Starting college in the fall, how do you guys view summer semesters?

Student Lounge College Life
1

The university where I’ll be going offers fall, winter, and summer semesters. The fall and winter are your typical semesters while the summer semester is advertised as a “fall back” semester where you could potentially schedule classes that you previously failed or otherwise get caught up, etc, etc.

Now my end goal is a Master of Science in Mechatronics offered by the university that requires previous study in either ME, EE, and/or CE, all of which I am passionate about. Each of the three fields can be finished in 4 years with 4 courses per fall and winter semesters. The funny thing is that the course requirements for EE and CE are nearly identical and you only need to take 2 additional courses to double major in them. That means that if you took two courses in the summer then you’d be on track to graduate in four years with a double major.

ME also has plenty of overlap but not as much as EE and CE do with each other, they overlap just enough to where a triple major in ME, EE, and CE would put you at 4 courses per fall and winter semester and 3 courses per summer semester.

Even further, a minor in CS is only 3 more courses in addition to everything above, so a Triple Major in ME, EE, and CE with a Minor in CS would put you at 4 courses per fall, winter, and summer semesters for 4 years.

My question is, since the conventional schedule is 4 courses per fall and winter semesters, would taking an addition 4 courses in the summer be all that bad? Suffice to say that money won’t be an issue at present, and since I ultimately have a devout passion for all of the above, would you consider that absolutely crazy? Or would you consider doing it?

The pros are that it would look good when trying to enroll into the Masters program for Mechatronics (assuming I keep a good standing) and on one hand you miss the opportunity to have a break in the summer but on the other hand you never fall out of practice. Also suffice to say that my main goal isn’t some legendary job position that requires a Triple Major in ME, EE, and CE and Minor in CS. Thoughts?

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http://catalog.oakland.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=30&poid=4947

If that’s relevant.

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In addition, I have several years of hobbyist programming experience and I have ample CAD experience, I work at a tool and die shop. Just to give you an idea of what my background is.

4

What is the rush? Employers wont care it you take a little more time in college if you end up with a double major. You are going to have to pay extra for Summer classes, just as you would if you graduated in 4.5 years.

Engineering is one of the hardest majors offered and I think you are over estimating what you will be able to handle in college, if you are trying to double or triple major [which frankly is overkill] .Its MORE important that you get the best GPA possible, than trying to cram too many classes into too few semesters.

Summer classes offerings are more limited in breadth, and they may not offer what you want to take. Summer is a really good time to do research, if it is available.

5

“What is the rush? Employers wont care it you take a little more time in college if you end up with a double major.”

My end goal is the Masters in Mechatronics so I’d like to get my undergrad out of the way a bit sooner if possible.

“You are going to have to pay extra for Summer classes, just as you would if you graduated in 4.5 years.”

But say money isn’t an issue at present

“Engineering is one of the hardest majors offered and I think you are over estimating what you will be able to handle in college”
“Its MORE important that you get the best GPA possible, than trying to cram too many classes into too few semesters.”

Well that was what I was talking about, the generic schedule has engineering students running 4 courses per semester, I wouldn’t be increasing the workload at all, the same 4 courses per semester but with additional semesters.

" if you are trying to double or triple major [which frankly is overkill] "

Well yea, I’ts overkill if your goal is to get in and get out and find a decent job in the workforce, which isn’t the case with me

“Summer classes offerings are more limited in breadth, and they may not offer what you want to take. Summer is a really good time to do research, if it is available.”

This is true

6

Have you even started college yet?
If NOT, you need to realize 2 things- college is a LOT harder than HS, and you are overestimating how well you WILL do in the required classes for Engineering.
So if you are starting in the Fall, get your feet wet first, and then see how well you can handle all of the intense classes.

7

^Boy, this is the truth. I had almost a 99 average, unweighted, in a good high school (we weren’t given grades on a 1-4 point scale). I thought college would be a piece of cake. I signed up for engineering honors classes. Yikes. Let’s just say I was darned lucky to squeak by with a C in my first semester of honors physics! I ended up graduating with high honors, but college was MUCH tougher than I expected.

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“Have you even started college yet? If NOT, you need to realize 2 things- college is a LOT harder than HS, and you are overestimating how well you WILL do in the required classes for Engineering.”

LMAO the amount of projection, You seriously need to figure yourself out. I never said I was going to hop right into college and get a 4.0, I never said it was going to be easy either. But for you to declare that I’m going to do poorly without knowing a single thing about me, speaking from experience?

Plenty of people go into college and realize they’re in over their heads, but plenty of people also go into college and and perform exceptionally well. I have no idea which of the two I am but you have even less of an idea, so drop the “you’re in over your head” “you’re overestimating how well you will do” spiel. It’s unfounded and isn’t even productive.

I’m not even taking any core classes first semester anyways, obviously getting a feel for college first is my priority.

9

oh boy.
see you later kid. and good luck with that attitude.
perhaps when you are in college you will learn to listen to others. who may know what they are talking about…

8-|

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“oh boy.
see you later kid. and good luck with that attitude.
perhaps when you are in college you will learn to listen to others. who may know what they are talking about…”

Yes well, when people who know nothing about you declare you’ll fail before even starting I’d say an attitude is the appropriate response. Also, you can’t just dismiss what I said and call it an “attitude” tell me which part of what I said was wrong.

“listen to others. who may know what they are talking about”

Ah. SO it WAS personal experience.

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“^Boy, this is the truth. I had almost a 99 average, unweighted, in a good high school (we weren’t given grades on a 1-4 point scale). I thought college would be a piece of cake. I signed up for engineering honors classes. Yikes. Let’s just say I was darned lucky to squeak by with a C in my first semester of honors physics! I ended up graduating with high honors, but college was MUCH tougher than I expected.”

Yes, well, I have no illusions of grandeur. I’m expecting to go into college and bust my ass. Thanks though

12

As an engineering major who’s averaged five courses per semester with research, that sounds awful. Burnout is a real thing.

If your goal is graduate school, then as someone already mentioned, you want to leave time for research. And you may or may not even be allowed to take four classes in the summer, depending on the school’s policies. Since they’re shorter and faster-paced, four summer courses may be a lot more work than four fall courses.

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"As an engineering major who’s averaged five courses per semester with research, that sounds awful. Burnout is a real thing.

If your goal is graduate school, then as someone already mentioned, you want to leave time for research. And you may or may not even be allowed to take four classes in the summer, depending on the school’s policies. Since they’re shorter and faster-paced, four summer courses may be a lot more work than four fall courses."

Thank you, I’ll have to look at the schools summer policy

14

OP, people are just trying to help you succeed. We’ve known people who took on too much and did burn out. We are not saying you will be one of these people, we’re just advising caution. Good luck to you.

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“OP, people are just trying to help you succeed. We’ve known people who took on too much and did burn out. We are not saying you will be one of these people, we’re just advising caution. Good luck to you.”

That’s fine, I get that. I’d just prefer yours and bodangles approach rather than the other guy’s, “you WILL not succeed.” I tend to respond to hostility with hostility and amiability with amiability.

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“you WILL not succeed.”

OP, if you re-read my posts you will see I did not say that. or even infer that… anywhere.
good luck in college.

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“If NOT, you need to realize 2 things- college is a LOT harder than HS, and you are overestimating how well you WILL do in the required classes for Engineering.”

You verbatim send that I was overestimating how well I would do which is no different from declaring I won’t do well. Not that I care to argue with you anymore

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You are going to want to try to get a summer job in your major area if you can.

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One thing you need to keep in mind is that not all of the classes you plan on taking at this point may be offered when you want them. Your triple major plan is a balancing act, and some classes especially at the upper levels may only be offered every other semester or at conflicting times with each other. Factor in pre-requisites and it gets tricky. What’s listed in the course catalogs vs actually offered very often do not line up and are subject to change.

I would strongly advise you to contact the relevant departments at the school to see if the plan is possible at a logistical level.

As for research, it’s a good thing to have, but it may be more beneficial for a PhD track. For a Master’s doing something like a co-op or internship may have a bigger benefit if you plan on going into industry. Of course you can always choose all of the above.

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If you posted this on the engineering forum, they’d tell you that a double major in engineering, let alone a triple with a minor, generally negatively affects your job prospects in engineering, and I’m sure it’ll have a similar effect on grad school admissions. Really, it’s not considered a good thing in engineering. You’ve heard the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none”. (@boneh3ad I know you have more knowledge on this than me).