“Discrete structures” is usually more like a math course. UTA CSE 2315 looks like a typical course of this type.
http://ranger.uta.edu/~heng/CSE2315.html
http://ranger.uta.edu/~huber/cse2315/
@Eloise2018 Thank you so much for the follow-up. Many of us have kids with similar situations, and seeing how things unfold helps all of us. Appreciate your update, and hopefully more good updates to come.
Hi!
So I’m kind of like your son. I procrastinate a lot, but I’m a good student, earned my associates degree in high school, high GPA, ACT score, etc. all without ever really needing to study.
I can’t speak on chemical engineering specifically because I started this year off in biomedical engineering and switched to electrical because I really don’t like chemistry, but all engineering majors are pretty rigorous. It seems like your son cares about school, even if it has been easy for him so far. He’s taken AP and dual enrollment courses, typically not signs of lazy students, even if those students don’t need to work as hard to succeed in courses.
I will admit, it is hard to learn how to study. And he will need to study. I was shocked at the jump in difficulty from Associates degree level general education courses to “introductory” level science courses. For me it was science that was difficult, but he might also struggle with the math. Just let him know that it’s okay to ask for help. Professors and TAs hold office hours, most universities have tutoring centers for free or cheap, etc. And as a parent, remember that GPA expectations for engineering majors are much lower than for other majors. I went from seeing 90% as an okay test score to getting 70%, 60%, even 50% on tests. Regularly. Now, 80% is a really good score for me, and 70% is usually what college engineering professors expect to be the class average. So, he’s not going to have a 4.0, but neither is anybody else in his major (unless they really have no life and are a genius). Getting internships, working on design projects, those end up being more important than his letter grade.
I’m just finishing up my freshman year, so I can’t speak beyond the first year, but he will start to figure things out. He will either decide engineering isn’t for him or he will figure out how to make it through the classes after a semester or two. He’s clearly smart enough to make it through the courses, he just has to decide that he wants to, and then I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it is manageable after the initial shock.
As a side note, have him try not to overload himself. I recommend taking as close to 15 credits a semester as he can. 15/semester is the minimum number of credits to get 120 credits (a typical degree) in 4 years, but much more than that can add up really fast when you’re taking hard math and sciences. I’ve taken 17 both semesters, and it has definitely made things a bit more difficult. Try to fit some classes he enjoys/is good at in there. For me, that’s 1-2 humanities/spanish courses per semester to even out the workload. That said, if he regularly takes less than 15, it’ll take more than 4 years to graduate (keep in mind though that because engineering degrees are so rigorous, it isn’t uncommon for them to take 5-6 years to complete).
In short, I wouldn’t discourage him from studying engineering. He’s clearly smart based off his high school reports, and the AP and dual enrollment show that he’s as prepared as most students entering engineering. He’s going to struggle with the studying, I’m sure, and things will no longer be easy to breeze through, but if he enjoys the degree he’ll be able to figure it out. And if he doesn’t enjoy the degree, he’ll find something else he likes instead.
Thanks to everyone for all of the comments and advice. He is home for the summer and ended up this semester with a 3.0. The programming class kicked his butt but at least he passed it. He said learned how to study better and his tutor and study group really helped a lot.
Honestly, if his roommate wasn’t such a $%&@ he might have done even better. I can only guess! I found out around the first of April that this roommate was coming in at 4:30 am playing music or making noise eating or whatever bs he decided to do. They just didn’t like each other I guess. My son said the guy never went to class and always waited until the night before to do any assignment so he would be up all night. They had two classes together including the programming class. The guy didn’t even show up for the final. I told my son when I found out about this nonsense that he should have gone to his RA the minutes it started, but he’s just not one to make trouble. He told me he just wanted to beat the heck out of him but I’m glad he didn’t. LOL:) So now, it’s on to fall semester and Calc 3, Physics 2 and whatever engineering courses he has to take. Well, he is taking Art Appreciation online at a local community college this summer 'cause you know, liberal arts has to have money too!
Bet you and he were both happy he ended the school year with a 3.0 to keep his scholarship! Sounds like he had a great year (despite roomie) and learned a lot about himself and college.
As classes get harder, what is his strategy for not falling below 3.0 GPA? Is his school counselor suggesting a certain mix of classes each semester or taking a fun, "easy A’ class to help with GPA?
Honestly, I don’t even know all of the classes he is taking this semester. I know he is taking a communications class and something else that I can’t remember, which are pretty easy and part of the core curriculum. He ended up taking Music Appreciation online this past summer at the local community college so he could get it out of the way. He is taking 17 hours, which includes an Algorithms class, which he says is kicking his ass so he did what he always does: if he doesn’t immediately understand and “get” something then he totally freaks out saying he needs to change his degree. It’s always the first month or first few classes or assignments that this happens. He said he spent 24 hours over a weekend trying to do the first assignment and still didn’t understand or finish it by Monday when he had to turn it in. I told him to calm down and get a tutor, just like last year. He is taking another programming class (don’t know the name) but he said it’s so easy and is making an A in it. So i told him, remember last year when that programming class convinced you that you needed to change your major but you eventually figured it out and passed it? This is the same thing. Get a tutor, even if we have for pay for one. As far as I know, he is maintaining his GPA. I’m trying not to insert myself into his college life this year. He still has the same study group and they got together and made out their schedules so they would be taking most of the sames classes.
The second year is turning out a little different. He worked all summer and made enough money to pay for half of the tuition we owed for the first semester. I hardly ever hear from him now but occasionally he will send me a text, usually containing something like the new Star Wars trailer. 
He has a new roommate and they get along great. He seems a lot happier and instead of coming home for Thanksgiving and his birthday, which is on the 25th, he said he needs new clothes and wants to change his style???, so I’m going there and taking him shopping. One really good bit of news is that his father’s cousin, who has been an electrical engineer for about 25 years (he also got his degree from UTA) works for a tech company in Dallas. He thinks he can get him an internship next summer at the company. This would be an awesome opportunity. The kid handed out resumes to about six companies at the college job fair but internships at places like Lockheed Martin or Bell, which are local, are not easy to get for a second year engineering student. Fingers crossed!
I am glad to hear things sound ok. I’ve heard of other students complain about algorithm / data structures classes (and just confirmed now with quick google). It’s probably one of those classes you have to “just get through it”.
I wanted to give an update. He made all A’s and B’s the first semester. He showed me his grades and, honestly, he was really surprised that he made a B in the Algorithm class. He made an A in the programming class but he ended up dropping an engineering course so he can take it with his study group this semester. He wanted to show me how to code and we spent an hour on the couch with his laptop. My head hurt by the time it was over but I love that he is excited about it. One downside is that half of his study group is Computer Science so some of them will be parting company as far as classes go. Christmas break is almost over and he goes back January 21 for the second semester. He is taking Physics II finally, and I think the rest are mostly engineering classes.
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Really happy for you and your son. Parting company with peers is part of college and work experience and this will be a valuable social lesson for him as well.
Thanks for the update and sharing your experience. It is really useful for lot of us pondering over similar thoughts !
@Eloise2018, yes, thanks for the udpate! So glad it’s going well for him. I had a bumpy start, also, and I’m glad I stuck it out. 