<p>My kids felt like they were drowning junior year. It was tough. D camped out in the TA’s office and that was they only way she got through one particular tough class. </p>
<p>I do want to say that many companies have a 3.0 cutoff for internships. Getting an internship is important these days. D had a tough time with a 3.0 GPA finding an internship but she did at the last minute. We were very grateful and she received an offer from them and that’s where she’s still employed today. </p>
<p>D was a very good HS student and went to a very competitive university. She got through but it was tough and she worked very hard. Her brother who was not the student she was went to a less competitive u. He did much better in school and much better in the job and co-op experience. I’m not sure how that is helpful to your S but I thought I would put it out there. They are both successfully employed now but it was easier for the kid who went to the less prestigious school. </p>
<p>I feel for you, my S had a heck of a time last semester, but came back strong this semester. What seemed to work for him was working SMARTER rather than harder. He was also meeting with his academic advisor weekly to keep him on track. Wishing you both the best.</p>
<p>My S1 wasn’t an engineering major but had to take some of the same classes because S1 was on a NROTC scholarship. His state u. is known for engineering. Calc. II for Engineering was really wearing him out. He started going to the Profs. office hours for help whenever it was offered. S1 was the only one showing up for office hours so it was like having a private tutor. The prof. practically walked S2 thru the homework assignments. S1 had to have at least a C to move on and was thrilled when he got a B- </p>
<p>It seems that your son is having trouble because he did not have the prerequisites for the classes. Students should have taken differential equations before taking circuit analysis. Thermodynamics is usually for third year students. It needs more math classes than differential equations. Most students probably have taken differential equations, vector calculus, and linear algebra before taking thermodymics.</p>
<p>Assure your son that Thermodynamics, Fluids and Differential Equations are three of the toughest basic engineering courses, so he’s not the only person at school who may have some difficulty with them. Stay motivated.</p>
<p>Taking a lighter load can make A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE to a student. Full-time status only requires 12 semester credits, as I recall. And the difference between 17 and 15 can also be substantial in terms of preparation and homework. Also, he may want to explore scheduling a lab or research seminar with a favorite professor. Labs aren’t cakewalks but through Lake Jr. I’ve seen that when an underclassman has a lab or seminar with a teacher whom he enjoys a great rapport with, the positive vibe carries over to the overall workload for other classes, so to speak. The relatively lighter load (but a ton of research) of a lab and a good final grade reminds the student why he or she chose his/her major.</p>
<p>As for grades, a cumulative 3.00 with 12 credit hours impresses a STEM employer more than a 2.7 with 17 credit hours. 2.7 is by no means the end of the world, career wise, but bringing the GPA up is very important in engineering these days for internships/co-op. Not for qualitative reasons but for quantitative factors; there’s a lot of competition out there. Companies get hundreds of applications for a handful of summer jobs.</p>
<p>I graduated as a Mech E back in the day, but I started out as an EE. Halfway through my sophomore year I decided that I wanted to switch to ME and my advisor suggested that I drop the EE course I was taking and make up an ME class over the summer. That one class was a huge difference in workload. it was the only semester that I had a 3.8 and made Dean’s List. If he loves the major but is still struggling with the work a lighter course load may be the answer.</p>
<p>Lighter course load can help. I do think that going to a less competitive school would help too. Nephew (a PE now) went from a better to a lesser but still good engineering school, said it required about 90% of the effort at the better school. Grades went up and he got a good job in the end. Better to get the degree one way or another than to drop out without finishing. But really, f he can maintIn the 2.7 I think he is OK.</p>
<p>Parent of a Mech E and Chem E here. Agree with all reccs to lighten the load (it makes a world of difference) and get as much tutoring help as is available, from faculty and classmates. Team approach to some projects where available and group study times. Good luck!</p>
<p>I guess everyplace is different. At my school the differental equations class was somewhat on the easy side, actually, and sophomore level intro thermo and circuits were just average difficulty (for engineering). The hardest classes for mech e definitely were ahead: eg, dynamics, fluid mechanics.</p>
<p>Someone suggested switching to a math or physics major, At my university these majors were more theoretically complex than the engineering majors. If son is struggling with an intro engineering circuits course, he does not want to be trying to tackle solving intermediate electromagnetism problems in the course designed for physics majors. Trust me…</p>
<p>Many good suggestions above, try lightening the load and take a course over the summer. In my case, my study habits in the early years of college weren’t any good. I was spending tons of time studying, but not efficiently. One key is never fall behind, and don’t arrange things so you are doing problem sets the day before they are due. If son is not at the top of the brainpower pyramid there, (as I wasn’t), then the effectiveness of his study habits may loom all the more important.</p>
<p>It would be good if they had tutors you could hire, to just work problems with and identify how you should best be studying for certain courses. They have these for high-schoolers. why not college? But I don’t know if that option exists in college.</p>
<p>If committed to the field S can get through and work with a 2.7, and have a successful career. If not committed, if these efforts don’t help and he feels really bad, my sense is it will not get easier and he might consider alternatives. At that point.</p>
<p>I didn’t think dynamics or fluids was difficult. Probably depends on the individual. But I did think @coolweather had a good point regarding prepress. Maybe an internship as a break and l agree that he can still get a good job with a 2.7 and that disappears when changing jobs.</p>
<p>Well, I’ve known people who have gotten jobs with lower if they have good internship experience. Certainly not ideal but you can step your way out of it.</p>
<p>It certainly is a hole to climb out of. There is always independent study with a professor. I knew an engineer who dug himself out that way. Only a 2.8 but a fabulous project with an impressed professor and was able to find work at a robotics startup as a result. Really I think the OP may have shot himself in the foot with AP credit. You really should think twice before marching ahead with core courses. You’re not trying to whiz through your major but really learn it.</p>
<p>Some colleges offer intro to thermodynamics class in sophomore year. It does not require differential equations and higher math. But it requires prerequisites in physics in chemistry. Although the math classes are not direct prerequisites for the class, they may help sharpen the thinking. The OP may want to share with us what the requirements for the taken classes.</p>
<p>An engineering student should choose classes carefully and be aware of the competition.</p>
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My DS is an EE student at a very competitive eng school. He has figured out that he does a lot better if he only takes 12-13 credits even though the “plan” says take 15-17… Can your son look at his schedule for next semester and take a lighter load? Maybe he could make up the extra classes in the summer or take an extra semester to graduate? With less classes he will probably won’t feel as stressed and hopefully he will be able to enjoy college.</p>
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<p>Doing this can be risky…This adds another semester or year, which may not be affordable. Many colleges will not give aid for that 9th+ semester and many parents can’t/won’t pay for extra semesters.</p>
<p>Also… Many eng’g classes are sequenced and only offered in summer OR fall (not both). If a student skips XXX Eng class in the spring, he may find that it’s not offered in the Fall, and waiting til the following spring can put other classes in jeopardy. I think this is why we see some kids taking 5-6 years to get thru eng’g. That is fine AS LONG AS a student doesn’t get to the end of 4th year and have NO FUNDING…and no degree. :(</p>
<p>My son was ChemE. He did come in with AP credits, which meant that his schedule had room for some “fun and interest” classes, like Philosophy Deductive Logic, Italian and Medical Spanish.</p>