Registration is fast approaching for freshmen to register for next year’s classes. But engineering majors have not yet applied to and been accepted to their engineering majors. My son’s intended engineering degree plan requires that he takes 1 or two classes in his specific engineering major in the fall of sophomore year, and both classes require that you be in that major to take the class. So how does a freshman register for the sophomore engineering classes required in his/her specific engineering major when he/she hasn’t even applied and been accepted yet (apps aren’t even open yet) to that major?
Well since he is a freshman, he has register for classes in the standard engineering core curriculum for his first year. He can’t take classes in his major most of the time unless he has completed Calc 1, Calc 2, Composition and Rhetoric, Physics Mechanics, Physics EM, Chemistry for engineers, and Foundations of Engineering 1 and 2. After that he will go though competitive admissions into his major for the fall of sophomore year.
@lessonwitch2, I’m talking about freshman registering for sophomore classes. The current freshmen have to register in a couple weeks for their sophomore classes. Engineering freshmen have not yet applied and been accepted to their specific engineering majors, and yet the sophomore curriculum includes specific courses to their majors. The schedule shows that they MUST be IN that major to register for the course. In other words, a freshman intending to major in PetE cannot register for PetE225 for Fall 2016, even though it is shown as a Fall of sophomore year course and it is a prereq for future classes.
Surely other students have run in to this, right? Because this year sophomores were also accepted into general engineering only as freshmen.
Oh I’m sorry I misunderstood.
This happened to my son. You register for your core curriculum (liberal arts etc) classes. Then when you get accepted in your major in the summer you do add/drop in August before classes resume. There is a time in early August when you can add/drop. It is usually around August 5th or something. Hopefully not all the classes are full by them If they are contact an advisor and see if they can force you into any of the classes. If the class is full, they can usually force in 3 - 4 more students.
If this were my student ( although my youngest is set to graduate in a few weeks! whoop!!), I’d have them go in to the department and specifically ask about the classes in question. Get their name on the radar, and get a contact to call/email. Just be very organized & make a really good first impression. Can’t hurt, plus my understanding is that interest has a bit of a place in the decision process - so it could help. Don’t wait too long, as the availability fills up to speak to anyone the closer you get to class sign ups. I think TexasAThome has the actual answer^ , that’s how we did various sign ups in the business school when there were pre-reqs or approvals needed. Just choose a ‘place holder’ course- ps. if you DONT it screws up Fin Aid, being a full time student- for insurance, etc. make sure you have at least 12 units on the ‘books’ at all times, not just when the dust settles for your actual schedule.
This happened to me also. Just like TexasAtHome said, I was barred from taking a major specific class and they won’t let me register for it until August after I get my decision back in July.
Thanks, @KievanRus , @AGmomx2 , @TexasAtHome and @lessonwitch2 for the comments.
SO many registration issues at TAMU!
He’s already talked to the department several times because he was offered a departmental scholarship for freshman year, he’s in the student organization for the major, and he has industry scholarships for the major. He has met the requirements (so far but this semester’s grades count also) for auto-admit to the engineering major. BUT… based on the experiences you all have had, sounds like he will just have to sign up for everything BUT the course in his major. Fortunately, it is only 1 course for fall of sophomore year.
The silly thing is that there are all these freshmen engineering majors signing up for classes they don’t plan to take, just to have the full number of hours needed for FA, or just to be a place holder for the courses in their desired major that they can’t sign up for yet. Then they all drop those classes during the open registration period? That must mess up other students’ schedules and must make it difficult for other departments to gauge how many seats they actually need in certain courses.
We’ve heard they are eliminating this ill concieved program and in the future they will, just like before, admit incoming freshman directly into their desired engineering major. Duh.
@Barfly My understanding is that A&M implemented this process for engineering because previously they would admit about 2,800 students and after their freshman year about 50% would change majors to something other than engineering. So A&M wanted a process that placed students into engineering that truly want to be there. But as you note this has now created problems for freshman trying to register for sophomore classes. What happens if you don’t get the engineering discipline you want or don’t get engineering at all?
My dad was class of '80 and I have wanted to go to A&M as long as I can remember. But more importantly I want to be a petroleum engineer. In addition to A&M I was accepted into the petroleum engineering program at UT. Since I am in the program at UT and not guaranteed to make it into the petroleum engineering at A&M I have decided to go to UT. Would have been nice to not have had to make that choice.
@K20903 my Aggie students have heard they are eliminating the entry to a major program next year, but it sounds like you have not heard that? Maybe my kids got it wrong, but that’s what they say they have heard.
Sorry you had to choose UT if your heart was set on A&M. If the industry doesn’t improve quickly, it will be easy to get into PetE at A&M - I’m sure there will be fewer students wanting PetE this year. We have already heard of many freshmen students who are going to put ChemE or ME for their first choice on their entry to a major app even though they went to A&M specifically for PetE.