Mechanical Engineering

Not really in a position to give advice but -
You can either ignore it, or enjoy being special and the centre of attention!

Remember most of what you are feeling is standard freshman agnst - away from home for the first time, suddenly not the smartest kid in school, very small fish in a very big pond sort of stuff.

Enjoy it and don't worry is rather glib but honest advice. Remember that you are likely to be in a minority in most areas of engineering and a lot of people in the 'real' world aren't going to be as nice as the shy awkward young engineering guys in your class.

 

I'm an ME undergrad who just finished his freshman year. Take my advice--don't worry about how others are doing. As an engineering undergraduate, many of your courses will become group-based in a matter of a semester or two. The best way to 'fit in' in an engineering community is to know your stuff, and to be on top of your curriculum. Certainly, it's great to make friends with people in your discipline, but the way you get to earn respect in that environment is being the one in a group that steps up, and tries to get things done.

Everyone is going to struggle with material at one point or another--in engineering..most likely more than one point or another. Just pick yourself up and get things done. Keep your endgame in mind.

I would recommend a book by Stephen Covey--"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" that can probably dictate a lot of the assertiveness I'm trying to convey a little better.

 

I'll throw my two cents worth in as well...

I can't even fathom what it must be like from your side of the fence. All I can say is that, like has already been mentioned, you are not the only one feeling this way. You are in a competitive environment. The way I handled it was two ways: 1) I put my head down and plowed through. I kept reminding myself that I was in charge of my scholastic destiny and to not get caught up in anything other trying to do well for myself. 2) Keep reminding yourself to not freak out, no matter what. You are going to be stressed. That's part of the game. You need to learn how to handle it because, guess what...it doesn't get any easier after college in some respects. Now is a time that you need to make the decision if you are going to toughen up a bit and learn to not let your emotions get in the way. Sometimes they will win out. No doubt. Just remember, if you have a problem, stop and understand the problem and then formulate a plan to fix or minimize the problem. That mantra works for more than homework problems.

If you can start to rely on yourself more and not get caught up in what other people think, you will enjoy yourself a lot more.

OK. Maybe that's about 1.25 cents worth...

 

I promise you by next year a good majority of these people are going to be weeded out in your weedout courses, whatever they happen to be at your school.

Its usually physics and dynamics that weeds out a good majority of 'would be' engineers that have to find a new major.

 

Be careful what you wish for. Two of my hardest classes were lab based.

 

I have at least one lab everyday(2 on Wednesday)

 

i guess ill throw in my advice... i am an electromechanical engineer and i really dont fit in... ive always been a jock in high school and kind of a slacker... all my fellow nerds looked down on me just waiting for me to drop out because i didnt fit in with the glasses wearing pocket protecting stereotype. after my first year i really thought i didnt fit in and after almost failing my physics class i thought i was done for... it really worried me doing bad in physics seeing as alot of engineering is physics based... the trick is to just stick with it... freshman year is just the beginning... im sure the guys in your class look at you differently because you are a minority but as you get deeper into your studies it fades away and you will become a fellow equal... you all start to realize that you each have your strong points and weak points and as a team you shine your brightest. as you survive another year or two and work with your classmates they start to respect what you say because youve all stuggled and survived that long and accomplished alot... i stuck with it and i am going into my fifth year and working with my fellow nerds because i am no longer a jock haha im just another math maniac. the further you go in your studies the more it all makes sense as well... i just took my dynamics course which is heavily physics based and i got a B+ because as you take it all in as a whole it is very confusing but after seeing more of it over and over again it becomes more clear. stick with it and just deal with it as it comes. dont get disgruntled if you do poorly in a certain subject because that just means it is a weak point for you AT THAT TIME... as an engineer you see that your weak point is a PROBLEM... so what do engineers do? they FIX PROBLEMS! GOOD LUCK!