<p>I will preface this by saying that this question does not only pertain to Clemson, but also other colleges as well. I would love the Clemson perspective and the perspective of other colleges too (if you find that the two vary in any way, and if you feel comfortable talking about other colleges). Also, I would like you to ignore money as a factor.</p>
<p>I am, for better or worse, a student who desires to be well rounded by nature. In college, I want to major in Mechanical Engineering, but I also want to take courses on many different subjects as well. I don't want to be so overwhelmed with work that it consumes my life entirely (I've heard many horror stories, trust me). I want to have enough time to have a decent social life (I've never been crazy with this, and by "social life", I don't mean just getting wasted). I want to be able to play a sport (non-varsity), be active in clubs, and if this is too much more to ask, I want to have enough time to do a bit of volunteering.</p>
<p>All of these things are very important to me.</p>
<p>Needless to say, I understand that Mechanical Engineering is a difficult and time consuming track. If I were to develop amazing time management skills, could this be done in 4 years? I would rather not be stressed out 24-7, and I need some down time now and again, so I was considering extending my stay in college to 5 years. Is this looked down upon when applying for first-jobs later on? What are your general thoughts about this? I've tried to look up similar threads to this but I could not find any, so I apologize if this question comes up often.</p>
<p>It’s not unusual for engineering majors to graduate in more than 4 years as long as you have a good reason of doing so. I am planning on graduating in 5 years because I would love to study abroad somewhere and participate in a cooperative education program (work terms with a company sandwiched between school). If you make good of your extra time it definitely will not be looked down upon and in fact if you end up doing co-op or study abroad or doing something like learning a new language, it can help you in the job application process. </p>
<p>Overall though, I don’t think that graduating in 5 years is looked down upon since unfortunately it’s pretty common at large public university (people don’t get the classes they want) so don’t worry about that. I am not 100% sure because I am not a hiring employee but that is just my impression. Just be aware that if you switch to a 5 year plan, you could end up graduating in 6-7 years since many people graduate a year or 2 after they are supposed to.</p>
<p>Hi, bike, thanks for the post. We are struggling with this ourselves. Son loves his clubs and volunteering, and coops are a must. It’s daunting to think that you’re starting with four years, adding a year for coop, and then adding an extra year or two for the phenomenon Pierre speaks of, ie, not getting your classes. After that many years, I can see grad school going by the wayside, which is not good if that’s a must for job opportunities in your particular field. Don’t know if mech eng is at that point yet, but bme seems to be. </p>
<p>As for the lure of honors programs helping one get priority scheduling, I will say this. We went to an honors program at a nearby state school, and found that many of the students were taking a fifth year. These were kids who had priority scheduliing, had AP’d out of most of their gen eds, but had to replace those courses with honors courses, and spent their “extra” time doing required research projects for their honors program, and thus, did not have time to fit in a coop/internship. They, of course, are hopeful that potential employers will view their research experience in the same light as job experience as part of a coop/internship, but the jury was still out on that one. In short, these kids were seniors, but were still “figuring it out”. Taking into account that most scholarships only cover four years, then you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to pay for that fifth year, especially if you’re out of state at a state school. </p>
<p>Wishing you lots of luck and keep us posted!</p>
<p>Like Pierre said, taking years isn’t looked down upon, especially if you coop, go abroad, etc. I would still try to start with a 4 year plan, but deviate it when possible- ie. you can put off some gen eds until later, but starting the ME sequence on time will still be important. </p>
<p>I would like to mention that my experience hasn’t mirrored Montegut’s experience elsewhere when it comes to the honors program. A lot of honors students I know are graduating early (2 of the 4 people in my Thesis course), in a accelerated MA program, or plan to graduate in 4 years while only having ~12 hours a semester. If you want to graduate with general honors, you may have to retake classes (not many people do), but I don’t know anyone staying longer to fulfill honors requirements.</p>
<p>Thanks, Mitch. Glad to hear that. That also answers my question about gen eds in senior year in a lot of engineering sample curriculums. Always thought it would be a pain to have to take psych and other gen ed requirements in your senior year, but I can see where it might be better to have some “easy” classes while you’re trying to do that senior project and interview for jobs, et cetera. However, beware of electives that require a lot of work, that are perhaps “weed out” courses. I always favored taking electives in something you’re interested in, though, not the “easy A” courses that the premeds love. Of course, some people like “musical literature”, a favorite at UMiami among the premed set.</p>
<p>Look at it this way – you will have a 50ish year career ahead of you – it won’t matter one lick whether you begin it in 2014 or 2015 0r 2016 when it’s 2038 or even 2019…college is half your degree, half becoming who you’ll be…I’d suggest the latter is more important, especially since so many people change careers over time (not jobs, CAREERS…professions)…and really, ME is just HARD, so be prepared to work 24/7 if you do it in 4 years or 6 years, except for those co-op or SA semesters.</p>
<p>True – but if a person co-ops, which an ME major should, he/she will make a LOT of money those semesters – and the average starting salary for MEs with ONE degree is 70K+ – I’ve been working with a master’s for more than 20 years, and don’t make that much – so yes, it’s expensive – you want something cheaper and more lucrative, go to comm college and become an electrician or plumber – college is an INVESTMENT…I don’t mean this to have tone, BTW…</p>
<p>I’m well aware of that, I’m just saying that if the person chooses to take fewer credits per year, they will be paying a bit more in room/board costs or tuition depending on how the university calculates that.</p>