Can I Still Pursue Nuclear Engineering With My Current Grades?

[AtSPX1]

I'm relatively new to the forums, so apologies in advance if I've broken any rules in this post.
/WallOfText
I am a sophomore student at a University of California. I entered school without much direction on what I wanted to study outside of it was science that interested me. My first year was not exactly great and I treated my academic responsibilities with immaturity. I left my first year with a 3.02 GPA and having failed Calc 2 (Quarter system variant, so really just integral calc- no series)... twice. Once with an F and once with a D. I was doing things like not going to class, even after failing the class the first time.

I think I've finally figured out what direction I want to go in. I'm primarily interested in Nuclear Engineering. The particular university I'm at doesn't happen to offer that program and has little to do in terms of research in Nuclear Engineering. The only solution I see is to transfer to some program in Nuclear Engineering, but I am almost certain that my Calc 2 grades will kill that in its tracks. My current university says I should not take Calc 2 anywhere else, but I feel like that may not be the best decision to help me in transferring.

I'm not sure if this matters, but I'm currently taking
Calc 3 (Obviously has Calc 2 as a prerequisite)
Linear Algebra (Has Calc 2 as a prerequisite)
Physics 1 (Has Calc 2 as a prerequisite)
Some random Anthropology General Education class

If I buckle down for finals with this current self-loathing surge of resolve, I should secure a 3.5 in this quarter's classes (~3.18 cumulative). I know it probably doesn't matter as much as getting a decent grade in Calc 2, but doing well in things that require knowledge of Calc 2 should give some indication that I can take an integral, right?

All this rambling aside, my questions are:
-Should I re-retake Calc 2 this summer?
-Should I try to transfer with my grades in their current state or can I wait until next year to transfer? (If so, this would most likely add a year to my education, right)
-What institutions offer quality Nuclear Engineering programs?
-What do you get when you cross a chicken and a mountain climber?

 

[Bipolarity]

A rock climber is a scalar. Cross products are only defined for vectors.

BiP

 

[AtSPX1]

A rock climber is a scalar. Cross products are only defined for vectors.

BiP

That's my favorite joke, easily.

 

[Bipolarity]

That's my favorite joke, easily.

Anyway I would strongly recommend you retake Calc II. It is vital for engineers, particularly Taylor series and Taylor's theorem. And polar coordinates, parametric curves, Euler's method etc.

Also, in my school which does not offer nuke E because it is an exclusively undergrad engineering school, the standard route for nuke E is to do undergrads in chem E and then grad school in nukeE.

According to collegeboard, the following schools offer nuke E in undergrad:
Colorado School of Mines
Columbia University
georgia Tech
MIT
Idaho State Univ
Missouri Uni of Science and Tech
Montgonomery County Community
Ohio State Uni
Oregon State Uni
North Carolina State Uni
Penn State
Purdue
RPI
South Carolina State Uni
Texas A&M
US Military Academy
UC Berkeley
Univ of Cincinnati
Univ of Florida
Univ of Idaho
Univ of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Univ of Michigan
Univ of Missouri Columbia
Univ of New Mexico
Univ of Pittsburgh
Univ of Tennessee
Univ of Utah
Univ of Washington
Univ of Waterloo
Univ of Wisconsin-Madison

BiP

 

[AtSPX1]

Anyway I would strongly recommend you retake Calc II. It is vital for engineers, particularly Taylor series and Taylor's theorem. And polar coordinates, parametric curves, Euler's method etc.

Also, in my school which does not offer nuke E because it is an exclusively undergrad engineering school, the standard route for nuke E is to do undergrads in chem E and then grad school in nukeE.

Interestingly enough, Calc II on the quarter system (at least here) is completely techniques in integration and the improper integral. Calc III includes Taylor Series and Taylor's Theorem. In Calc III we actually completely ignored Euler's Method to move on to partial derivatives, gradients, and Lagrange multipliers- much to my dismay.

That aside, it seems that I should take Calc II again. Should I take it at my current institution again (would require a petition process), or take it at another institution?

 

[DrDeLa91]

That is the most wild Calc sequence I have herd of yet. You might want to make sure those courses transfer before you take Calc II at your school, but if they replace the grade on your trans (some schools do) do that.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankings...ineering-schools/nuclear-engineering-rankings

This might be graduate, but chances are their Undergrad programs are also good considering their faculty must be great to have a good grad program.

I just got accepted to Michigan for undergrad! :) best Month of my life.


Erick

 

[BruceW]

@AtSPX1: You seem to have taken a change of heart since you originally took these exams. If you really want to do nuclear engineering, you should go for it. And do whatever you need to do to get there.