I recently submitted my SIR to UCLA as a ChemE major, and the more I hear about engineering workload, difficulty getting classes, and the fast paced quarter system, the more difficult and stressful everything seems. Will I be able to graduate in 4 years? I am also hoping to have some form of social life so I was wondering how hard that will be to manage. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
All engineering majors have 4 year plans without any ap credit. You will get out as long as you don’t fail classes. Theres a lot of social life. Many engineers are heavily involved in other clubs, sports, engineering related things, or even greek life. You’ll be fine. its an adjustment but if you balance your schedule and when you need to do work you do it, then you can have a very balanced social life.
@10s4life That makes me feel better. Thank you! I really appreciate it.
There are 44 classes you need to complete for the ChemE degree. 44 classes divided by 12 quarters = an average of 3.67 classes per quarter. More simply put, of your 12 quarters, you need to take 4 classes 7 times and 3 classes 5 times.
Every course you skip with AP credit is one less quarter where you have to take 4 classes. Every class you take in summer school is also one less quarter where you have to take 4 classes.
So let’s say you have a 5 on BC Calculus and also a 4/5 on English. You can skip Math 31A, 31B, and ENGCOMP 3. So that means you would only need to take 4 classes 4 times and can take 3 classes 8 times.
You have 4 GEs you need to take, so those 4 quarters you have to take 4 classes, you can plan it where the 4th class is a GE.
And that’s not even accounting for the possibility of taking a class or two in the summer.
Sorry, I meant you need to take 4 classes 8 times and 3 classes 4 times.
So skipping 3 classes with AP will mean you can take 4 classes 5 times and 3 classes 7 times.
@alicantekid I am planning to take calc BC, but is it a good idea to skip calc? I don’t want to be behind on any math classes i take afterwards.
Almost everyone who has a 5 on the BC will skip both 31A and 31B. It’s very common. If you’re confident about your knowledge of the subject, you’ll be fine.
@s3cret I have some tips for succeeding that are in a sticky at the top of the forum, you can get some ideas from that post. The real key for someone in a program like engineering is to keep up. A rule of thumb for many math/science classes is to spend 2-3 hours for every class hour outside of class studying, doing homework, doing extra problems to ensure you undertand (you can find books like the “Calculus Problem Solver” that are like SAT prep books for academic subjects). So this would be 6-9 hours outside of class for each math/science class you take. You can have fun and free time in engineering, but if you hang out all the time with kids in some other majors that have fun most of the quarter and then write a few papers at the end then you’ll be way behind.
Also be sure you are studying effectively. This summer read the book “Make it Stick” that covers strategies like distributed practice, self testing, etc. A lot of students study by re-reading the text a few times the day or so before the test & reviewing their homework. These are 2 approaches known to be ineffective.
As for taking Calc BC you might want to consider stategically not taking the test. If you take it and place out of 31A & B then you end up in 31C with all the other smartest kids. You will be off-quarter in math so you’ll have fewer class times to choose from. If instead you take 31A & B at UCLA then the material will be review so you’ll do better in class. For engineering you want to know calculus cold, so doing it one more time is valuable.
@mikemac I already signed up for calc BC before I knew where I was going, so I’m already committed to taking it. Would you still recommend trying to take 31A and B at UCLA? I took calc AB and BC over two years so I think I know the material decently well, although I know that a college class will be more in depth. Also, thank you for the advice! I’m willing to put in the work, I’m just a little intimidated by how smart everyone around me is and how fast the quarter system moves.
you should check with UCLA about the current rules, but at one time if you reported the score for an AP test you did not have a choice about receiving credit. If they give you credit for the class then you can’t retake it. As to whether to skip these classes if you pass the AP test its a personal choice. Me, I would not report the score. Others are perfectly happy to do the complete opposite.
@mikemac Thank you! I appreciate the help.
For Engineering, if you get a 5 on the BC you must skip 31A, but it’s your choice whether or not you want to skip 31B.
In the College, you must skip both if you get a 5 on the BC.
@alicantekid thank you! I think I probably will end up skipping 31B then. Also one last question if anyone could answer, do most people have enough time to work part time for a little bit?
I guess it depends on what you mean by “a little bit.” Your best-case scenario is getting an on-campus job, since they’ll work around your class schedule and you also don’t lose any time traveling to and from work if your job is on campus. Compare this to having a job in Santa Monica, you’ll probably lose more than an hour total just getting there and back.
If you do have a job, make sure you’re not losing the opportunity to get involved with the clubs and organizations, as that is the best way for you to get a lot of hands-on experience early (before you get to the more hands-on classes later on in your 3rd and 4th years). It’s a zero-sum game - every hour you spend at your job is an hour that you can’t spend doing engineering stuff, networking, going to recruiting events, attending sporting events, and all the other stuff that you do in college.
@alicantekid Thank you!