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Engineering in College

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Twerk
Posts: 252 - Karma: 1,059
I'm a senior in high school right now and I was just looking for any insight on how college is as an engineering major. From what I've heard it's a lot of work. I just want know to know if it really is that hard and if the free time is that limited.

+K for any help
Mar 3 2014 3:13PM
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JustForYou
Posts: 275 - Karma: 2,143
My roomie is an engineering major and he's always fucking busy, but then again, he may just suck at doing work.

But yah, you're going to be busy. If you truly enjoy engineering, it won't be that bad.
Mar 3 2014 3:16PM
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JustForYou
Posts: 275 - Karma: 2,143
This. you'll lose your fucking mind if you don't enjoy it.
Mar 3 2014 3:31PM
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Phil-X-
Posts: 7205 - Karma: 14,399
Do you consider yourself smart? What kind of smart do you consider yourself?


There are the kids who study throughout highschool and manage great grades and come to engineering expecting a huge work load and manage to commit themselves properly and do all their work while having little fun or personal time


and then

there are the kids who are naturally smart, highschool was a joke and never challenged you, put things off and dont bother trying. Worst comes to worst you bull shit the night before and do fine. These kids have much harder time. Now you need to study daily and learn your materials, logical intelligence will only help so much in eng.

I am a junior in Agri & Bio Engineering and still struggle a ton because I have literally 0 study skills. Its totally fucked.


I do however highly recommend engineering. In my eyes its the most practical application of high intelligence. With your acceptance in to an engineering program you automatically earn the right to say your better then everyone else.. also the ability to say "trust me.. Im in engineering" in just about every situation
Mar 3 2014 3:36PM
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pigglywiggly
Posts: 4482 - Karma: 305
Its hard and takes up a shit ton of time. You'll have way more work than your buddies in business. Im in petroleum engineering at penn state. PM me if you have any questions, I'll gladly go into more detail with course work, time commitment, etc.
Mar 3 2014 3:44PM
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op14
Posts: 1769 - Karma: 4,586
My sister does Civil Engineering and she has very little free time. She was always a hard worker through high school but she says it's all doable if you manage your time right. Just don't expect to party much.
Mar 3 2014 3:48PM
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marsh.
Posts: 1173 - Karma: 1,403
As a freshman engineering student at UW Madison, I will say that it is a lot of work. Not so much reading like most of your friends will have to be doing, but it's mostly a lot of studying on your own. If you do really enjoy designing things and figuring out problems, then it's totally worth it. I'm in a design class right now where we have to design and build a project for a local business. Also keep in mind that being good at math and science isn't everything, there is a lot of common sense involved
Mar 3 2014 4:05PM
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.MASSHOLE.
Posts: 7472 - Karma: 11,411
And this is why I hate engineers.

You may be able to crunch numbers, but fuck if you have zero humility, common sense, or ability to hold a conversation, you are going to have a tough time in the real world.

Just because you are an engineer does not mean you are smarter or better than anyone else. Over half the engineers I know are only in it because they think there is a good paycheck. Unsurprisingly, most of them are failing/far behind their original graduation date.


And come on dude. If you cannot differentiate between "you're" and "your", you discredit your entire argument about being better than everyone else.

To the OP, I lived with a bunch of engineers and this was the consensus among most. The first year is somewhat easy, the second year blows, and then from there you have the hang of it. If you procrastinate a lot you will have a lot of free time but terrible grades. If you do the work on time and are proactive, you will have less free time but better grades. You need to find the balance. Some weekends you may not be able to party or ski, but others you can go wild.
Mar 3 2014 4:10PM
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first_rodeo
Posts: 2385 - Karma: 7,781

DO WHAT YOU ENJOY

I fucking hated math but problem solving and making sense of things

I was getting D's in my initial accounting and finance courses then the real ones came and I actually liked them and found them engaging and started getting A's

Mar 3 2014 4:11PM
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Phil-X-
Posts: 7205 - Karma: 14,399
I cant even tell if youre serious or just mildly retarded... you say engineers dont have social skills, yet a clearly sarcastic joke just went right over your head and you continued on to subject an entire industry to your stereotyping..

No common sense? The fuck are you talking about... the entire principle of the field is applying "common sense" in various applications
Mar 3 2014 4:36PM
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Twerk
Posts: 252 - Karma: 1,059
Thanks for the input. +k to all.

For all of the people who responded that are in a engineering program. How many days have you guys gotten to go skiing? (If a resort is close)
Mar 3 2014 4:40PM
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.MASSHOLE.
Posts: 7472 - Karma: 11,411
Forgive me, as I stated I have lived with a bunch of engineers and they honestly believe that rhetoric. It drives me up the wall if you couldnt tell.

Common sense in social situations, yes, for many engineers seem to lack it. The ones I have encountered struggle when it comes to holding a conversation that involves things beyond numbers and equations. Additionally, they struggle to adapt from a system where it is all numbers with minimal interaction to one where it is all about social interactions.


Mar 3 2014 4:44PM
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.MASSHOLE.
Posts: 7472 - Karma: 11,411
I cant speak for myself, but for my engineering friends, the ones who sacrifice grades for skiing seem to average around 50+. Usually it involves dawn patrols and skipping a few classes here and there. The ones who do not seem to average between 20-50.
Mar 3 2014 4:46PM
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Phil-X-
Posts: 7205 - Karma: 14,399
Well I'm sorry that all your experiences with engineers has been with st8 up nerds, some of us a pretty cool.
Mar 3 2014 4:49PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
I'm in a well respected Biomed Engineering program, graduating this year with a 3.75 and a minor in biochemistry, and I still have (and have always had) plenty of free-time. Do I know people that study 24/7 and will graduate with close to a 4.0 without any kind of a social life? Sure. But I also know quite a few kids like me that ski 3-4 times a week, party every Friday/Saturday night, go play pickup games on weekdays, and still manage to do pretty well in classes.

Honestly, you do have to be smart though (and have a passion for it). I'm not saying that to be the typical cocky little fucker engineer, but the people you will be in class with (if you go to a decent Uni) are all going to be the top of their high-school class and the kids that score 30< on ACT, and if you aren't on their level you will be stuck studying non-stop just to keep up with everyone around you. Our class got cut in half in the first year of classes, as many kids just couldn't keep up, which really is the fact of the matter.

If you've got the brains and think you would enjoy it, then try it out! At the very least you waste a year of college, but it's extremely rewarding and does pay well in the end. Let me know if you have any more specific questions and I'll try to help ya through your decision.
Mar 3 2014 5:34PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
It's all about time management and discipline. You don't have to be super smart or anything to do it (although that helps). You just need to put in the time right after class to finish all your shit. These people saying your whole life is consumed by the work must have very poor study skills.

For me, I was split on CE. I hated a lot of it until I got to do some hands on stuff my senior and junior year, but it was really just a means for me to realize I can never have a standard run of the mill job and remain sane. A strong undergrad does keep doors open in the future and allow you to get jobs you want. It's not about "studying what you like" necessarily. I like English but I also didn't want to work at Starbucks my whole life so I got a degree that was valuable and challenging which would still allow me to go for other jobs I wanted. Plenty of people like their major, graduate, and realize the real world in their field fucking blows and they have no options to change career fields.
Mar 3 2014 8:11PM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7474 - Karma: 35,955
Im a mech engineer major in junior year, and I work 40 hours a week. I probably spend less than 2 hours a day doing homework. I only have 3 engineering classes at the moment I pick up a 4th after spring break.
Mar 3 2014 9:54PM
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californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
i did CE cause i could...and because WSU dropped its forestry program before my first semester. I had to work my ass off; im talking 100 hour weeks every week during tough semesters. But then again, i am not naturally inclined towards math, and i had to keep a high GPA to keep scholarships.

The salary has a very high floor, but a very low cieling. You will make a lot right out of school, but will quickly be passed up by people who do well in sales, finance, and business. Dont expect to get rich.

An engineering degree, however, is probly th emost valuable degree you can have, and allows you to

A) Live damn near anywhere you want which is great if you loves the outdoors. 3 years at the highest profile Civil firm in the Bay Area + a Califonia PE means i can basically tell any firm in almost any mountain town, or city that i will be accepting a job they didnt offer. AND the pay is pretty much the same wherever you live- whether that is a crazy expensive place like SF/NYC or out in Bend,OR.

B) transition into almost any other industry really easily as long as you have great people skills. A technical degree trumps a business or finance degree any day of the week. I have been offered a handful of jobs in sales, and marketing/business on-site after chatting with higher ups at social events. Once they hear what you do for a living, what your degree is in, and how perceptive and socially quick you are, you become a very valuable asset to them.

I had a tough time, but was able to have fun in college nonetheless. I wish i would have had the amount of free time that all my buddies did though. Not totally sure if i would do it again, but i dont regret it.
Mar 3 2014 9:59PM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7474 - Karma: 35,955
I ski just about every day, but I work park crew so that is my 40hours a week of work as well. I work 5 days and usually ski the other two.

I usually dont do any home work Monday and Wednesday and just knock it all out on tuesday and thursday after class. And I have no class fri/sat/sun to do homework if I'm behind. Maybe my ME program is a joke(it is abet certified), but I usually have plenty of free time and have kept a 3.59 GPA

My biggest piece of advice is if you have gaps between classes use that time to get homework done and study. Unless you have an 8am and nothing until 4 chances are you wont be doing anything else productive in that time.

Don't be the douche that thinks he is the greatest human to ever walk the planet because you are an engineering student. A lot of the kids I know with that mentality are doing really poor in classes and it gets old real fast.

Mar 3 2014 11:07PM
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DasGoatenshafter
Posts: 580 - Karma: 307
I'm in chemical engineering right now and I love it. I don't ski as much as I'd like, but I've gotten involved with some teams and with the student association and its a pretty good time. For sure it'll be a lot of work, but you'll still have fun while you're there, and hopefully be pretty well off once you finish your degree

Mar 3 2014 11:23PM
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4man
Posts: 159 - Karma: 151
im in first year engineering right now and o heard basically the same thing you are now about how heavy the course load is. for the most part, they're right. you will learn very quickly how to prioritize and low when to work so you can still have a social life. be ready to lose some sleep though if you still plan on hanging out with friends or girlfriend and get a few days on the hill while still maintaining a good gpa. that being said, the actual material itself isn't really that much harder than high school (i took pretty much the exact same calculus class in high school as i did in the first semester) its just the course load that makes it tough. most of what you will learn in first year is simply time management haha all in all though it is a very rewarding program and I'm glad I'm in it (not nearly as many three hour labs as biology too), and if it's anything to go by, i think i actually go out with friends to the bar and shit more now than i did at this time in grade twelve just because I've learned to manage my time so much better. good luck op
Mar 3 2014 11:58PM
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4man
Posts: 159 - Karma: 151
this. I'm in engineering and even i hate it when some of my class mates pretty much brag about "how much harder" and how much busier we are haha if it means anything, we aren't all bad, just people who barely got in or had to take a transfer program to just get in by the skin of there teeth that think they are tough shit because of the program they are in

Mar 4 2014 12:04AM
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imakestickerz
Posts: 477 - Karma: 673
My brother majored in civil engineering and still partied his ass off.
Mar 4 2014 12:07AM
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yangumane
Posts: 1816 - Karma: 3,347
My sister is majoring in nuclear engineering and she hates it. She's really smart too, top of her class, and she said that she does about 5 hours of work at minimum every day...
Mar 4 2014 12:17AM
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californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
yeah thats pretty standard...4-5 hours of class plus 4-5 hours of work equals a pretty normal work day in or out of college.

thats 8am to 6or7pm. Not too bad if you ask me. I worked a good deal harder than most(because i had to) so that type of workday would have been pretty mellow...
Mar 4 2014 12:22AM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
If one more freshman posts about how hard their Calc 2 class is I'm going to fucking lose it.

If you haven't even done the easiest, least relevant 25% of the degree yet you don't know a single thing about engineering or what the major is like. The stuff you take your first is extremely basic relative to the degree as a whole and frankly not that difficult.
Mar 4 2014 12:32AM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
It wasn't too bad. Well, really I should clarify, it is a ton of work, but I was pretty disciplined as far as getting my shit done and was able to drink 2-4 nights a week the whole time. I was able to be on the ski team and go to races every weekend in January and February where I got 0 work done because i was either skiing or drunk the whole time, and when we went to nationals, I could manage missing a week of school, although it meant a week of nonstop work beforehand.

Bottom line, it is possible to have fun while in engineering school as long as you are good at managing your time and getting shit done on weekdays and during the day on weekends. It helps if you don't get hangovers like me.
Mar 4 2014 12:37AM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
It wasn't too bad. Well, really I should clarify, it is a ton of work, but I was pretty disciplined as far as getting my shit done and was able to drink 2-4 nights a week the whole time. I was able to be on the ski team and go to races every weekend in January and February where I got 0 work done because i was either skiing or drunk the whole time, and when we went to nationals, I could manage missing a week of school, although it meant a week of nonstop work beforehand.

Bottom line, it is possible to have fun while in engineering school as long as you are good at managing your time and getting shit done on weekdays and during the day on weekends. It helps if you don't get hangovers like me.
Mar 4 2014 12:37AM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
It wasn't too bad. Well, really I should clarify, it is a ton of work, but I was pretty disciplined as far as getting my shit done and was able to drink 2-4 nights a week the whole time. I was able to be on the ski team and go to races every weekend in January and February where I got 0 work done because i was either skiing or drunk the whole time, and when we went to nationals, I could manage missing a week of school, although it meant a week of nonstop work beforehand.

Bottom line, it is possible to have fun while in engineering school as long as you are good at managing your time and getting shit done on weekdays and during the day on weekends. It helps if you don't get hangovers like me.
Mar 4 2014 12:38AM
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extravert
Posts: 1112 - Karma: 3,174
I'm in systems engineering and my major isn't stopping me from skiing. Yeah its a lot of work and you definitely need to enjoy math and logic, but other majors have their share of reading and writing assignments that are hard in their own way. It's also nice not having to worry about getting a job after graduation. I'm not putting other majors down, it's just that I hear those people worrying about it a lot more.
Mar 4 2014 12:56AM
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deeeeezy
Posts: 81 - Karma: 120
I hate to break it to ya but no matter what major you choose at a four year university, there will be lots of work and time put into it. Just find something you really want to do and go with it.
Mar 4 2014 1:01AM
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kingsskier
Posts: 6212 - Karma: 2,100
I got my BSEE (Bachelors of Science Electrical Engineering) and it is tough and some classes are very involved, but if you have a strong handle on math, especially calculus, and you are a very good problem solver, you will do fine. I was able to ski and party while in college and did well.
Engineering is a great field too. I talked to many employers who say that they would be happy to higher an average engineer at this point since there is such a strong job market. Most engineers are retiring and they need replacements. I know in the power systems field, its like 70% will be retiring in the next 5 years.
Mar 4 2014 1:06AM
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icon1234
Posts: 3081 - Karma: 1,475
My roommate of 5 years is #1 in his class in CE. He barley studies, but at the same time he is extremely naturally gifted at math, and found his engineering classes relatively straightforward.

Ironically he decided to take the MCAT and is taking first year biology in his fifth year, he has to study more for this freshmen class than he had to study for any of his engineering classes. Which is funny because I am biology major, and I barley studied for the majority of my biology classes, but had to spend so much more in calc, general chem, and physics.

Point is any STEM major is going to make you work hard, but honestly if you spend 2-4 hours a day outside of class every day you can EASILY manage to have plenty of free time. But at the same time pick something you are naturally gifted at, I would not pick an engineering degree unless you took AP calc in HS and thought it was breeze. Likewise I wouldn't be a biology/biochem major if you have a bad memory.

GL





Mar 4 2014 1:51AM
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Piste.Off
Posts: 11586 - Karma: 1,860
Not an engineer, but I'm a junior in a hard science major with a similar course load + premed classes, and I'm being completely honest here. I have 4 or 5 classes from 9-5 everyday. I go home for an hour and eat. Then I return to the library for 5-6 hours of homework/studying literally every single night but Friday. Saturdays and Sundays I'm at the library from 11am-5pm+. I spend 55 hours a week solely on class/homework/studying. I also work 2 jobs for 25 hours a week.
My schedule is the norm for other students in my major as well. It all comes down to how dedicated you are and if your prepared to really put the time in. If you want to excel you honestly won't have much time for anything else. BTW I live 2 hours from the mountain and have skied 4 days this season, so there's that.
Mar 4 2014 3:17AM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
I'm...... gonna have to call BS. There is no way that you have blocked classes from 9-5 everyday, that would be like, 28 credit hours.
Mar 4 2014 4:21AM
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Piste.Off
Posts: 11586 - Karma: 1,860
17 credits, and not literally 9-5 without any breaks. I'm in class from 9-12 no breaks, then a 1 hour break, and another class at 1. Then either labs from 2-5, or just work until 5.
Mar 4 2014 4:29AM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
Perhaps with work... but even thats a little stretchy. Either way sounds like you're busy. I just know I took 22 c/hrs one semester and still wasn't going all that hard.
Mar 4 2014 4:42AM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7474 - Karma: 35,955
Disagree. As long as you took some form of calculus you will be fine, calc 1 your freshmen year should just be review for the most part. I took applied calc in high school and didnt have any problems.

Make sure you do have an interest in physics in high school and have a relatively easy time understanding those concepts.
Mar 4 2014 1:00PM
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kingsskier
Posts: 6212 - Karma: 2,100
If you didn't make it through calc with extreme ease, you will struggle. You will be taking all of the calculus that you pretty much can take in college and diff eq and the other intense math courses will eat you up if you do not understand the base concepts of math, calculus and trig without struggle. The engineering courses are just applied math and physics (which is basically applied math).
Mar 4 2014 1:10PM
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lIllI
Posts: 1255 - Karma: 1,986
The more useful your major, the less fun college tends to be.

Click for larger image
Mar 4 2014 1:25PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
engineering is no more work than any other STEM degree. It's obviously going to be more work than like an economics degree or something.
Mar 4 2014 1:42PM
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406
Posts: 2302 - Karma: 92
Engineers are soldiers.



Mar 4 2014 3:38PM
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whoa-dere
Posts: 10596 - Karma: 7,103
i'm doing the engineering track, gonna apply to mechanical next year and the only thing i find challenging right now is my calculus class.
Mar 4 2014 3:43PM
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whoa-dere
Posts: 10596 - Karma: 7,103
it helps a ton if you are efficient when it comes to doing homework/studying. i feel like if i don't procrastinate id have so much free time
Mar 4 2014 3:45PM
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based
Posts: 200 - Karma: 243
Engineering is one of the hardest, but highest paying college majors. It is very hard to get A's so don't count on earning a great GPA. Do count on landing a great job in almost any field you want (engineering, finance, sales, product management, business) and making anywhere from 50-80k right out of college
Mar 4 2014 4:27PM
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will-g
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 69
Im in my second semester of Mechanical Engineering. Just like everyone else is saying its all about getting your work done and knowing how and what to study, I got a 4.0 last semester, went to bed by 11 on the weeknights and got hammered 2 or 3 times a weekend with all my liberal arts friends, its do able its all about the outlook.
Mar 4 2014 4:47PM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7474 - Karma: 35,955
yeah you need to understand it, but you dont need AP calc in high school, any sore of calc in high school is fine as long as you understand it for the most part. Then your first semester freshmen year is pretty much being taught what you learned in high school so you can solidify your understanding. Same thing goes with physics.
Mar 4 2014 5:03PM
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easy.steezy
Posts: 2931 - Karma: 1,056
While the first year or so of engineering classes are all the same, that doesn't mean they're not hard. I'm a freshman mechanical engineering/physics dual major, and after talking to countless upperclassmen, I've found that the main reason freshman classes are sometimes "harder" is because of the time management (obvious reason but something people tend to ignore).
In a direct comparison, calc 2 and an advanced calc class, the latter is much more difficult. But as a freshman who is thrown into a new environment and little to no study skills, they won't be able to study and work as efficiently as the senior taking the harder class.
My first semester was relatively easy, I breezed through with a 3.7 and partied 3 nights a week. This semester I'm taking two extra classes and pledging a fraternity, so the time management skills I didn't develop last semester are biting me in the ass.

Tl;dr good time management skills are more valuable than outright brain power, although a good balance is desired.
Mar 4 2014 5:16PM
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idskithat
Posts: 1314 - Karma: 154
dude my calc 2 class is mad hard. good thing im a business major and its the last math class i need
Mar 4 2014 5:50PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
Like I said, you haven't taken any relevant classes and can't share anything with this kid that someone with a degree or a few years in a major could. Time management is important? Gee whiz.
Mar 4 2014 6:48PM
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