- #1
SlideMan
- 42
- 0
I have a rather unique situation and need some advice from people who are more familiar with engineering than my friends. :) I'll give you the questions first, and if you want to read the background info, you can continue on after that...
I need to transfer. I'm a EE student stuck in a program that doesn't offer the options I need. I want to avoid being set back too much in my course work, and I need a school that is affordable for an independent student. Here's what I have so far:
~15 credits of Humanities/Social Science electives (can be 18 easily)
Calc I/II/III, Diff Eq, Engineering Math
Physics I/II
Chem I
Intro to Electrical Networks
Technical Writing
Intro. Programming in C
Intro to Electronic Circuits*
Electrical/Electronic Circuits Lab*
Electromag. Principles*
Thermo*
Signals & Systems I (Summer 2008)
* Planned Spring 2008
My GPA on completed courses is 4.0, but I'm not the mad genius that implies. :) Basically, my goal is to complete the degree as soon as possible, but still be able to study what interests me (more the CompE side of EE...or the hardware side of CompE). Any good schools I should consider? Any advice for dealing with the frustration of being set back and having to almost start over again? Any advice for being able to afford all of this? I need to pay for the apartment, basic costs of living, etc. I'm disqualified from many scholarships and the Pell Grant because of my previous bachelor's degree (don't get me started on that!). I'll leave it at that for now...this is getting to be a novel. :)
Background info
For those with nothing better to do... :)
I have a BA in Biblical Studies from an unaccredited school. That doesn't mean that it was a slacker college...most of my classes there have been more difficult than similar electives I've taken at the University or Community College. But it does mean that my credits won't transfer to many places. Not to worry...I didn't take too many courses that you would be able to transfer to engineering anyways. Possibly having to take English 101 again after 4 years of writing research papers kinda gets me going, but I'm still determined to get around that somehow. :)
After graduation, I decided that it was time to pursue my true interest: Electrical Engineering. It's really what I've always wanted to do...I just lost direction somewhere along the way. So I started in the only local program that seemed logical, since it was comparatively cheap and let me work to pay my bills during the day and take classes at night.
Unfortunately, after a couple years of work, I have come to find out that the program I'm in sucks. I desperately want to focus on the electronics side of EE (almost CompE, but without as much programming), but the school I'm in doesn't offer ANY courses that lean that way. I get to choose 4...yes...4 electives. The rest of the program is mapped out as required courses...in areas that I really don't care about. I want to design electronic circuits, not power stations.
So after 2.5 years of work, I've decided I need to get out...if for no other reason than to stay sane and be able to pursue my interests. The problem is that due to the weird requirements, a lot of the credits I've taken don't transfer so nicely to other schools. Most places, I'm looking at 3 years or so, which is kinda hard to swallow after already putting in 2.5 (soon 3). But I've determined that I only get one chance to do this...and I'm going to do it right. I'll be 29 or 30 by the time I get out of this mess, but at least I'll finally be happy.
Washington University in St. Louis seems to offer the best transfer for me, but the school is expensive and very tough to get into. Plus, they don't really focus on EE too much...something like 14 EE grads last year. But I'm still keeping the option open. Everywhere else has such a different program that I'll likely lose a lot of ground. I'm just trying to minimize that.
I need to transfer. I'm a EE student stuck in a program that doesn't offer the options I need. I want to avoid being set back too much in my course work, and I need a school that is affordable for an independent student. Here's what I have so far:
~15 credits of Humanities/Social Science electives (can be 18 easily)
Calc I/II/III, Diff Eq, Engineering Math
Physics I/II
Chem I
Intro to Electrical Networks
Technical Writing
Intro. Programming in C
Intro to Electronic Circuits*
Electrical/Electronic Circuits Lab*
Electromag. Principles*
Thermo*
Signals & Systems I (Summer 2008)
* Planned Spring 2008
My GPA on completed courses is 4.0, but I'm not the mad genius that implies. :) Basically, my goal is to complete the degree as soon as possible, but still be able to study what interests me (more the CompE side of EE...or the hardware side of CompE). Any good schools I should consider? Any advice for dealing with the frustration of being set back and having to almost start over again? Any advice for being able to afford all of this? I need to pay for the apartment, basic costs of living, etc. I'm disqualified from many scholarships and the Pell Grant because of my previous bachelor's degree (don't get me started on that!). I'll leave it at that for now...this is getting to be a novel. :)
Background info
For those with nothing better to do... :)
I have a BA in Biblical Studies from an unaccredited school. That doesn't mean that it was a slacker college...most of my classes there have been more difficult than similar electives I've taken at the University or Community College. But it does mean that my credits won't transfer to many places. Not to worry...I didn't take too many courses that you would be able to transfer to engineering anyways. Possibly having to take English 101 again after 4 years of writing research papers kinda gets me going, but I'm still determined to get around that somehow. :)
After graduation, I decided that it was time to pursue my true interest: Electrical Engineering. It's really what I've always wanted to do...I just lost direction somewhere along the way. So I started in the only local program that seemed logical, since it was comparatively cheap and let me work to pay my bills during the day and take classes at night.
Unfortunately, after a couple years of work, I have come to find out that the program I'm in sucks. I desperately want to focus on the electronics side of EE (almost CompE, but without as much programming), but the school I'm in doesn't offer ANY courses that lean that way. I get to choose 4...yes...4 electives. The rest of the program is mapped out as required courses...in areas that I really don't care about. I want to design electronic circuits, not power stations.
So after 2.5 years of work, I've decided I need to get out...if for no other reason than to stay sane and be able to pursue my interests. The problem is that due to the weird requirements, a lot of the credits I've taken don't transfer so nicely to other schools. Most places, I'm looking at 3 years or so, which is kinda hard to swallow after already putting in 2.5 (soon 3). But I've determined that I only get one chance to do this...and I'm going to do it right. I'll be 29 or 30 by the time I get out of this mess, but at least I'll finally be happy.
Washington University in St. Louis seems to offer the best transfer for me, but the school is expensive and very tough to get into. Plus, they don't really focus on EE too much...something like 14 EE grads last year. But I'm still keeping the option open. Everywhere else has such a different program that I'll likely lose a lot of ground. I'm just trying to minimize that.