Some advice as to what I should do for the summer

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hey everyone. I'm back after a long hiatus. </p>

<p>1st a quick update: Since getting back to my school after my "situation," things have been looking up. I was actually able to complete a full course load, a feat I have never been able to accomplish at my school until this semester. My confidence has been restored in my ability to do engineering.</p>

<p>So with that comes the grueling task of deciding my summer schedule. I am currently a Soph/Junior Polymer Science and Engineering major. Heres a list of things I need to take (non specific to my major):</p>

<p>O Chem 1 + 2
any random Chem lab thats past the gen chem lab
Thermo
Statics/Strength of materials
Diff Eq</p>

<p>Tenatively, I am going to do Diff Eq, O Chem 1, 2, and lab (4 weeks each, one after the other) and Thermo while saving Statics for the fall. the twist is that since I'm at home, I would do Thermo as an online class through my school (basically they just give a link to the lectures and I take the exams through a proctoring service). If finances permit, I would like to take Statics as well so that my fall semester would be less strenuous since I wouldnt have to take Statics then (that and I dont really want to take a class like that at my school). so I wanted your guy's take on this as to what you think.</p>

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<p>Wait. So how many courses are you planning to take during the summer?</p>

3

<p>it would be 5 for the first 4 weeks and then 4 on the second for weeks.</p>

<p>Basically 1st 4 would be O Chem 1, O Chem Lab, Diff Eq, Thermo, and maybe Statics
2nd 4 would be O chem 2, Diff Eq, Thermo, and maybe Statics</p>

4

<p>Wow, that’s quite a course load for the summer! You’re serious?</p>

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<p>As much as I hate it, I feel the need to so that I can graduate next year</p>

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<p>I don’t understand… how do the summer semesters work? Why are some classes in both semesters?</p>

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<p>because its O Chem 1 and 2. Two separate classes that are 4 weeks long. The lab is 4 weeks and thats with O Chem 1. The rest are 8 weeks</p>

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<p>You should make an appointment with your academic advisor to sit down and plan out a path to graduation. There is no way the school will allow you to take all of those courses over the summer, so you may want to get used to the idea of an extra semester or an extra year. Two courses at a time over the summer is a full load.</p>

<p>I dropped a course my sophomore year that ended up being a prerequisite for most of my engineering classes. This resulted in a 5th year as a part-time student, with time to explore the intricacies of the coursework, finally enjoying my learning without the burden of too much work and not enough sleep.</p>

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<p>I believe Clemson only lets you take a max of 12 or maybe 15 hours over the summer. And at Clemson this would be a pretty ridiculous amount of money. I’d just take an extra semester or year if possible. Tons of engineering students do it.</p>

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<p>that course load is impossible at any school. even the most advanced student with straight As would not be allowed to take that kind of load in a summer session, and I find it hard to believe that those classes could even be scheduled without overlapping (because summer courses have about twice as many lecture hours per week). my school in particular only allows 6 credits maximum, and I’m only expecting a slight waver to 9 credits because i’m an engineering major :O</p>

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<p>That seems pretty crazy…at Carnegie Mellon, the max you can take during a 6 week summer session is two courses. I’m doing Diff Eq and a physics class right now, and while it doesn’t seem to be a crushing load (at least so far!), it would be impossible to add in another class…I can’t see how you’d do so many.</p>

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<p>difficult but not impossible. it just works out that Thermo is an online class and O Chem/Diff Eq dont overlap. I thought about Statics for a bit and realized that since my major is more chemistry based, I dont really have to take it right now. my school allows for a maximum of 12 credit hours off campus and really has no max for on campus so it works out that way</p>

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<p>That’s too much workload for major classes. I hope you won’t waste your money or kill your GPA.</p>

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<p>Your summer is going to suck if you go through with that, but you have to do what you have to do. I’d think about though, staying an extra semester in your case might be better if you have to take that many classes because the cost of all those classes would probably almost pay for another regular semester and would probably help your gpa and give you a little more time to enjoy yourself.</p>

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<p>What? That’s insane. Summer classes are already super long and like 4-5 days a week. Don’t do that to yourself over summer.</p>

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<p>First off, congratulations on getting back on track, Magneto. I don’t know your history, but I’m glad you’re back in school and doing well.</p>

<p>You mentioned not wanting to take certain classes at your school. So I assume you are doing summer school at another university. You know, first off, that you’re going to have to make sure your current university will accept the credits from the summer university. This is not too hard with basic subjects like general chemistry, organic chemistry, and the math courses. It is sometimes problematic, however, with the upper level engineering courses like statics, thermodynamics. I’m not sure about the math, either, so you should check on that. Our college has a transfer credit equivalency chart for taking courses at other colleges, so you should check your college’s website for that first. If it’s not there, contact your advisor to clear taking the courses first.</p>

<p>So, say you’re good to go. With the scenario that YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO WORK A JOB, ANY JOB, THIS SUMMER, which is highly likely this summer, this is the scenario I would suggest. I’m not talking out the side of my mouth here, as I was in a similar position to you when in college and needing to finish because of finances, and my son is in a similar position because he needs to take courses during the summer in order to advance to the next level of engineering courses at his university.</p>

<p>I took organic chemistry over two summer sessions. I did not take the lab because I had to work to pay my tuition, but then I had to return for another summer session to take the organic lab. So first off, take all your organic this summer, the lecture and the lab.</p>

<p>Secondly, again, if you’re not working, during the summer session that you’re not taking a lab, take another class. Online would be good, especially if it’s at your own pace. You may even be able to fit in a part time job with this as well. Just be careful that you may find yourself slammed sometimes with big projects all due at once, and if you have a job, you’ll have less time to do multiple projects at once.</p>

<p>Be open to take an extra semester in school. Finances will not be a wash, but summer courses do run a bit higher than one would expect, especially for the sciences. You’re not only paying per credit, but you’re also going to have substantial lab fees and high priced textbooks.</p>

<p>Back when I was in college, you also had to take so many credits at the university in order to graduate there in your final year. In other words, you could come in as a transfer student with a lot of credits, but you couldn’t go to a university for only say one semester and expect to get a degree from that university. If you’re looking at staying one more full year, you should be okay in that regard. But, if you have to stay at least a full year, why overload yourself during the summer if it isn’t necessary?</p>

<p>Remember, your school year in engineering is going to be rigorous. While one doesn’t want to play and waste a summer, especially if you’re not working, you don’t want to be burned out and wind up dropping a course in your fall semester. If this happens, you’re back to square one, having to stay longer than you want.</p>

<p>Good luck to you and hope your summer goes well.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for you input, especially you Montegut</p>

<p>I had actually considered doing an extra semester, but figured that I really shouldnt since I already had a year off. The way I looked at it was that if I finish up all of my O chem and with Thermo being online and me already having prior experience with Diff Eq (and the fact that its notoriously easier at the school I’m taking it at), I figure that It would basically put me back on track to graduate in a total of 4 years. Plus, by doing all these courses this summer, it leaves me more time to research within my department and gain experience since I learned that thats very important for anything (its actually a required class too). so basically next fall I’d be starting into a major taking only two major classes since those are the only two that I can take and that leaves me room to deal with my tech electives and pursue a minor in Econ and/or Spanish just for the hell of it. so basically it wont be all bad, its just surviving these summer classes off campus where I only need a C to get credit and doing decent in Thermo</p>

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<p>^^^You’re welcome, Magneto. You’re so sweet.</p>

<p>Wishing you lots of luck. I know you’ll do great!</p>