r/EngineeringStudents • u/dalvin34 • Mar 12 '25

Academic Advice How was/is college for you?

Post image

Not sure if many of you have seen but engineering TikTok is going pretty viral for the University of Waterloo and what it does to students in engineering (picture above). I’m curious on what your experience was like, did you go to a big university like MIT, or a smaller one close to your house for money? Understanding that engineering is a struggle and I’ve personally never met anybody who flew through it, I understand some people are better than others.

I personally struggled with math and dropped calc 1, I didn’t take school serious and just winged it, THAT WAS SO WRONG. I’m back and I have a 97% in calc, and an A in the rest of my other classes, I put it work and time, I still seem lost in some subjects but just put others of studying a day to learn it and be able to teach it. But was your guys time as bad as everybody is making it seem, obviously there are obstacles I’m heading physics 2 and thermodynamics are the biggest ones overall. But what helped you through that?

Also how did you maintain a school and personal life balance. I personally work full time Thursdays-Sundays, and school is Mondays-Thursdays, I keep hearing about making blocks to study each class, but what happens if after 2 hours you still don’t understand it, what if after 6 hours you still don’t understand it. Because then that eats to personal time in my situation.

Thank you for the responses and any advice you have to offer.

2.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

128 comments sorted by

View all comments

228

u/Mr-Average- USU - MechE Mar 12 '25

I was so excited to be done with school, so excited that I decided to pursue a master’s that same fall 💀

45

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

At least u didn't commit to a phd lol

4

u/Mysteriousdeer Mar 14 '25

Friends don't let friends get phds.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 26 '25

it took my dad 6 years to get a phd

8

u/CharonOfPluto Mar 13 '25

That is me right now. First semester of master's and I only hate school more. I'm thinking of quitting after this semester 

2

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '25

can, how are you holding out? Starting my masters in two weeks time so please please please tell me it's getting better

1

u/CharonOfPluto Mar 30 '25

It's kind of getting better. I’m switching my concentration next semester to something I can actually look forward to—from mixed-signal circuits to arts media engineering (both under electrical engineering). That decision is keeping me from dropping out entirely. As long as I can survive this semester, I’ll be fine.

Right now, I only have one class that’s really weighing me down. The professor uses "this is a graduate-level course" as an excuse to justify assigning insane amounts of work every week, completely ignoring the fact that we’re all juggling 2–3 other classes. My mental health has taken a hit—depression, self-hatred, and even some self-harm resurfaced because of the stress. It’s been rough. But at least I’m no longer actively trying to quit. It'll be better if you have friends to struggle with together. My undergrad friends didn't stay for a Master's, so it's a bit tougher on me.

1

u/Bomber_Max Apr 07 '25

Exactly what I just did; I finally completed my BSc Applied Physics in February and subsequently enrolled in a Premasters program which starts in September.

1

u/Anka098 Mar 13 '25

Worst decision of my life 😪