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  1. #21
    When you graduate, you will have to get a job.
    Typically you put your GPA on your resume, but not the classes you took - or even if you do, recruiter would look at GPA first.

    In case I need to break it down further: higher GPA is more important than taking a tough class, for the purpose of finding a job.
    Even further break down: Once you're down to electives, take classes that you know you'll score well at.

  2. #22
    So I'm mostly just restating what others have said, but it's good advice so here goes:

    1) Make friends with your classmates/Get contact info. Being able to communicate with people in your class is essential if you missed a class, or didn't hear some announcement, etc.

    2) ASK! for help if you are having trouble. I teach college now and I can just tell you: very few people come to office hours. Most students who are failing the class never come to try to get help to turn that around. Oftentimes there are also additional help beyond office hours. Maybe a math club where the older students help tutor the younger students, etc. There is generally a huge amount of resources to help students succeed in college and yet the percentage of students utilizing them is low.

    3) Make sure you don't just do classes; get internships, do a nice senior project, perhaps talk to a professor and do some extra work on the side with them. Being able to show on your resume that you have actually accomplished something beyond passing classes is huge and can give a good talking point during an interview.

  3. #23
    thanks everyone for all the genuinely helpful feedback! theres always a few of those lame one word jerk posters but this is probably one of the most helpful and intelligent threads i've ever been a part of in a while! haha

  4. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by draccanon View Post
    I cant wait to start college for many reasons, especially just becoming more educated and improving myself as an individual. I always jump at the chance to ask people for advice on school and i typically get the same generic "balance your time" and "study hard" kind of lectures. I'm a little concerned for college math, especially since i haven't taken an algebra course since my sophomore year of high school.

    Basically, I'm simply looking for some compelling discussion and advice from other engineering students. Any kinds of tips or trips on anything from dealing with teachers, classmates, assignments, group assignments, specific math problems, or any other aspect of being a college student majoring in engineering.

    I'm a male and I'll be Attending Old Dominion University in Virginia. I am also a member of the drum line (tenor player) for their marching band! also i wont be taking english or literature classes because i finished them through dual enrollment courses so any tips on fun or enlightening general education classes that synergize well with being an engineer would be cool as well! Also I am leaning towards mechanical engineering but advice and opinions on other branches would be awesome!

    edit for less dense text ;p
    Seriously not trolling, I've never gone to college so I don't know how "anal" they are, but I would begin with heavily using the spell-check feature.

  5. #25
    The Normal Kasierith's Avatar
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    Make friends smarter than you, either in your own class or the one above you. Then pump them for information as much as you can

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by someotherguy View Post
    When you graduate, you will have to get a job.
    Typically you put your GPA on your resume, but not the classes you took - or even if you do, recruiter would look at GPA first.

    In case I need to break it down further: higher GPA is more important than taking a tough class, for the purpose of finding a job.
    Even further break down: Once you're down to electives, take classes that you know you'll score well at.
    This actually makes me glad I didn't goto college. If a potential employer (I understand they don't know your "understanding" of said job) cares purely about GPS I wouldn't even want to work for said employer.

    That's as good as guilds caring nothing about your potential skill but purely what gear you are currently in, when you apply of course. Oh wait...

  7. #27
    Remember to have a good supply of condoms. Many educations are ended early because someone forgot to wear jimmy's little hat. One rule I always have is find a way to relax for at least 1 hour each day but don't look for that solace in a bottle. Explore and find ways to broaden your horizons. Its better than a shrink and opens a lot of new doors.

  8. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by aztr0 View Post
    Intern, intern and intern for engineering related companies. Boaster your experience and you might even find your potential employer for the future during the process.

    Also learn to proofread for everything. Check your thread title. :x.
    This post makes me wonder if I could somehow limp my way through a job interview because I attended "Engineering Related Technologies" in vocational school. That class was the absolute dumbest class I was ever in. Once the teach knew that we knew how to by-pass the "security" features on the computers and could install games he practically begged us to "by-pass" them on his computer.

    Just to give some more info on how lame the "security" was, the first year, the program that they probably paid obscene money for, was nothing more than opening the case, resetting the CMOS to get into the BIOS and allowing us to boot from a floppy which allowed us to edit the autoexec.bat and removing the "security" program from it.

    The second year they got smarter and put locks on the cases, being 15 and not being "real" hackers, we just gave up and used bolt cutters if I remember correctly. Some dumb-ass then proceeded to print out 500 "large" (see: one number per sheet) numbers to each networked printer. Needless to say the "network admin" of the school didn't take kindly to that and promptly came directly to our class and threw a fit.
    Last edited by alturic; 2012-07-20 at 03:51 AM.

  9. #29
    High Overlord
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    I graduated in 1992 with a BS in mechanical engineering from Penn State. I finished with a 2.75 GPA, with 2.33 in my engineering classes. You gotta make sure that you really wanna do it. In my junior year, I lost interest, hated my classes, but parents convinced me to stick it out. They never went to college and were of the school of a job is a job, it doesn't matter if you hate it, just be happy you have one. If you don't enjoy it, DO NOT stay in it.

    Your workload will be much higher than everyone elses. Unless you are extremely intelligent, they will be hard classes. I went back to school from 2006 to 2008 for accounting and got a 3.93 GPA. Business classes are way easier than engineering. I am a pretty smart person, and struggled in some of my classes. I taped the lecture for my materials classes, had perfect notes, and still got a C in the class. I recommend that...taping all of the lectures so you can get all of the notes. Make sure everything written on the boards is written down, you can get what is said from the recordings.

    Manage your time. Try other types of classes to make sure you are doing what you really want to do. Even with engineering and accounting, I am doing Information Technology Security now.

    Good luck!

  10. #30
    Cheat and don't ever get caught. That's how your valedictorians do it.

  11. #31
    As a ME student going into my senior year, i would suggest taking as much summer school as you can. According to the flowchart for my school, my last few years would consist of 18 credits. Taking summer school allows my last semester of college to only have 13 credits and reasonably easy work load. Also, make friends with people who are engineers. Having friends makes homework, projects, and tests easier. Lastly, be prepared to have no time compared to other students on campus. Don't be jealous of them, you will end up being so much smarter than them and it will be worth it in the end.

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