Is This a Good 1st Semester Engineering Schedule?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the proposed first semester schedule for a high school senior transferring to a tech school to study electrical engineering. Participants evaluate the appropriateness of the selected courses, the intensity of the schedule, and the importance of prerequisites in engineering education.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that the proposed schedule might be intense but generally looks good.
  • Another participant seeks clarification on what the Intro to Electrical Engineering course entails, noting it is a foundational course for EE majors.
  • A later reply points out that Intro to Electrical Engineering is a prerequisite for Circuits and Signals I, which affects course selection.
  • One participant advises that the structure of engineering courses relies heavily on prerequisites, emphasizing the importance of mastering foundational concepts early on.
  • Another participant encourages taking lighter loads in the first semester to ease the transition to college-level coursework.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement on the importance of prerequisites and the potential intensity of the schedule, but there is no consensus on the optimal course selection or schedule adjustments.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the importance of prerequisites and foundational knowledge in engineering but do not resolve the implications of the proposed schedule or the necessity of retaking any courses.

Who May Find This Useful

High school seniors considering engineering programs, students planning their first semester schedules, and those interested in the prerequisites for electrical engineering courses.

sheldonrocks97
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I am a high school senior that is transferring to a tech school in the Fall to study electrical engineering. I also have most of my general ed finished so I need to make a schedule for the fall based on the classes I haven't taken yet. I already finished most of my humanities/social science and have finished Chemistry I and II, Calculus I and II, Physics I, Programming, Engineering Design, and Linear Algebra all taken at a community college. This is what I had in mind for a 1st semester schedule:

Calculus 3 (4)
Physics II (5)
Intro to Electrical Engineering (2)
Intro to Mineral Engineering (1)
Circuits I (4) or Microelectronics (3)

15 or 16 total credit hours.

Btw, I'm looking for a mineral engineering minor, that's why the mineral engineering is there.

Should I take circuits without taking the intro to electrical engineering? Should I retake Physics I? What do you think of this schedule? What should I change?
 
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This looks pretty good although it might be pretty intense.

What is Intro to Electrical Engineering? Also, I would take circuits before Microelectronics for sure.
 
analogdesign said:
What is Intro to Electrical Engineering?

It is a basic freshmen electrical engineering class that teaches you the basics. All EE majors have to take it.
 
Aww.. I just learned that Intro to Electrical Engineering is a prereq for Circuits and Signals I. I also learned I can't take microelectronics either. :(
 
Try not to be too disappointed. EE (and pretty much every other technical field) builds on prereqs the entire way through. This is a good thing - otherwise you wouldn't be learning much in your upper division classes. A microelecronics course that did not require circuits as a prereq would not be very useful for an EE.

If you have some holes in your schedule, take some subject you will enjoy for fun (art? philosophy? music theory? ), some english (especially writing intensive), or some computer science, or ...

Also, for your first semester, there is nothing wrong with taking a lighter load. I found my freshman year to be a bit of a shock, and a lighter load would have helped.

Enjoy,

jason
 
Looks good man, but make sure you focus on mastering the basics. It will make your later years much easier if you really put the work in early.
 

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