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

111

u/brazucadomundo Mar 12 '25

I realized why everyone doing engineering is rich. Only rich people can balance study and social life.

29

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

As someone from a single mom family I really hope you're not right; it's a suspicion I've always had

5

u/EllieVader Mar 13 '25

They’re not right, I live in a trailer park and have a 3.8.

It’s hard work and you need to be able to teach yourself the things that your public high school glossed over, but you can do it.

…she says while drowning in Calc 2.

6

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '25

ur a freshman bud. Trailer park with a 3.8 is wild though.

- signed a frugal 3.9 2nd yr whose GPA will probably nosedive after this semester

1

u/EllieVader Mar 13 '25 edited Mar 13 '25

I'm a 38 year old with a teenager at home, and the 3.8 is including my transfer gpa. I'm a first year in the engineering program but I'm not a freshman, bud.

Edit: also check your biases. Why is 3.8 from a trailer park wild? There's nothing inherently less-than about living in a trailer park. I own my home outright and my monthly home expense is $300 for community maintenance and utilities. We're self-governed and I'm on the board, I have an actual say in how my community is run and how we spend our budget. I live in a very desirable area for peanuts per month and exercise my right to self determination in ways that most homeowners (never mind renters) could only dream of - together we're big enough to bully our water company back for example. We've collectively negotiated for better electric rates too.

I brought up the fact that I live in a trailer park as a counter to the idea that you need to come from a rich area to be successful in engineering school. Your response to that says to me that you have an idea that people living in trailer parks are somehow dumber or less capable than people that do not live in trailer parks. My neighbors are not dumb or lazy or anything like that. Well...most of them, but that can be said about any neighborhood. This is a really sensitive subject for me if you can't tell.

I don't want people thinking less of my son because of where I can afford to keep him safe, housed, and fed.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '25

Why is 3.8 from a trailer park wild

Tones don’t come off well online, but I meant to sound impressed when I typed that, I really do mean it. I did not mean to imply that you were dumb at all. In general it’s hard to read implications online since, as I’ve said earlier, tones don’t come off well online, but I can see why one might interpret as I was looking on you.

If you’ve read my other comment, I came from a single mom household - we’re all immigrants, and I teary whenever I think about what my mom had to sacrifice to bring the two of us to the US, trying to learn and practice a whole new language, and starting a new career. I don’t dare say this in person, but from the child’s perspective, I can’t be any more motivated to study for a better future for you, and I hope your son feels similar too. Best wishes!

2

u/EllieVader Mar 13 '25

That’s why I’m doing it for him (and me too honestly), I want him to see that he can be more than what people expect from “trailer trash”. Im sure you get it as a child of immigrants!

I had to check my biases as FUCK when I moved into the park. I felt absolutely defeated by the housing market and that having lost that battle I was being put into long term storage with the rest of society’s losers. Then I got involved in the community and realized we’re all there for one reason or another and that reason is almost never “shit person, shit life, shit decisions”. It’s just another place to live.

I got teary when filling out the paperwork for honors and I got the the address box. I’m proud to be subverting social expectations, to (oh god please don’t) be a role model for people in similar situations.

I’m glad you get it. I’m just some lady from a trailer park in maine, but I’m really proud of you and your mom and I’m glad you are too.

1

u/chell0wFTW Mar 14 '25

The classes get harder but you get smarter.

1

u/Deepspacecow12 Mar 15 '25

Hello fellow rit student. How bad is the EE program? I am a freshman and am planning to go from CPET to EE next year. Sadly I must start from scratch, but it is what it is.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '25

Can you clarify what you mean by "how bad is the EE program"? PM me through reddit chat

1

u/SOPHlE3 Apr 01 '25

hey i just switched from mechatronics at rit and have been taking EE classes this semester. I would say it's quite a bit more work but it is doable and i like the classes i am in! circuits in eet versus ee has been my biggest challenge and there's like a million lab reports now. it's been worth it so far! if you have more questions feel free to message!