<p>I'm a third year chemical engineering major. I've been struggling with it quite a bit lately. I only have a 3.0 GPA, I have a lot of W's on my transcript, I got a D in one class my sophomore year, and it's going to take me five years instead of four to graduate.</p>
<p>My dad says he'll only pay for four years of college, not five, so to finance my fifth year I'd have to take out a lot of loans. If I switched my major to math, I could graduate in four years. I could switch to statistics, applied math, math/applied science, or maybe even math/computer science.</p>
<p>What's your advice? Should I switch before it's too late or suck it up and finish chemE?</p>
<p>I think the important thing to ask is, are you interested in math? Are you good at it? I’m not sure why you’re struggling in chem engineering but it sounds like the difficulty of the major is a major issue. honestly though, I really doubt math is any easier. Don’t think just because it’s fewer classes that it’s an easier major. The coursework can be really heavy so 3 math classes can feel like 4-5 of another subject. I think because the problem you’re having is that you’re failing some classes and needing to retake them, your graduation is being delayed. As that’s the problem, I don’t think switching to a major where you may still need to retake a lot of classes is going to improve things much. It is fewer requirements, yes, but it sounds like part of your problem is that the classes are just too hard.</p>
<p>That being said, if you find math comes pretty naturally to you and you’ve done well in math classes so far, then maybe it is mostly just the chemistry/science part of your major that is making it difficult so maybe a switch to math would be right. If I were you, I would try to find people in the math major to talk to, including a department advisor, and look up the requirements and try to gauge how well the major would suit you. Good luck!</p>
<p>To this day, I regret changing from Chemical Engineering to Environmental Engineering. I’m confident that I could’ve passed the classes with B’s or better but I let my relationship problems and emotional inconsistency get the better of me. Because CENG classes are only offered once per academic year, if you miss, you end up being delayed by a whole year. Panicking, I switched to Environmental Engineering and I DO love it, but I wish I would’ve stuck it out with Chemical.</p>
<p>Thankfully, I’m sticking to the engineering field so I know I have a secure future, a lucrative career path and a degree that can more or less pay for itself. </p>
<p>My friend who already graduated with a BA in Mathematics, unfortunately can’t say the same. And he’s been graduated for over 4 years. I was a late bloomer. He literally told me to not make the same mistake he did, and to stick to my science major. We’ve studied almost the same levels of math and he can understand physics and fluid mechanics, which are the hardest subjects in Engineering. For a lot of people, Math only pays off if you go to graduate school and either become a professor/researcher, or enter the job market with a more advanced degree. </p>
<p>With engineering, the GPA doesn’t define you as much as experience, references and the job interview. The only people I know who had their GPA checked after graduating with an engineering degree are my computer science majors who applied to places like Facebook/Google. Most industrial and even a lot of city/local government jobs, don’t ask for GPA in the application and even the interview. </p>
<p>I think a 3.0 GPA in Chemical Engineering is quite high, considering how hard CENG 101A is.</p>