Future UIUC Student Interested in Elec. Engineering

Hello,

I am a future undergraduate attending UIUC in the Fall as an Electrical Engineering student. I was just curious about anyones experience as an EE major or an engineering major in general. I am a bit nervous and having second thoughts on whether or not I can handle the workload of the course. So far, I would have to take prerequisite courses like Calculus since my high school didn’t offer AB or BC. Same with Calculus Based Physics as well.

However, I’m currently in AP Physics 2 and I completely fell in love with E&M, though it some concepts are rather difficult to wrap my head around. However, I heard EE will deal mostly with waves depending which branch you choose to pursue.

My D who is a senior UIUC engineer has told me that engineering is tough work. However, it is a collaborative environment. The calculus and physics and required courses freshman take have free tutoring thru C.A.R.E. While there are students who have a tough time and switch out, there are many who stay. She has done well and has learned both in and out of the classroom. Engineering at UIUC has been a great fit for her. Best wishes to you.

@mybstnw
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I don’t believe I’ll drop out of engineering if the work becomes unbearable, possibly switch focus for either Material Science and Engineering or Software since I’m familiar with a few coding languages. It’s nice to know that UofI has a nice support tutoring center for students. I’ll try to utilize the it and some of the students as much as possible. Might I ask what engineering discipline did your daughter decided to pursue?

@RandomRollarrr
IE is her major. She chose it when she applied and will graduate this semester:) In talking to fellow IE summer interns from other universities, she learned that UIUC requires more math and science and computer science than the majority of IE programs out there. As a result, there’s no question that all of the engineering disciplines at UIUC are solid!

Sounds like you’ll have many options where it’s EE, Materials Science or Software. That’s great! And there’s so many different extra curricular activities to become involved in if you’d like.

Also, the tutoring is through the program I mentioned above and it’s held in the library. She said she had peers and friends who came in with varying levels of high school math and sciences so you will not be alone! I just asked her since she is home for Spring Break. Feel free to PM us with any other questions!