<p>It's the summer before senior year and i'm trying to decide what my major will be for college. I've always wanted to do engineering (probably mechanical) but to be honest, after looking at a sample schedule for engineering students at the school of my choice (UIC), i'm not sure if i can handle the workload and whatnot. Some of the threads here have also made me quesiton my decision.
I'm not dumb or really smart either, just in the middle.
ACT 27
3.4 gpa, 1 AP class next yr. I've had all the normal classes throughout high school, right where i should be. </p>
<p>So i guess my quesiton is, will a normal student like me get through an engineering program without struggling alot?
I'm not sure what else i wanna do other than engineering cuz i've taken related courses in HS and i enjoy it. I also dont wanna waste a lot of money and then change majors to something i'm not interested in.</p>
<p>Only you can decide which major. Many just like you do fine in engineering at UIC; many of the same ilk do poorly; so it is hard to predict; but very many start out sort of wanting to to go into engineering but they are not certain, so you will not be about the norm. You will have significantly more out of class studying and lab time than your friends who do A&S and things like history or English, and you must devote that time to get through the program. It generally takes more total semester hours to get an engineering degree than A&S and thus you have those seemingly daunting suggested 4 year schedules that show you should be taking 17 or even 18 hours many semesters. Now be aware of the following: majority of the engineering graduates take more than 4 years to finish; for example they don't take those 18 hours in a semester but instead do 14 to 16 and stretch it out to an extra semester or even year and many may also do coops that add even another semester. In other words, don't make the decision based on a sample schedule but do consider that it may take you more than 4 years to complete.</p>