<p>Has anyone’s student on the board utilized the Undergraduate Peer Partnering program offered by the Engineering Dept. And how was/is the experience so far? (Big Help, so-so, etc.). Setting the correct tone/path for the difficult engineering majors and any resources available to help accomplish that goal is the aim for us. Any feedback on this program would be appreciated.</p>
<p>My S participated in Mentor UPP his Fr year (I pushed him to try it). I thought it would be a good way for him to meet more engineering types and make a few contacts. He was far too busy with many other things that interested him more, so he ended up dropping out mid-year. Don’t go on his experience, tho - sign up for it (definitely!) - and see for yourself. This was a relatively new program a few years back, so improvements/changes may have been made. The first 2 years the students are mentored; the last 2 years they are encouraged to mentor the newbies (and are given leadership opportunities). It’s a great concept which depends somewhat on the group mix and who the overall leaders are (being student led). I imagine it is a bit like a youth group at church: you get out of it what you put into it, and how open you are to being part of it.</p>
<p>Here is a direct link for those reading this forum: <a href=“http://mentoring.eng.ua.edu/”>http://mentoring.eng.ua.edu/</a> It sounds fantastic, IMO. As one of the testimonials said, it helped that student find their place at UA’s Engineering College, and that might just be what you are looking for, for your student.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>My son was a Peer Mentor and he and another student met with their group at least 2 times per week. They would meet at a Dining Hall or at an off-campus place (like Cold Stone). During weekends when there wasn’t a home game, they’d meet somewhere for something fun. </p>
<p>^^ Did he feel it was worthwhile in terms of “learning the Ropes” and the best ways to navigate regarding the engineering curriculum?</p>
<p>^^
My son was a peer mentor, not a frosh mentee. So, he was a junior or senior when he did it. (I think he was a junior).</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the issues are regarding navigating the eng’g curriculum… the path is sequenced, there is a flow chart. What area of eng’g is your student and what exactly are the concerns? </p>
<p>Are you asking about how a student should manage his time to get thru the program? </p>
<p>While the program is sequenced, there are often still some GenEd/Core classes to include. Deciding where to shove those into one’s schedule really would depend on each student’s strengths. A student who would struggle in a history class may want to take that class during a semester that won’t be already very difficult. </p>
<p>Does your child have a good number of AP credits that satisfy most/all of the Core? If so, then part of his battle is already won. :)</p>
<p>@BocaTerp </p>
<p>^^ He’ll have 50 to 60 credits by the time he gets there (NMF also). No particular questions yet, I had commented to him that knowing a couple of upperclassmen is always a good idea in that they can point out potential landmines to sidestep. This program seems like a good way to make those contacts and reap the benefits of their knowledge/experiences regarding things like teacher selection, study groups etc.</p>
<p>Yes, it can help to make friends with some upperclassmen because they can share info about a various prof’s testing style, etc. </p>
<p>Assuming that your son will have all most/all of his Core Reqts covered (with some that won’t be used), that will really open up his schedule for the first 4-6 semesters allowing him to really balance his schedule and perhaps fit in some “for fun and interest” classes. </p>
<p>Sounds like he will have AP English credits, if so, that is a huge relief for many frosh eng’g students! </p>
<p>^^ Yes, scored 5 on all of his AP’s so far…Eng. Language gives all of the credits he needs for Frosh Eng. Reqs.(and yes, he’s relieved for that!)…fun and interesting classes are the code words and hopefully ones that will help keep his GPA up there.</p>