<p>I’m a 1st year Computer Engineering major at UC Santa Barbara (#19 for Comp. Engineering in the nation). I was thinking of doing Math 4B (Differential Equations) and 2 Physics courses this summer at my local community college to make my sophomore courseload easier. </p>
<p>However, I’ve heard that grad schools (and intern recruiters?) look down upon community college courses and encourage UC-level courses. If I do the math class and 2 physics courses at a CC this summer will it negatively impact my graduate school admissions? </p>
<p>It is more common for engineering students to take breadth requirements in summer school to “get them out of the way” so they can focus on their core courses. Being blunt here, if you feel compelled to seek out easier versions of the core courses normally taken by sophomore engineers then you might want to ask yourself if this is really the right major for you. </p>
<p>There is an approach called “tough love” and I think that’s what someone needs to say. I’ve seen your earlier posts, one where you realized your grades 1st quarter were due to inconsistent study
I understand your just 18 and finding your way. Some people have a chastening experience early on in college and decide to change their study habits. Others take a look and realize the major they have chosen isn’t right for them; whether its lack of interest or that they can’t see themselves spending the time it takes to do well, they use their time at the start of college to find something more to their liking. </p>
<p>It sounds like you’re still looking for a way to avoid the 40-50+ hours a week that many engineering and hard-science students spend studying. At some point that is what is going to take to get a decent GPA; if you look at the titles of some of the courses you will be taking junior/senior year (such as “Signals & Systems” or “Fields & Waves”) you ought to be aware that these will take long hours of study just to pass. By trying to kick the can down the road a year with summer classes to make your sophomore year easier in hopes that junior/senior year you will be able to “turn it on” when long hours are inevitable – maybe that will work for you, my hunch is it will not. The price you pay is losing the time you could be spending now exploring majors that are a better fit, and indeed by the time you are a junior there will be some majors that will be closed to you because you won’t be able to fulfill all the units needed and fit under the UC unit cap.</p>
<p>Physics and DiffEq aren’t core courses, they’re prerequisites. No one cares about them. </p>
<p>I took a bunch of prerequisites at CC. No one cared. My motivation was mainly that it’s cheaper, these aren’t too hard at my university anyway, but still, no one cares if you take them at CC or the university. </p>
<p>Haha, Mike you are just after me and dropping out of engineering.</p>
<p>I’ve wanted to do Computer Science/Engineering since I was 10. My dad’s in the field, and I want to be in it too. I’m not going to switch majors to anything else (except potentially Computer Science if I don’t enjoy the hardware courses next year and want to focus on software).</p>
<p>I simply wanted to get 2 Physics classes and 1 math class done over the summer. This would allow me to focus on ECE 2A (a weeder class offered only once a year, 25-30% of students fail) and Computer Science 32 (I’m ahead in this), as well as get some more GEs done. </p>
<p>I think I’m going to call the undergraduate advisor for engineering and see what he recommends. While I see valid points in what you’ve said, Mike, I feel 1 math course and 1 or 2 Physics courses over the summer just to get ahead wouldn’t hurt me. I’m probably not going to do any further community college courses after this point anyway. </p>