Risks of SEAS

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>I’m glad that people are speaking up and pointing out what nonsense Beard Tax is spewing…</p>

<p>Let’s just say this… I’m a current EMS major and in no way feel trapped…</p>

<p>Honestly, I’m not cut out to be an engineer. I’m a terrible mathematician compared to pretty much everyone else in SEAS and would probably be an econ major had my college counselor told me to apply for SEAS. I told myself before setting foot inside a classroom that I will NEVER be an engineer by trade.</p>

<p>If you know that your field of study will be somewhere in the sciences or econ or actual engineering, there’s a place for you in SEAS. Yeah, there’s a risk in SEAS… if you wanted to be a lit major. Otherwise, you’re fine. </p>

<p>Grades wise… employers will cut you slack, especially in finance. The fact that you think that you’re at an extreme disadvantage just tells me that you haven’t done nearly enough networking or were the kid who stood in the corner of the networking session too intimidated to ask anyone a question. If you really did your homework, you’d realize that there are a TON of athletes/alumni/frat-connected people who will get the finance jobs that you’re after and those people will, with some exceptions, have GPAs that are by no means stellar and probably lower than yours.</p>

<p>If you’re going to complain about how you won’t be able to apply the skills that you learned in college, I challenge you to find a job where they will just dump you in and tell you to use “everything you learned in college.”</p>

<p>In terms of coursework, if you really wanted a good GPA to apply to pre-professional schools (or wanted to be lazy like me), EMS can facilitate that. It’s not hard to get a 3.7+ in EMS. If you look at premed requirements, BME also overlaps much better than any other college major… you save yourself at LEAST a semester of language (1), lithum (2), CC (2), and music or arthum (1)… 6 semester (18+) credit advantage over a bio major in terms of reaching graduation…</p>

<p>And about your social life… I get my work done, have a decent (3.5+) GPA, am an officer in both a club sport and greek life, and still go out 3 nights a week… and get at least 7+ (usually 9) hours of sleep a night. You either are TERRIBLE at managing your time, extremely socially awkward or are in way over your head academically–not just in SEAS, but at Columbia as a whole. Harsh, I know, but if you’re actually sacrificing part of your social life (skipping going out friday night does NOT count) because of schoolwork, something is wrong. Even my MechE friends manage to get their work done, be involved in something outside of the classroom and go out at least 1 or 2 nights a week…</p>

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<p>^hi shockwaverider! im considering ems, but i was wondering if it is highly employable. do ems students have trouble finding jobs after their four years??
also, do most people take BOTH c1401 and c1403 (the easiest physics and chem courses in seas)? or do they take one of those two and take a more difficult course in the other subject??</p>

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<p>Just wanted to bump this thread for prospective students in SEAS. I think there are good arguments on both sides of the coin, whether an engineering degree is worth the sacrifice if you don’t actually want to become an engineer. Enjoy the read and ask any questions you may have.</p>

44

<p>Classic CC superiority complex. There are many arrogant CC students her because they think all SEAS students are students who applied to SEAS because they couldn’t get into CC. Sad part is that many SEAS students have higher stats than CC, aka the “self selection.” Why put down somebody’s opinion. I thought this is America. Unless you are one of the arrogant CC students.</p>

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<p>^this thread has nothing to do with CC vs. SEAS. It’s just saying that when you enroll in seas you want to be confident that you want to study engineering and not a liberal arts subject. You do have the opportunity to transfer into the college, but it is not a sure bet, you need a decent gpa (not sure how high) and importantly a great reason. If you are an above average student, it is however in Columbia’s best interest to let you transfer into CC as opposed to leave altogether. They don’t want retention statistics to suffer and it means they’ll need to replace you with someone else.</p>

<p>I will add that an engineering education is not necessary, but beneficial for finance, law and consulting jobs. The analytical thinking, rigorous logic and work ethic that SEAS hones in, proves very useful in the work place. SEAS is not an easy place to succeed in but employers recognize that and many value an engineering education.</p>

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<p>After reading so many good posts about the critical thinking ability of SEAS graduates, I still get a confusion here. Taking myself as example, I will be doing Civil Engineering as a incoming transfer student this fall, and after two years hopefully finishing the degree, heading into the job hunting(or maybe a bit earlier). Since you’re all talking about the non-engineering career expandability of SEAS student, I’d like to ask one question about that.</p>

<p>For sure I will end up with more analytical thinking and rigorous logic than my competitors, and more prefessional knowledge in terms of my field. But how would finance. law and consulting firms cut me some slack if I have less knowledge about their fields compared to those who major in and have studied for years? </p>

<p>After all, I have to rely on some level of basic knowledges of certian jobs to get it done, isn’t it? Surely I will take time to learn and prepare for those things I have not learned at SEAS where I focus on civil engineering. Nonetheless if I’m trying to work as non-engineering, I still have to tackle my ignorance on the non-engineering field.</p>

<p>However, I do love engineering and know what I will be doing, so thanks for all previous posts.</p>

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<p>True, but history and english majors aren’t going to know that much more about law or consulting than civil engineer majors. Hell, you might be better prepared for understanding organizations and consulting. The point is, your major is absolutely not destiny, as long as you have a decent background in the liberal arts and analytical thinking. All of the job-specific knowledge is stuff you pick up during internships or your first job in a field; what Columbia gives you are modes of analytical and critical thinking and writing. And connections!</p>

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<p>i AM doing the COLUMBIA COMBINED 3-2 PLAN
I am going to Hofstra University this fall. where i will major in COMPUTER SCIENCE B.A</p>

<p>I will then do the 3-2 plan at columbia and get a B.S in Mechanical Engineering.</p>

<p>please contact me if you are also doing this program because it needs to work out otherwise i turned down RPI, Drexel and NEU for nothing., </p>

<p>thanks, and best of luck to all 3-2 students</p>

49

<p>Should i major in something less engineering at hofstra?
and by less engineering i mean like business or finance???</p>

<p>it doesnt seem worth it to major in two very similar fields like electrical engineering at hofstra and mechanical at columbia??</p>

<p>what should i major in that will give me the best shot at working for huge consulting firms or engineering firms??</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

50

<p>@confidentialcoll: You are spot on about engineering. I have numerous family members in the industry and my D wants to be an engineer. She started with learning about automobile technology from 1900 to the present, and aircraft engines and airframe technology, plasma rockets, propulsion, etc. She has been exposed to engineering camps at colleges from 6th grade onward, and participates annually in engineering or aviation camps. She also found science seminars outside of school where they did a fair bit of engineering and other sciences. For the past couple of years she has been on email news lists from automotive and aerospace companies like NASA and Boeing, reading professional journals, etc. This is not to say how great I think my own child is, this just happens to be her first love. I am really just hoping to point out that engineering is a very tough discipline and it can take a fair bit of time for high school students to check it out and be sure it is what they believe it is. Students can be more certain by checking out what classes you have to take in college, look at some textbooks to understand what concepts are involved, how skills are applied, etc. - and try to find science or engineering opportunities if they aren’t readily available. For kids who like aerospace or want to learn to fly, you can’t do any better than finding a local Civil Air Patrol Cadet squadron to get involved with - Aerospace and Rocketry are taught regularly. Also, learning Emergency Services and Search & Rescue is fun and exciting. For those who know engineering by the time they fill out college apps, they tend to be people who got involved in it early. It’s a tough industry, but when you are out there working, it is like a family: many of the same people will work together in different cities for different firms over a lifetime. It’s very, very rewarding work. But nothing worth having is easily obtained (or everyone would be doing it!).</p>