Tough College Years

<p>I was wondering if someone could tell me how tough this would be...</p>

<p>I want to attend the University of Michigan as an Aeronautical Engineering major. Participate in AFROTC, and also run track for the UM track team.</p>

<p>How hard would it be to do all this and maintain a 3.5 GPA? I'm not a valedictorian or anything like that but I have decent grades. 3.9 GPA with 30 ACT.</p>

<p>How much homework is there for Engineering majors?</p>

<p>Good luck, you will need it.</p>

<p>Anybody know what the average GPA is for AeroE majors?</p>

<p>I need to add more here.</p>

<p>I am not in any ROTC, but I am an aerospace major at USC and I'm on the rowing team, and that takes up about 25-30 hours a week and forces me to go to bed by 11 PM at the absolute latest. Combine that with school, and I barely have enough time to complete the requirements, let alone study.</p>

<p>Why does the gpa matter so much. Just do your best.</p>

<p>3.5 at UM with D1 sports obligations?!?!?!? Absolutely ludicrous.</p>

<p>GPA matters because that determines if you get a pilot slot or not.</p>

<p>josh,</p>

<p>i was a die-hard track and xc runner, and i could have ran track and xc for Cornell, but I would have had to pay $44k a year to go. I don't want to dash your dreams, but drop track, seriously, unless you think you can go all-american. a friend of mine was the STATE finalist, one of the fastest runners in my era in high school. he had a FULL scholarship to UMCP for xc and track. he majored in engineering... then dropped to kinesiology (aka P.E. teacher or physical therapy major) which is respectable and UMCP has an awesome KNES program. but to keep his schoalrship.. he dropped engineering.</p>

<p>btw.. UMich is a top 3 public school.... maybe even top 2 in engineering...</p>

<p>hinmanCEO,</p>

<p>Well I don't even run perse, I jump. Do you know how much time you have to put in for high jump?</p>

<p>josh,</p>

<p>you will be a NCAA D1 athlete.. thats a HUGE commitment. ROTC is a commitment. So is engineering.</p>

<p>You can do all three. It is possible. But you might be extremely tired, frustrated, and burnt out. You might be an amzing person and make it through everything. But I am telling you, it will be tough. We can give us our 2cents, but in the end, it is YOUR CHOICE.</p>

<p>What about civil engineering (structural engineering concentration) would that be as hefty a work-load as the rest of your majors? or is considerably less challenging. I will put in the effort but the stuff I've been reading on this board (50 plus hours a week of school-work) is just insane.</p>

<p>UriA702-</p>

<p>I'm a civil engineering major (structural emphasis) and I can tell you that the workload is just as much as the other engineering majors. All engineers need to take the same basic classes (Calc 1-3, DiffEq, Physics-Mechanics and E&M, Chemistry, etc). With civil engineering, a lot of your classes will be the same as Aero and Mechanical engineers as well: Statics, Dynamics, Strength of Materials. After all that, it gets different while you get to take classes such as Theory of Structures, Steel Design, Concrete Design, Timber&Masonry Design etc and the other engineers take courses in their own field.</p>

<p>It is possible to do all three, I met a AFROTC cadet that was an athlete as well (although not an engineering major). ROTC and sports commitments will likely overlap. Unless there is a strong reason to stay with track, you may want to drop it. While there is a low chance of going places with track, doing well in academics and ROTC WILL enable you to develop career opportunities (both in and out of the military).</p>

<p>being a D1 athlete at a school like Michigan + meeting ROTC commitments + majoring in aeronautical engineering at one of the toughest engineering schools in the nation = too much </p>

<p>Period.</p>

<p>You are best off focusing on engineering and ROTC, as these two will provide the best benefits in the future. And trust me, you will have your hands full.</p>

<p>I agree. Engineering itself is tough enough, add on ROTC and you'll be lucky to find any free time.
Division 1 sports is very very tough and you will be spending a ton of time practicing. I think engineering and ROTC will be enough. ROTC will help extremely in job search Military experience plus a degree in Engineering is like money in the bank. Military experience shows how tough you are, and engineering shows you have the mental capacity to handle long hours of hard work. IMO drop the running, your future looks very bright.</p>

<p>UriA702, based on my personal experience (Aeronautics and Astronautics major in the University of Washington, I would assume that UMICH would even be more demanding), school work alone would easily require 50 or plus hours per week. And that's not including undergraduate research, ROTC, part-time job, any extracurricular activities, or social lives. One of my friends was also doing ROTC, and he's basically, well, for lack of better terms, screwed. Now he's working for Boeing, and he tells me that he got a lot easier time than when he was at school.</p>

<p>it would be awesome to be a D1 athlete... especially at a school like Michigan. </p>

<p>well anyways... anything is possible.</p>

<p>What about a school like MSU with a degree in MechE? I'm guessing still about the same. Also people keep thinking that I will be running, I am a High Jumper. I'm guessing they have less demanding practices.</p>

<p>dont you also have to miss class for away meets</p>