Should I still be a Chemical Engineering Major?

<p>Im a sophomore in college and Im still struggling to get through the pre req's and core engineering classes. Am I decieving myself into trying to do Chem E since I dont exactly enjoy the pre reqs and I dont get through most of them the first time around? I dont exactly enjoy other areas except economics but dont want to solely rely on an Econ degree for anything. I like the idea of chemical engineering and even see myself doing something related to chem e but its just these stupid pre req's like physics and thermo and statics which are unnecessarily hard at my school.</p>

<p>bump…</p>

<p>those classes will be hard in any school.</p>

<p>Sorry to say, but if you want to be an engineer you just have to deal with it</p>

<p>Thermo will be needed for almost any Chem E. job anyways.</p>

<p>Physics, well if you cant even pass that then I dont think anyone want to trust you creating plants when you can’t even figure out how much forces are required in ideal situations.</p>

<p>Statics, same as physics</p>

<p>The courses themselves arent really hard its just they’re taught in a very challenging way which doesnt coexist with my learning style. I can pass them (after a few tries) but I just cant get the grades I want. Should I just “get by” passing them and accept a not so good/not horrible gpa or try something else?</p>

<p>not to a be a dick, im just giving you the honest truth.</p>

<p>There will be a very rare time where you will have courses like those be taught the way you liked.</p>

<p>Calc 3? I learned it by reading it through the book and doing problem after problem until i got it right because my teacher couldn’t comprehend the english language</p>

<p>Physics? I did not show to class, went on hippocampus, learned the basics, did problems, looked on how it was done, and figured out how to do them just by comparing.</p>

<p>the pre reqs are there for a reason, it helps you learn how to problem solve. Normally no one in real life is going to feed you how to do things, so you have to learn outside of it.</p>

<p>now about your grades, there are 2 things, i either suggest putting more time into your classes, take tutoring, do practice problems.</p>

<p>otherwise if that doesn’t work, i suggest switching majors. Unfortunately, chem e. is considered one of the hardest majors to get a degree on for a reason.</p>

<p>You’re right. (and thanks for telling bringing up Hippocampus. I think If i had known about it before then I would have been alot better off). I think I just have had alot of really bad teachers who didnt seem to care if I learned the material when I went to see them and my tutors took those classes years before I did so they didnt really understand the class setup. </p>

<p>Nevertheless, is there something like Hippocampus for those engineering classes? I know that I can do well when I have the proper resources (since going to class really doesnt help me at all).</p>

<p>you have to find sources, hippocampus will only get through your basic classes.</p>

<p>the book helps a lot, they dont cost a lot for no reason.</p>

<p>and again, every teacher at the engineering level you will think is bad. Simply because there is no easy way of teaching it with the amount of knowledge you need to know upon completing the course.</p>

<p>I find the actual books kinda hard to understand. The basic idea makes sense but when it tries to explain the math involved, it gets to be like reading a foreign language to me.</p>

<p>The tutors at my school either dont fully know or care enough about the subject in order to explain it to me, which causes me to become discouraged when I dont do as well as I thought I would have done. But idk</p>

<p>learn the material, thats really all i can say.</p>

<p>you cant really blame anyone because you cant understand the material. Its hard on everyone, the reason they are pre req classes is because it helps your problem solving ability.</p>

<p>now, if you cant figure out how to answer questions without someone telling you “ok do, a, b, then c and you get the answer” then engineering is not for you</p>

<p>sorry, but thats how things are</p>

<p>you ever went to your advisor and say the classes are hard? your advisor essentially will tell you tough ****, do it or switch majors.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your honesty. I really needed it. you forced me to reflect on to why and helped me to realized that its not going to be ideal. I think with this thread, i may have a renewed determination to do Chem e. Its something Im really interested in and no class is going to stop me, no matter how many times i have to take it</p>

<p>just to give you a heads up though, the gold standard for gpas is 3.0, major corporations (pepsi, coke, general mills, etc) wont higher you unless you have that</p>