category. Really, her only concern is that the school is so big but you make a lot of good points. What about the class sizes and the ability to get to know your professors?
The problem with large public research universities, is that there isn’t much hand holding. You really have to be proactive and reach out for support, get involved in undergraduate research or just to get to know your professors. I highly recommend going to office hours, even if you just have a few questions, and, if available, they often hire graders for classes. But it isn’t easy to make any type of connection, until you start taking your major’s core classes, usually as a junior.
As an engineer, class size shows up in the large auditorium classes, Calc 1-3, Physics 1-2, and Chem. They do have a breakout session, each week with a TA. What really helped my daughter get through those classes was Study Edge.
Other than the large into classes, the classes start getting much smaller by the time you’re taking junior level classes.
FYI: This letter was just sent out…
http://ewbufl.org/
Facebook: “UF-Engineers-Without-Borders-Bolivia-Project”
http://www.youtube.com/ewbuf
https://twitter.com/ewb_uf
https://ufl.collegiatelink.net/organization/EWBUF