Work hard, play hard. It's hell sometimes but I know guys that hit the bars 3 times a week and still pull off 3.5+ GPA's. I also know guys who held internships while taking classes in engineering so that's possible also.
Based on my son's experience as a first-year student in engineering. He didn't take the engineering summer program because the only reason he went for summer was to get acclimated. He was glad he did. Has a great part-time job; lots of friends; plays hard and says he works hard - LOL. He acknowledges that college is hard work and is seeing B's for the first time but if I had to sum up his first year thus far with one word "Thriving". He would probably say "Awesome"
My engineering friends all have time to hang out, outside of studying for class. Once you make it through the calc's, dynamics, statics, and physics...you mostly like will finish your degree. However, you always have those that started out engineering but changed majors.
Quote:
Do you know a lot of people that have jobs outside of Florida?
and what do you consider a 'good GPA'?
Many I know went on to graduate school, but I know some that went to Texas, Oregon, and California. I guess the general rule is >3.5. An example is 3.8 (EE @ Motorola). Also remember that engineering is all about internships. It not uncommon to see people do internships every summer or do a co-op for a semester.
[quote]What are you basing this off of?
Do you know a lot of people that have jobs outside of Florida?
and what do you consider a 'good GPA'? [/qoute]
MANY of my friends who graduated from the college of engineering have gotten jobs all over the country with top engineering companies. In fact, I know first hand that top engineering companies have UF as a top 15 recruiting school for engineering.
I would say an engineering core gpa of 3.5 or higher is very good. You should also look into the IPPD program. Gives you EXCELLENT opportunity to work with top companies working on real research work during your senior year: University of Florida - Integrated Product & Process Design. Make sure you look at past/current projects to get an idea of how much experience undergrads get.
I'd agree with that, I know quite a few who get hired with Microsoft and Lockheed Martin, for instance. And as aforementioned, it really does depend on internships, many people get internship offers with Disney/Microsoft/Harris that I've seen, or locally with 352 Media. And from what I've heard/seen 3.5 does seem to be the general rule for engineering majors to get the jobs they desire.
As for having time to hang out with friends and such, it really depends on how you plan your schedules as well as how much studying you personally need. Since there are a bunch of quantitative classes, it really also depends on how swiftly you pick up the material. In reference to the amount you take per semester. I have many engineering friends who take 13/14 credits a semester and have time to go party and such, but I usually take 17-19 and find myself studying more often than not with the occasional break when my gf tells me to stop studying.
I am an undergraduate student at UF. I am a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
I can tell you that the school is not easy because you get a ton of work to do and some classes are just too hard. However, you need to be confident with your skills. Right now, my cumulative GPA is 3.46 and major GPA 3.58, and I am currently doing my 3 internship/co-op (2 with Boeing, 1 with GE). The funny thing is that, I basically party 4 days a week and play sports 6 days a week.
Once again, you need to be confident with your skills.
Trust me, UF is known among engineering companies. We are among the top 15 universities for recruiters (Motorola, GE, Boeing, Siemens, etc....).
How are the engineering professors at UF(im a civil major)? Are they like most professors at large public schools that focus mostly on research, speak poor English, and give very boring lectures?
Would a student with only 1 internship and great GPA still have a good chance at their desired job?
When some of you mention "graduates" in past posts, are you talking about Bachelors or Masters graduates?
I was wondering this also. I'm going into computer science (maybe changing to computer engineering with software emphasis) and would like to attend Stanford for grad.
Ivies are not generally the best for engineering. The only ones I can think of that are ranked are princeton in chem, electrical, and mechanical and cornell in electrical and mechanical.
Examples: someone went to BU for Biomedical and its currently #7 and another went to UPenn which is also tied for #7. Also there are a few that went to GTech for biomedical.
Quote:
I'm going into computer science (maybe changing to computer engineering with software emphasis) and would like to attend Stanford for grad.
Someone did go to stanford, but for a masters not PhD.
