An Engineer/Premed's Schedule: Please critique

ananya77041 · 07-04-2009, 01:29 AM

Schedulizer: Fall '09

It's 21 credits so I know you will think I'm crazy at first, but 1 of those is PE, another is the first year engineering seminar, and another is an AEW.

In addition, I have AP 5's in BC Calc, Chemistry, Physics (both Mech and E&M), and English Lit. Also, I plan to placement-test out of 1920 since I took a year-long Multivariable course that covers all the topics listed on the engineering math placement website.

So my questions:
1.) Will this keep me pretty much set for the premed track?

2.) Is it an overload for first semester?

3.) Are the AEWs useful at all, especially the one for MATH 2930? Or are they basically supervised homework sessions?

Thanks a lot in advance for answering. Between engineering, premed, and the different things people have been telling me about enrollment for engineers, I'm incredibly confused right now.

P.S. I think it's amusing my my schedule looks vaguely like a skull...x_x

Ray192 · 07-04-2009, 01:40 AM

1. There's no harm to signing up for AEW. You can't really fail it.

2. It looks pretty standard except for Japanese, so it really depends on how good you are with languages. My opinion? Don't take Japanese unless you're really, REALLY committed to taking it for at least 2 or so years. Otherwise it's pretty much a waste of time, and a major pain in the ***.

Prism123 · 07-04-2009, 05:07 AM

You should know, judo if its in the same place it was when my friend took it, is very far from the freshmen dorms and you will probably hate walking their and back so late at night.

Also you do need to take a writing seminar at some point, but you can do that second semester if you wish.

Prism123 · 07-04-2009, 05:08 AM

And yeah there are easier ways to get liberal studies credit than language, only take one if you actually want to learn it.

TchaikovskyPiano · 07-04-2009, 08:42 AM

Engineering alone is tough enough, but engineering and pre-med? I suppose it's doable if you're committed... good luck!

As for your schedule, it is ridiculously overloaded. Japanese will take up a lot of your time, I'm not sure it would be worth it unless you REALLY want to learn it. One potential risk of taking too many credits is that you end up not being able to devote full time to every class, and either you suffer in one class or end up not learning very much in each class. I think it is a much better use of your time to take a few classes and focus on them; I think you will learn a lot more that way. Plus, I feel like your first semester should be a time for exploring different extracurricular activities on campus, and that is hard to do with a heavy course load.

AEWs are actually pretty useful. The instructors sometimes will give you extra exams from which to practice.

rftennis09 · 07-04-2009, 10:11 AM

not to steal the thread, but what kind of intro to engineering class should one take if majoring in biological engineering?

AnbuItachi · 07-04-2009, 10:28 AM

i heard japanese 101 is pretty easy. i dont know how much work the 1 cr courses require but if those are fine, your schedule is fine. i heard diff in cornell for engineers is easier than multi for engineers

Ray192 · 07-04-2009, 01:18 PM

Diff eq is definitely easier than 192.

thefool · 07-04-2009, 06:03 PM

Does the school of engineering let you take 21 credits? I know the max is 18 in A&S.

I would replace Japanese with something that would be less of a time commitment or more likely to be something you end up using later in life (like chinese for instance) unless you have some reason to learn it.

ananya77041 · 07-06-2009, 03:19 AM

When you guys say Japanese is a time commitment, do you mean homework wise or just the actual number of lectures/discussions? Because when it comes to the amount of class time, I don't mind at all, as long as my school day is over by 3.

In addition, I also made this schedule keeping in mind I really want to experience either a study-abroad or a Co-op during Junior year. I can't really afford to take additional summer sessions, so I need to keep all my classes within the academic year...

Ray192 · 07-06-2009, 11:13 AM

It's very unlikely that you'll be able to do a co-op without summer school, unless you want to go through an extra semester of school.

Japanese is an incredible amount of time commitment for people who did not grow up with East Asian languages. Trust me, you'll spend hours and hours studying the vocabulary after class, nevermind the grammar, the writing, and other things.

Oh, and if you take Japanese, you will forever be labeled a weeabo. Not that bad in engineering... but it annoys a lot of people.

thefool · 07-06-2009, 11:35 AM

Sorry to break off on a tangent, but have any of you ever taken chinese. Is it basically the same situation as Japanese? It honestly just seems like it could come in really handy.

Ray192 · 07-06-2009, 11:38 AM

It would come in handy if you finish at least the intermediate level (~2 years) and is prepared to spend hours every night studying for the class.

Otherwise, don't bother.

jakeiscool · 07-06-2009, 11:46 AM

whats a weeabo lol

kwongvc · 07-06-2009, 12:23 PM

If you are in Bioengineering, a better Intro to Eng. class would be BME 1310: Intro. to Biomedical Engineering, which is offered in the spring. This is something you might want to consider if you're pre-med/engineering (like me).