<p>Alright, one last response before I go to bed. I'll be able to respond to anything else tomorrow.</p>
<p>"Chuy, on the list of supplies that was given out at the engineering session during orientation, the first item is for ""engineer's pad" (problem-solving notebook paper)". What exactly is this? If it's not just regular notebook paper, then where do I find it? And how big do the triangles have to be?"</p>
<p>At the VT bookstores they have an "engineer's pack" that'll have the paper, triangles and everythings. It's overpriced, but you can look in it and see what it is you need to get from Walmart. Basically an engineer's pad is yellow paper that is gridded on one side and not on the other, and has a special header section. I guess you do have to get it, but it's only used a couple times... if he has any friends there they could pitch in and buy one and just split the paper. Any sized triangle will work, really. It's just something to use as a straight-edge. Remember, VT has a good bookstore on campus, and there are plenty of places to buy things like that off campus as well if he needs them, so you don't really HAVE to worry about buying that kind of stuff now. :) Ditto on the brita filter. It's a lot easier to decide that you do need something later and go and get it as opposed to having a bunch of stuff that you didn't need and finding somewhere to store it.</p>
<p>I didn't use a bed pad or anything last semester but believe me I will this year. Those things are not comfortable without one. If you've got the money I'd spring for one of the memory foam things off of overstock (get the 2 inch, largest bed size, double it over and get 4 inches out of it. All bed sizes cost the same for some reason). Again, though, he can try out just the bed and then decide if he needs one or not. I survived without so it is possible.</p>
<p>I lied, one more. About semesters abroad in engineering... I never seriously looked into it, but it is my understanding that doing a semester abroad and staying on schedule is very, very difficult. The easiest semester to do it would be second semester freshman year, but then you have to take the engineering class over the summer to stay on target, along with possibly others. There is a whole department devoted to that who can give you a much better answer, though. Go to vt.edu and search for "Engineering Abroad," and you'll find many useful links. People do do it, so don't take what I said to be the gospel truth that it's impossible. I'm just saying that I've HEARD it can be hard to stay on track.</p>
<p>That's what I thought. For some reason s took some of the right AP exams to help him out with his schedule so he will start this fall with 24 credits. He'll have over half of those core reqs done by the end of fall semester. I just wonder what kind of engineering course would be available to take while abroad or would it just be a really fabulous and fun waste of academic time (!!).</p>
<p>Good night, Chuy. I'm sure there will be more questions!!! Thanks so much for your time.</p>
<p>I really stuck to the VT list and didn't throw too many other things in the cart. Maybe NH prices (you know that "Live Free-ha,ha,ha or Die" State) are higher. The biggest purchase at Bed, Bath was the Bed in a Bag thing with sheets, comforter at $129.99. Foam/eggcrate mattress pad was $45.00, and
the other mattress pad thing was $40.00. I spent more on the eggcrate thing because several people told me the ones you can get for 10.00 start falling apart very quickly and the kids have foam all over sheets and room. Two sets of towels came to about $50.00. I did kind of splurge on these because son liked the way they felt. Fleece blanket was $10.00, clip on fan was $14.99 and I bought a multi-hook over the door hook thing for $5.00. Total bill here was $294.
Wal-mart-Biggest purchase was the surge protector for $20.00. Bought all the shampoo, razor blades (why are these things so expensive), cough medicine, Advil, Tylenol, laundry deterg. desk supplies, laptop stand for $15.00, mug, plate, bowl, couple plastice cups, some silverware (3 spoons, forks, knife), a paring knife, tissues, paper towels, trash bags, Zip-loc bags. I am telling you this stuff adds up. I guess I could have put it all together from home stuff, but then I would have needed to replace what I have. Daughter did buy a few things and I did some groceries, so son's stuff probably came to $250.00. I have saved all receipts so can return anything not needed.</p>
<p>Make sure you read the articles on VT's website. It actually looks more feasible than I thought it was. There's an office dedicated to it, and they have information sessions and things like that to try and recruit people. Everyone that I've talked to that has gone has loved it, it's just a matter of how the schedule is going to work out for the student.</p>
<p>Edit: Something else to look in to, either now or when you go up to Tech (because they'll be selling them everywhere) is a desk hutch. It's just this shelving type thing you put on your desk that has room for books, a printer, etc. Really helps you stay organized.</p>
<p>I did make a "medicine" kit - basically just tylenol, cough drops, bandaids, and stuff like that, and a thermometer. Just the basics that s would have taken at home if he were a little under the weather. I do remember the nurse from Schiffert Health Center saying that students should have a thermometer.</p>
<p>Thanks Chuy, again, I meant to ask about the hutch!! But if you put the desk under the loft, is there enough room? And how are the chairs?</p>
<p>PS. S does have Chang for Physics. Ms Boone in Engineering office was really adamant about rearranging the schedule to fit that particular teacher in. She said everyone complains about all the other Phys teachers, but that all the eng students love Chang.</p>
<p>I know the ones that VT sells will fit with the desk under the loft. If you buy one from somewhere else I'm not sure, but you can get some measuring tape once you get up there and see what you can fit. The chairs are... ok. The thing is, if you bring your own you aren't allowed to take the ones that were in there out into storage or anything, so it cuts down on room a little. They're just basic wooden/padded semi-rocking chairs.</p>
<p>GOOD. Ms. Boone was right, EVERYONE (including me) loves chang and hates everyone else. People not in chang's class will go to his lectures because they'll actually learn something. I literally was at a computer for several hours hitting refresh on the course listings until a spot opened up, and then had to redo my entire schedule, and it was worth every second. Sadly he doesn't teach second semester physics.</p>
<p>Ahhh....I see lots and lots of questions on here, and since there seems to be only one other student, I'll try to help as well :)
Keep in mind I went to VT last year, for EE, but transferred to UVA, so I can only really help with basic/freshman stuff</p>
<p>and YES, Chang is the best. I had Slawny and he was ridiculous. We were at chapter 10 when Change was at 4, the man couldn't teach, his accent was unbearable, and he would call you out and yell at you in class for stupid stuff. I don't know how I got a B in that class, I didn't learn anything.</p>
<p>No clue, I'm taking it this year. I took one semester each of Chem and Physics freshman year and will take both second halves this year. I'm in Slawny's right now and I know he's horrible, but I haven't really heard anything better about anyone else, and it was one of the few physics classes that didn't conflict with a class I couldn't move.</p>
<p>For Physics I (kinetics) I recommend anyone BUT Slawny. Highly recommend Chang. For Physics II (electromagnetism) I'm not sure. That's a third semester physics class, which I'll be taking at UVA.</p>
<p>For chem 1705, I highly recommend Dillard. He was fun to watch and listen to, and I actually enjoyed his class, even though I hate chem with a passion. He was VERY easy to reach outside of class, and was generally a helpful man who cared about his students doing well (as he put it on the first day, he knew most of us were engineers struggling to get this pre-req done and never wanted to touch chem again, so he wanted to make the class do-able for us, and told the chemE/chem majors to learn the material but everything they'd need to know is in 1706). For calc II/III I recommend Powers.</p>
<p>On some of the earlier questions:
-19 credits is too much, any semester. 14-15 is a good number for first semester, although I was bored with 14 (due to APs). I took 17 second and wouldn't recommend any more than that. Take summer classes at a CC if you get behind.
-Fans: a MUST! VT is hot as the sun until October, then it gets freezing cold, but then the heat gets turned on and the fans are back on. Even during the winter we'd open the window a crack and turn on a fan just to keep the air from becoming stifling. Most colleges are like this just because of the central heating system.
-Lofts: some buildings come with lofts, and those are a bit tougher to move around. But, I managed to move them around by myself, and i'm a girl haha. Plus, RAs/maintenance can easily help.
-Supplies: don't overflow your room with supplies, just yet. Yes, your D/S might have used it at home occasionally, but they might drop it all together at school. I brought wayy to much stuff last year, and so I plan on taking the bare necessities and a bit more, then waiting and seeing.
-Organization: get some of those clear plastic drawer sets on wheels, and maybe a small one for the desk. They'll save your life.</p>
<p>"-19 credits is too much, any semester. 14-15 is a good number for first semester, although I was bored with 14 (due to APs). I took 17 second and wouldn't recommend any more than that. Take summer classes at a CC if you get behind."
I've got to disagree here. If you look you'll see that one of those classes is the easy Art class, two are the easy computer math classes, and one is the Galileo seminar. I think that with those classes 19 is very doable.</p>
<p>Showbox, is 19 cred too much even with the math classes being easy (exact classes in previous post)? I think his only "real" classes would be the engl, engineering, and the ent classes. But it did seem awfully time-consuming to me considering that it is freshman year and he should be, you know, being a kid and doing stuff.....you guys know what i mean! I'm not going to tell s what to do, but it did seem a bit much to me.</p>
<p>Okay guys,
I guess I'm not done shopping yet! Forgot the thermometer Zimmer, but think I have extra here at home. I'll save a whopping 2.99. Did not get any storage unit such things yet as son does not know either dorm or roommate and do not know if they will decide to loft (although this seems the route to go) or if room already has bunks. (Room at AJ son stayed in had bunks, but he doesn't know if they were real bunks or if AJ had beds lofted). Still have brochure about hutch unit. Think we can still order that for delivery when we move him in. Will check into that.
Don't remember any of my son's prof. names, but I'll check into that and maybe you have some info. regarding them. He has Communications, US History, Astronomy, and Calc.</p>
<p>True, but with every class comes some outside work. I think you know as much as I do that engineering takes a LOT of outside study time. Why bog yourself down with an easy art class? I know people say "GPA booster!" but I think instead of wasting 3-4 hours a week on that class, use that time to either study for a more important class or use it to catch up on sleep/have a life. Or, drop the Galileo seminar because that will probably have a lot of fact-based tests which can be a bit more time consuming than practice-based tests (ie calculus problems)</p>
<p>Franky, 19 credit hours is do-able. But doing is first semester is a set-up for failure, either academically or personally (ie, no social life, no sleep ever, etc). I think it's best to take 14-16 first semester and get adjusted to college, not take the max load. Then take 19 if you think you can handle it, but just work your way up to it.</p>
<p>Septmom, I saw some bed hutches at BBB for about $60. Kind of like those hutches that go behind/above a toilet, these go above the bed and give you two shelves and a little swing out shelf by the bed for glasses/cup/etc. Seemed like a good idea if you don't loft.</p>
<p>And check out your teachers at ratevtteachers.com</p>
<p>Thanks Zimmer. Will check that out online. B,B,Beyond does allow you to pick up ordered stuff in Roanoke (the closest store to VT), but I didn't know what our time frame for move in would be and that would be just 45 minutes more of sitting in car.
What dorm will your son be in? I am assuming he is in the themed housing for Engineering or Honors? It is funny but even though we went on two VT tours that included dorm visits, I can't remember what any of them look like inside. The Virtual tours don't even jog my memory. I guess I saw so many it is a blur.</p>
<p>The art class isn't a GPA booster, it's a one credit class that doesn't factor into your GPA. It's just used to knock off the required art credit. You observe art and then take tests on it. It's pass/fail.</p>