Courses Junior Chem Eng: Is Taking 5 Courses Possible?

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Taking five courses in a single semester, including Intermediate Modern Physics, Mass and Energy Transport 1, Organic Chemistry 1, Physical Chemistry 1, and Introduction to Electrical Engineering, raises concerns about workload and potential impact on grades and learning. While the student has a strong academic background and is motivated by a desire to learn and integrate knowledge across disciplines, others warn that such a heavy schedule could lead to burnout and insufficient mastery of the material. Mass and Energy Transport is highlighted as particularly demanding, suggesting that it could significantly challenge even well-prepared students. The discussion emphasizes the importance of balancing ambition with realistic expectations regarding academic performance and personal well-being. Ultimately, while the pursuit of knowledge is commendable, careful consideration of course load is essential.
John Jacke
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I'm about to be a junior in chemical engineering. I've passed all my calculus/ODE and general physics/chem courses. The most intense schedule I've taken at once was calculus 3, ODE, and general physics 2 (introductory E/M at my school) with a lab component. I did very well in each course and could have taken another, so I'm not doubting my ability to handle heavier work. I just need to know if this is humanly possible before I attempt it:

  1. Intermediate Modern Physics (QM, Cosmology, and relativity)
  2. Mass and energy transport 1 (Engineering course for ChmE)
  3. Organic chemistry 1
  4. Physical Chemistry 1
  5. Introduction to Electrical Engineering ("This course is an introduction to electrical engineering concepts for non-electrical engineering majors. Covers a broad range of topics including basic circuit theory, semiconductor devices, instrumentation, amplifiers, and machines.")
 
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Anything is possible, but what I would like to know is why would you want to do that to yourself? Are you in some kind of rush to graduate? What's your motivation?

Personally, I don't think it likely that anyone would do well with a schedule like that. Your grades might suffer, you may not really learn the material or you might not have a life for 4 months. Mass and energy transport alone is a serious amount of work, perhaps the most demanding course I had in college (I did nuclear engineering).

Again, I see no reason to do this to oneself.
 
I want to do this schedule because to me it incorporates a lot of interesting things in one semester. The physics course is for a minor. I'd learn QM in both Pchem and Physics which I think would be awesome because they'd be learned different in each (I'm assuming). Having two different sciences - organic and physics - then p chem to top it off/draw parallels would be awesome. Intro to EE is meh, I figured since I know basic circuit theory it would be an okay class. If anything I'd drop intro to EE and take the rest. I never considered the difficulty of mass transport, lol. To answer your question: My motivation is to learn. I see this as not 4 months of no life and torture but of increased intuition in STEM fields and more knowledge about the world around us which is awesome.
 
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