Freshman engineering courses

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

From my limited research it seems like every freshman engineering student takes pretty much the same classes: some level of calc, chemistry, engineering modules, and an elective. I have a couple questions.

  1. What do people normally take for their elective? A liberal arts course for distribution requirements? Or an engineering course more specific to their major? Or is it pretty much a mix?
  2. Could I take another course like physics that I haven’t been introduced to in HS yet? I’d really like the opportunity to see if I enjoy physics early on. It seems like I need 3 science courses with labs to get a degree in CS and its not clear if one has to be chem or if I need to take chem first semester.
  3. How much work is involved?/how much free time will I have?

Thanks in advance if anyone could weigh in on these!

2

With regard to physics, if engineering you will do the more intensive calc. based sequence, so I’m guessing you already have AB/BC or plan on taking them with physics which may or not be recommended. However, I’ll let the actual Vandy students fill you in on that one. I’m just giving a general caution.

3

@bernie12 I got a 5 on AB and I’m taking BC this year. I have a B+ in the class

4

Ok so in my calc class, everyone in the class had a 5 on BC calc. The average grade is a C+. Take that as you will.

5

@AnnieBot is it a good idea/can I take calc courses for which I already passed the AP requirement?

6

It is actually a terrible idea if things have remained the same since I took Calc 3 years ago (I’m a senior). The calc sequence becomes less and less of an attempt to weed people out as you progress along it. I say start with the highest Calc course you can and don’t look back.

7

Yes, you can take calc. courses if you passed the AP requirement, but always remember that upperlevels aren’t necessarily congruent with the intensity of say…calc. 2. Retaking it at Vandy may not offer some advantage over others who skipped but may instead just lower your GPA. Many students at places like Georgia Tech run into this dilemma as well

8

It also depends on the prof I think. Some profs are worse than others.

9
  1. It varies from person to person. Yes, generally you take chem, an appropriate math, intro to engineering, and some elective. I chose a technical elective, many of my friends chose a liberal arts elective. If you have no liberal arts AP credit, I would highly suggest taking a liberal arts elective so you can start knocking out that core.
  2. You could definitely take physics! I do not think CS majors need chem (I have a bunch of friends who are CS and none of them have taken chem), although several of them are in physics this semester. A word of caution though: many people struggle when they take physics here for the first time. How comfortable do you feel with calculus? A high level of comfort with algebra and calculus can make physics I a breeze.
  3. Honestly, it depends on how good of a student you are. First semester, I had a good deal of time: the engineering modules are a joke, generally speaking, chemistry was not that bad (although I totally messed up the final, rip my grade), math actually took the most time of all my classes, and my elective was not too bad either. Honestly, the majority of your time, since you're an engineer, will be spent studying. Problem sets do not become a huge deal until you hit upper level classes and they actually become challenging. So ultimately, the amount of time you spend is a function of your ability to retain information and skills.
10

Thanks so much for your help! @welphereigo

11

@XCjunior2016 No problem! If you have any other questions, let me know!

12

S2 is a 4th year CE/Math major. He had taken Calc BC and AP Chem in HS. First semester he took Physics 1, Multivariable Calc, Modules, Freshman Eng Seminar and Macro Econ. Said not much work involved in Modules or Seminar.