There is a class freshman take with their advisor which explains graduation requirements, university resources, undergraduate research opportunities, etc. But for parents who are very interested, engineering advising has a lot of resources online.
At Ohio State incoming freshman schedule at orientation, so scheduling the earliest date available will give you more options. ME has a long sequence of prerequisites (see Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Map at bottom of this link) Mechanical Engineering Curriculum | Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as well as bingo sheets and the GEs for incoming classes.
I watched my student schedule once. Their app showed them which graduation requirements were not yet filled. They selected classes to fill them. Then the app generated schedules (dozens). Then they added parameters to reduce the number of schedules (blocking out certain times) until it was reduced to a handful to review. Found one that gave him Friday off, selected it and hit submit. I think taking the time to review Rate my Professor or search reddit would be important, too. My S said heâd just drop and pick up another section if he didnât like the first day.
My D used office hours quite a bit and found faculty to be supportive. My S enjoys his department. There are also academic supports.
Students need to pursue coop/internships. They can use career services and the handshake listings, attend career fairs, and utilize their network.
The university has a lot of paid student jobs on workday. They donât expect you to have experience, so these are a great opportunity to build up your resume. My ChemE worked stocking chemicals, learned safety protocols, and learned about clean rooms his first semester. He was able to take on some small projects there over the following summer.
Labs have websites. If you find a lab you are interested in, reach out and ask if you can get involved. My other son started attending a weekly lab meeting his freshman year and eventually found a way to contribute as a volunteer, which later led to a paid research position in that lab.
Employers also love recruiting from the competitive engineering teams (racing, rockets, robots).
There is a new commercial research district being built at Ohio State, Carmenton. Central Ohio is preparing for the Intel plant. Research and Innovation | The Ohio State University
Some departments support a dual major, others wonât. My S came in with 89 dual enrollment credits. The ECE dept told him if he wanted to double major he needed to drop them as his major, apply for the CSE major, and once he was in to come back and they would approve the ECE as a second major. He decided not to pursue that path. He did write his undergraduate thesis under a CSE faculty member and was able to take the courses he wanted through professor permission. For incoming classes only CSE pre-majors can apply for CSE.
Study abroad for a full Fall/Spring semester would be tough. Probably the best time would be to try the summer after freshman year. I wish mine had been able to fit something in, but they werenât able. My D did work with a non-profit in Ghana, but it was a short trip, and not part of the study abroad programs.
Socially, the engineering students are bright, collaborative and have fun. If your student is not in a scholars program, apply for a living learning community. You do not have to commit to apply. Living-Learning Communities : Housing and Residence Education
Downsides: There is a $4,000/yr engineering fee, and some majors are now gated at admission. Donât drop the ME, picking up a second major is probably only possible in one of the direct admit majors (Aviation, ChemE, CE, ECE, EngPhysics, EE, FABE, ISE, MSE, WE)
"Only students in these pre-majors may apply to their respective major. For example, only biomedical pre-majors are permitted to apply to the biomedical engineering major.
- Aerospace Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Computer Science and Engineering (ENG) / Computer and Information Science (ASC)
- Mechanical Engineering"
from New Students
