<p>My student just completed freshman year at a very challenging university (chem e major) but has a very low gpa (esp in the core subject :( ) - dangerously near the minimum required to stay on.
S likes the subject and works hard - does well on quizzes, always turns in hw and projects on time , gets good scores on those but has low scores on tests.</p>
<p>S is deciding whether to stay on in engineering or change majors-
any advice from experienced ccers?
also if S decides to change majors what could the options be, given interest in the sciences and math? </p>
<p>Stick with ChemE. It sounds like he just needs some test-taking skills coaching. There should be a lot of that available for free from the university or for a nominal fee from private (student) practitioners.</p>
<p>If he is a good student aside from low test scores, professors should be very sympathetic towards him and he should be able to go to their offices for help. They should be receptive. Talking to professors is gold because, although they will rarely tell you what will be on the test, they will generally give you a much better idea of what to expect if you get them alone than they would generally announce to the whole class. For instance, what subjects are fair game and which are not, how best to prepare, any particularly relevant homework, etc. They probably also have GTAs who can help you with test-taking strategies.</p>
<p>It would be sad if your student had to change majors because of less-than-ideal test-taking skills.</p>
<p>My son (finishing sophomore year) learned that, as an engineering major, he had to do a LOT more than his usual “go to class, do the homework” routine. He had to learn that he had to put in hours every day to master the material. That is why the big tests were a challenge for him. He was used to doing problem sets with the book available and/or with study group peers. Doing these problems in a stressful test situation totally without support was very different. It was much tougher than high school math, which because of good native ability he did fine in without stressing.</p>
<p>My son wants to stick with engineering and his grades picked up once he learned what he** had** to do. This might mean turning down movie offers to put in more time studying. (He was never in academic trouble at the college, but his grades were lower than what we felt they should be.) This fall he will be taking four engineering courses and one elective. It will be a real challenge and require lots of work but we know he can do it **if **he applies and disciplines himself. My son has zero interest in any other major. I will be keeping my fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many freshman and sophomore math, physics and engineering courses are designed to weed people out. This is a huge difference from high school and it takes many students a while to adjust to this. Many of these classes are designed so not everyone will pass. Your student is not alone as many entering engineering students are in the same position and often times struggle. In my opinion, it is important to bring the gpa up. The classes will not get any easier but your student might be able to better adjust to college courses. Keep in mind that a high percentage of engineering students will drop out of engineering. This is because engineering curriculums are very rigorous and the courses are very challenging. Not everyone is cut out for engineering. That being said, a strong work ethic and a lot of studying will go a long way.</p>
<p>Sample/previous exams are very helpful, especially if they’re from the same professor. Most of the time the format of the test, material covered, types of questions asked, etc. are very similar. These tests should be taken in a manner exactly the same as the real one. If you have 90 minutes, no notes, and no calculator on a real test you should treat it the same way on a practice test. That way you can find out what you know well, what took you longer than should have, and what you don’t know very well so you can better direct your studying.</p>
<p>Additionally, practice tests can help you identify questions that may be “not worth it.” Sometimes tests are way too long and/or difficult so the average is low. I remember one class where the average was like 40-50%. There may be a question that takes 3x longer to solve than an average question but is only worth half the points. If time is going to be an issue it’s a good idea to skip these kinds of questions, answer the easier/less time consuming ones first, and then come back. That way if you run out of time you’re not going to miss questions you “should have” gotten right but simply didn’t get to.</p>
<p>If he likes the subject and it truly arouses interest in him, he should pursue it. However, jyber is right on point. He needs to put in a LOT of extraneous work into his courses outside of class beyond simply turning in assignments. He needs to be turning in assignments to himself as well as his professor (do more problems than assigned). If there’s a topic he has trouble with, make sure he goes through that topic like a snail as many times as he needs until he fully understands it. Mediocre grasps of concepts will not serve you well in engineering.</p>
<p>Good luck, worryingmom! My grades started out lower than I expected when I was a freshman, also. I ended up getting tutors and working harder. My GPA went up a lot and I went to grad school. Engineering school is a big adjustment!</p>
<p>My son will start studying biomedical engineering next year, and I’m afraid he will go through the same thing that your son is. He does great in AP Physics and Calculus with very little effort. I’ve tried telling him that college will be different, but I don’t know if he hears me!</p>
<p>EngineerHead, I don’t think he has a clue as to what he wants to do! He just knows he loves biology foremost, followed by math and physics. He may wind up going to medical school. He thought it would be easier to start in engineering, and then transfer to biology if he wants, than vice versa. He’s a very bright kid, so it will be interesting to see what happens.</p>
<p>Sweet :). I was only going to throw out there that if he did want to become an actual BMEngineer, that a BS in BME would likely not land him a job anywhere as one. It would most likely land him a sales position. Companies like Merck, Medtronic, etc. that hire BMEngineers look for those with a graduate degree in BME with a solid foundational engineering degree. Not impossible, just throwing it out there.</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn is a degreed engineer, and I believe she is a Professional Engineer as well. I’m quite confident that she knows what people do with engineering degrees.</p>
<p>Engineering is hard. If you son still wants to try another semester, I’d encourage him to go for it. Don’t worry about the GPA but do worry about his passion and desire to put the effort into engineering school. It will take a lot of hard work.</p>
<p>While a good GPA is always nice, engineers with a degree and low GPA still are highly employable. I always say that a high GPA is superior to a low GPA while a low GPA is superior to no GPA.</p>
<p>Well then I apologize for anything I said that could be taken as insulting, I did not know. I was simply throwing it out there - what if she were a Finance major and didn’t know much about engineering and no one told her that, then her son graduated with a BS in BME and is having an impossible time finding a job as a BMEngineer. Again, I apologize if I insulted you, my goal was to help, not insult. =\ As well, there are more onlookers in this thread than just those who reply, so a tip not directly useful, could change the lives of many (jokingly making myself seem more useful).</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the encouragement and positive feedback.
My son seems determined to stick with it for now and has started reviewing some of the material he will be studying next semester -
will keep everyone posted on the future!</p>
<p>No offense taken, EngineerHead! My son definitely wants to go to grad school or medical school. He’s also open to switching to a different type of engineering once he learns more about the options. I’m a structural engineer, so I don’t actually know much about ME, ChemE, or EE. I’ve pointed him to resources, and I’ll let him take it from there.</p>
(jokingly making myself seem more useful).</p>