Wanting to change my major but I have exceeded 90 credit hours.

[Mrcoolpants34]

I am currently a biology science major at Florida Atlantic University and have 99 credit hours. Just this last semester (Fall 2018), I had 88 credit hours and was still eligible to change my major. I wanted to change my major to Mechanical engineering and proceeded to go to the engineering department advising office. They told me that I could change my major if I passed general physics for engineers 1 (PHY 2048) with lab, and Calculus with analytical geometry 2 (MAC 2312). Low and behold, I got stuck with a physics professor who was brand new to the country and it was her first time teaching. None of the lectures reflected the tests accurately, homework was very difficult and a majority of the class withdrew/failed, it was just a complete disaster. Many of us from the class got together and wrote a petition with 17 signatures against the professor but we still haven’t heard any good news from the dean. Currently I have a D- for that physics class on my transcript, which isn’t good enough to continue with mechanical engineering. So I was then denied from the major. To make maters even worse, all that time and energy I dumped into physics killed my calculus grade, so I didn’t meet the required “C” or better grade in that class either.

Just today, the engineering advisor said that I should stay in my current major (biology) and then come back for a second bachelors in mechanical engineering. However, I don’t have full confidence that I can pass all the remaining science classes for the biology major with a C or better, let alone make it out with at least a 2.5 GPA required in order achieve a second bachelors at my current institution. I feel like I hit a road block in my college career and I don’t know of any options except continuing my degree and hoping for the best. I’ve searched online and through college confidential for any other alternatives, but I haven’t turned up anything useful. Does anyone have any advice they could give?

[juillet]

Well, you have a couple choices. Why do you feel like you can’t pass all of your biology classes with a C or higher?

If you change majors, you are likely going to extend your time to degree. So staying in your biology major is probably the best choice you have if finishing within four years is important to you.

If you’re serious about returning for a second bachelor’s in mechanical engineering (either at FAU or elsewhere), one choice is to change your major to physics or even math. That will likely delay your graduation, as you’d have to retake physics and calculus, and take other courses in specific sequences. But you can prepare yourself better for returning for an engineering degree later.

Another option is to change your major to something completely different - something that’s not biology but also not physics or math (or engineering), something that you can believe that you can do well in. You may have to transfer colleges within FAU to do that. Within the College of Science, there are environmental sciences and psychology - neither of which will prepare you especially well for an engineering bachelor’s degree (environmental sciences is at least closer) but both of which may be more approachable for you to complete with good grades.

Depending on what kind of engineering you’re planning to enter, you may be interested in some of the majors in the College of Design and Social Inquiry - like urban design, urban and regional planning, public management, or public safety administration. There are less relevant majors in Arts & Letters, but they may allow you to graduate with good grades and begin the process for getting a second bachelor’s.

I suppose another option is that you can retake the physics and calculus class and attempt to get into the mechanical engineering major again, but I don’t know how feasible that is - so chat with your engineering advisor.