<p>Hi, I thought it would be nice to prepare myself for college over summer so I prepared a first draft of my planned summer studying and I would like fellow students to help me decide what to change.</p>
<p>I will have 12 weeks and 6 days of summer vacation, so I figured I can study 10 weeks, 6 days per week and 4 hours per day for a total of 240 hours.</p>
<p>My plan will not interfere with hanging out with friends and family, playing basketball or road trips. I just designed it to limit time I would spend on watching MLB games, sitcoms or playing Battlefield (anybody still playing BC2 on PC? haha) and spend it on something more interesting and valuable. I would also like to somehow take part in undergraduate research concerning fluid mechanics during my freshman year so I figured out learning some fluids theory and programming as I am interested in CFD would be crucial so that a professor does not laugh at me when I suggest helping in his lab. I had thermodynamics, Calc I and II in high school and out of curiosity I have already gone through basics of Calc III, linear algebra and differential equations on my free time so I think I am ready to read some introductory chapters about fluid mechanics.</p>
<p>My plan currently consists of:
1. Fluids - 100 hours
2. C++ - 80 hours
3. First-semester courses (17 credits) - 60 hours
a) Calc III (4 credits) - 20 hours
b) general chemistry (4 credits) - 20 hours
c) introductory engineering courses (5 credits) - 15 hours
i) intro to aerospace engineering (2 credits) - 7 hours
ii) transforming ideas to innovation (2 credits) - 7 hours
iii) introduction to careers in engineering (1 credit) - 1 hour
d) English composition (4 credits) - 5 hours</p>
<p>Any suggestions on how to make it more efficient? Thanks.</p>
<p>Thermodynamics in HS? where was that, the Star Fleet Academy Prep School ?? :)</p>
<p>I’d say put the time in foundation classes like math and chem. Classes like English are very different in college from HS (DD1’s comment, not difficult, different), C++ I would not bother with at all, same for innovations and careers and the like.</p>
<p>What about finding an engineering related internship/volunteer position/job?</p>
<p>Pretty impressive if you manage to study all of that over the summer, but how much of it will you remember? Brushing up on math might be a good idea, and practicing programming will definitely help when you take the course. For stuff like chemistry and fluids, how much of the reading will you remember in a year? If it’s interesting to you though, then by all means go for it.</p>
<p>Generally I say take this summer before you start college and just enjoy the hell out of it. It is likely your last summer before you need to have a summer job or internship and after 4 years of college, most people have completely different relationships with most of their old friends, so enjoy your time with them.</p>
<p>That said, if you really are dead set on doing this, I think you are being incredibly ambitious, perhaps overly so. Four hours per day, 6 days per week? That is pretty intense for just self-study over the summer.</p>
<p>At any rate, for the basics of fluid mechanics you will definitely need to know some thermodynamics (the basic laws and a variety of definitions like specific heat, entropy and enthalpy). If you are just going to look at fluid statics then only a very rudimentary knowledge of differential equations is likely needed for now, but if you really want to even take a nibble of the real meat of the subject, you really need to be quite familiar with differential equations and calculus of several variables/vector calculus. That should all be a prerequisite/corequisite to studying fluid mechanics, which is why it is at basically all universities. Because of that, I think any attempt to spend 100 hours studying fluid mechanics without a firmer grasp on those background subjects will be largely fruitless.</p>
<p>I was in a somewhat similar situation last year. I just finished my freshman year of engineering and managed to skip ahead into completing differential equations and my first electrical circuits class this year. I also wanted to start research my first semester, but I settled for working at my college this summer. I agree with bonehead in that 4 hours a day 6 days a week is incredibly ambitious. You’ll probably lose your mind if you try. And you’re kidding yourself if you think you can self-study that much and still have the energy and time to be with friends/travel/etc. Bar you being some kind of genius, in which case you’re wasting your time on CC, I would expect you might keep up with C++ and math. Outside of that the subjects you listed are really difficult to learn outside of a class, and doing so won’t really yield as much benefit as you’d expect when you take the class.</p>
<p>You’ll also probably find college courses to be tougher than you expected. Especially if you try to take a 2nd-3rd year weeder course, which it looks like you’re angling to do, it will be a serious shock. You won’t want to go into after an entire summer of grueling studying. Try to stick to what you enjoy this summer and don’t sweat the small stuff, you’re going to need the rest next year. </p>
<p>Also with regards to starting research as a freshman, don’t be disappointed if you don’t even get replies. Keep trying until you find a professor that’s open to taking on younger students (you might ask upperclassmen in your major who they are). Your first priority should be getting experience. You can always switch topics later on. And as bonehead mentioned, CFD is generally a graduate topic, and it’s rare for undergraduates, let alone freshman to get heavily into it. </p>
<p>Good luck on your first year. Some advice: prioritize sleep high up, it’s important. Realize when you need more time off work and when you’re taking too much off. You want to avoid the extremes of too much/too little because that’s what causes you to burn out.</p>
<p>^I agree. You never know what will happen next summer, so enjoy the next few months with your best high school friends. Last time in a while where you have all the time in the world to do whatever you want.</p>
<p>Some first year tips:
Even though you’re in engineering with a lot of class hours, you’ll still have some free time in addition to studying. You can choose to reddit or derp around with it, or you can get involved on campus. Great way to gain experience, make some friends, and just make the most out of your time in college.</p>
<p>Also, during that first month where nobody knows anyone, be as friendly as possible. Talk to everyone and make some friends. Definitely helps a lot later in the year when you’ve got friends to help you out. After a while, people usually form friend groups and it’s not as easy to talk to whoever you want after that. Keep an open mind and don’t judge anyone either!</p>
<p>Review the calculus 1 and 2 final exams from the university you will be attending to make sure that you know everything in those courses. Do the same for any other course that you may skip based on previous college or AP credit.</p>
<p>Well I live in EU and 75% of my friends go to UK for summer to work at McDonald’s, KFC or some bars, so I will surely find some time to study. To get engineering related work at Airbus or Rolls-Royce my dad would probably have to be a CEO of one of those. Do you have any helpful suggestions kevycanuck about getting such volunteer experience or internship in engineering? </p>
<p>You are probably right about fluids I will wait until December when I have a firm grasp of Calc III. My main concern was avoding overstudying so I do not burn out for college and you suggest this is too much over summer so my next plan is 10 weeks, 5 days a week and 3 hours a day for a total of 150 hours.</p>
<p>As to subjects studied:
40 hours - calculus 3
40 hours - general chemistry
40 hours - C++
10 hours - review of college calculus I course
10 hours - review of college calculus II course
10 hours - review of college mechanics course</p>
<p>Is it ok now?</p>
<p>Turbo why do you suggest skipping C++? TaciturnType why do you suggest skipping chemistry? I would like to do some practice problems in both, not only read.</p>
<p>Boneh3ead has the best advice. Enjoy your summer, it will likely be the last free one you get until you retire. If you are intent on spending that much time, then consider focusing it in a different direction - I took freshman english at the local CC as a time management tool, as it took one class out of my freshman schedule.</p>
<p>EDIT -
Missed the fact you are in the EU, so the CC advice really does not apply. So just go enjoy your summer.</p>
<p>I usually had 8-week summer vacations and I did nothing but now there are 13 weeks and I am about to go to college, are you guys sure staying with doing nothing is fine? </p>
<p>How do you view the idea of learning for purpose of upcoming classes during summer or winter break? Can it help or is it a loss of time and rest?</p>
<p>I would say it helps, but depends on what you study. I would say focus on your first or second semester courses.</p>
<p>I think if I had known how to program before college, doing those labs would have been a bit easier.</p>
<p>Learning for the purpose of an upcoming class is fine if that is really what you want to do, but you can’t start learning for a class for which you don’t have the prerequisite background knowledge. I feel like it is a better use of your time to make sure your fundamentals are strong prior to the class so when you go to learn it for real you aren’t tripping up over a lack of understanding of things like calculus or physics.</p>
<p>Further, most kids coming out of high school are going to really have no idea what it is like jumping into a college-level class, so trying to pre-study for one before they have ever taken one is going to be pretty fruitless. By comparison, most high school classes are an absolute joke in terms of the expectations placed on the students, and for a lot of people the type of studying is therefore totally different.</p>
<p>Also, to expand on what kevycanuck said, programming is one of those things that absolutely can’t hurt you to learn early. I wish I had been better at programming to start. It would have made so many things easier. Looking back at my undergraduate years, my dependence on Excel is a little embarrassing. For aerospace, C++, Fortran and Matlab would be the most common languages you may need.</p>
<p>I don’t think it makes sense to prepare for any courses that are beyond a semester away. Also, your plan is all over the map. You plan to prepare for that many different courses?</p>
<p>If you would like to prep for some Fall 2013 classes, you can request the syllabus from the professor, buy the textbook, and start reading the chapters. That will be of pretty good help. I would concentrate on 1, maybe 2 classes.</p>
<p>How many hours would one need to understand the basics of C++? 50 hours?</p>
<p>Bonehead, I had a feeling that everything in high school was done with expectation of a high score on IB/AP exam to boost teacher’s reputation, should not college students be expected to just gain knowledge? What are the expectations you mean?</p>
<p>After reading all your informative responses I am very grateful for, I decided to limit myself to C++ and working from a collegiate perspective on fundamentals like calc and physics for which I am going to use my IB credit. </p>
<p>So I assume it would take me studying 2 hours daily, 5 days a week for 10 weeks with following distribution:</p>
<p>C++ - 50 hours
Calculus II - 25 hours
Mechanics - 15 hours
Calculus I - 10 hours</p>
<p>Would it be ok and would I avoid burnout when fall semester comes after such period of summer studying? </p>
<p>Thanks for any advice.</p>
<p>I would enjoy most of summer not doing ANYTHING school related. Perhaps the last week or two of summer, spend a few hours a day getting your brain back in to school mode by brushing up on some math and physics.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think it’s a terrible idea to spend all summer pouring over books and studying. You want yourself to be as fresh as possible for your first semester in college… the first semester will be a huge culture shock, as well as a readjustment to different study habits, class pace, etc.</p>
<p>Enjoy your summer! Go on a road trip with some friends to somewhere fun, go hiking, go mountain biking, pick up a hobby, anything… Just get out and enjoy it.</p>
<p>Assuming you’re talking about introductory mechanics (this means mostly statics), that would be a much more realistic goal. I suggested going for only math and programming because in my experience, those are some of the easiest subjects to learn independently if you have a good book or website. Just don’t feel pressured to master anything. If there’s something that’s causing you stress, wait until the semester starts and ask your professors/TAs. You’ll probably get a better understanding of it and you might get a foot in the door to work with them if you can take them away from the monotonous questions they normally get. Also as mentioned above you shouldn’t feel guilty at all if you decide not to study much. The vast majority of incoming freshman will have done the same.</p>