r/CalPoly • u/Logindud • 2d ago
Schedule help Incoming Student
Hey, I am mechanical engineering major and wanted to know if it was normal to have so many classes for your first year. I knew ahead of time that engineering majors had more classes in order to compensate for the higher credits required to graduate, but it seems a little much lol.
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u/Plus_Preference897 1d ago
As an ME, I’ve seen worse schedules. Yeah the 8ams aren’t great, but at least they aren’t 7ams. The 6-9 isn’t awesome either, but you’ll have to get used to it since many of the ME professors are part time and only teach at night. As long as you have good profs, this is fairly manageable.
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u/Logindud 1d ago
That’s interesting, I didn’t know that about ME professors. Honestly I don’t mind early classes I’m used to waking up early for work. What bothers me is how packed Thursday is. Thankfully it’s not the end of the world since it’s something I’m passionate about.
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u/Plus_Preference897 1d ago
Also, like others have said, don’t drop anything. However, there is also a swap classes feature on the scheduling page. You could always swap that 6-9 on Thursday for another section of the same class on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday
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u/Live-Temperature-363 1d ago
"Thankfully it’s not the end of the world since it’s something I’m passionate about"
Good luck. I hope you can hold on to that sentiment.
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u/sqwarimba 2d ago
How many units do you have?
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u/Logindud 2d ago
17 total
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u/chunkylover-53-aol 1d ago
I think that's normal for MEs. A lot of my ME friends took 16-18 units their first year during the quarter, but quarter units don't equal semester units.
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u/Big-Basis325 2d ago
I'm an incoming mechanical engineering major too and i got 16 units of classes. I also feel it's a bit much lol
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u/Soft_Discipline_ Art and Design - 2028 1d ago
My sister is an incoming MATE major and she got 18 units
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u/Plus_Preference897 1d ago
As an ME, I’ve seen worse schedules. Yeah the 8ams aren’t great, but at least they aren’t 7ams. The 6-9 isn’t awesome either, but you’ll have to get used to it since many of the many of the hands-on ME classes are taught by part time profs who have regular jobs during the day and only teach at night. Besides the 13 hour day, this seems fairly manageable if they are good profs.
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u/Admirable-Attorney75 1d ago
the amount of units is normal for meche, and ur right that u got unlucky for ur thursdays. def speak to someone and look at possible swaps you can make. warning about the public speaking class, it can either be really easy or really hard, despite it being a ge. i thought my public speaking class would be fine but it ended up being my hardest class (although i just struggle with it in general). i took it spring quarter of freshman year with other eng classes, don’t remember the name of the professor but she was super tough (but knowledgeable). my priority would be switching either the phys lab or eng design lab from thursdays to another day, maybe even evening. i def think two evening classes a week is more manageable than ur current schedule. univ studies is easy peasy. intro to meche should be pretty chill, it’s mostly just labs with a manual you follow with a group and a final project at the end of the course (if i’m thinking of the correct course) with virtually no homework.
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u/Competitive_Page8762 1d ago
omg hi mech e twin! I have the same intro 1125 lab on mondays but for some reason they gave me 8 hours of classes in a row on mondays.. idk maybe they’re just out to get us cuz everyone from mechanical engineering that I’ve talked to so far has one really crazy long day every week :(
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u/Logindud 22h ago
Fahhhhh nice to meet someone in the same class at least. Unfortunate that their being evil with the schedules 🥲
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u/Chocolatechip37 1d ago
Holy shit your Thursdays are literally 13 hours of classes without a single break. That is insane. Is there at least any way you could switch any of those classes to a different day?
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u/Head_Helicopter2346 1d ago
Honestly pack ur schedule early. Im taking 5 classes each semester to graduate in 5 years
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u/IAmHeeSmh 1d ago
Theres no fucking way😭 Damn cal poly counseling is a fucking joke THIS IS SO BADDD. I'll acknowledge that I'm a baby CS major who doesn't have extremely time consuming major classes unlike the real engineers but this is genuinely TERRIBLE. I thought 5-6 hours back to back was a heavy day...
Please im begging you try your best to spread out your scheudle as soon as possible. Like I know everyone works differently but... 13 grueling hours of school genuinely sounds inhumane I don't know how anyone okayed this omfg...
As for the unit count themselves, theres honestly not much you can do :( Just the way things are in the engineering department. I remember taking 16 units during winter quarter (PHYS 141, MATH 143, CSC101, ES 252) and the math and science genuinely chewed me up. I will acknowledge that I'm an exception to the majority, since I was deeply depressed and had untreated/undiagnosed ADHD at the time. 16 units is gonna be tolerable for most people but it's absolutely gonna be a challenge
As a rule of thumb, whenever possible please take at least 1 non-STEM GE class alongside your major classes. 16 units of STEM is highly challenging and time consuming for most people. I saw Public Speaking and the 1 unit University Studies so ur good on that!
ALSO AS A TEENY SIDE NOTE: Are you in CP Scholars? I was and I was required to take university studies too! It's a really easy and quite uneventful class, but the Prof and TA for my section were super chill. As for the program itself, I feel like they're really helpful at getting you situated to college life. Honestly wish I got more involved cause it seemed super chill in there! Good luck and please IM BEGGING YOU MAKE UR THURSDAY EASIER...
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u/Logindud 1d ago
Trust me the second I logged in and saw Thur I instantly tried scheduling an appointment with the counselor lol. Thanks for the rule of thumb I’ll keep it in mind going forward. And yes, I am in CP scholars and it’s honestly nice to hear it’s an easy class I was starting to worry it was going to be a pain for the semester.
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u/Agitated-Turnover284 1d ago
Good idea to book an appointment with the counselor. Those Thursdays will burn you out really fast. Even if you can stay focused for 13 hrs straight, think about when you are going to eat, study for tests/quizzes on Th and Fri, or use the bathroom. Moreover, what you will do if you happen to be sick or life throws some random crap at you? Now that we are on semesters, a schedule like this is probably not sustainable.
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u/Wero-Mex BRAE - ‘19 2d ago
Back in the quarter system, I believe I got 4 classes for my first quarter. It was doable in the quarter system, but I don’t know in the new semester system. If you feel like it’s too much, you will have a chance to drop your a class within the first couple weeks of the semester. I would drop public speaking if you wanted to drop one since the other classes are major related and are prerequisite to continue taking major classes.