[bigshoe]

how much trouble have you had in getting your degree?

I'm starting to have a tough time, but its mostly because I don't have the time to study. currently i'm only in the beginning, general chemistry(with lab) and calculus 1.

my chemistry teacher is hard to follow (foreign), i'm getting a high D
and calculus isnt that bad, I'm getting a low C
chemistry lab is a low A, but that was a pretty simple class.

my problem is i work 40 hrs during the week, and i have alot of travel time also. I have an interest in this stuff (not so much chemistry), but find it very hard to lose sleep to study.

anyways, i was able to move 24 of my work hours to the weekend for next semester, that should help greatly, I'll be taking calc 2, physics 1 (with lab), and c programming.

Ok guys, how bad do i have it???
I know i'm only in the beginnings of engineering here, and i'm not looking good, i really hope that will change next semester since i've made some changes for it.

what did you guys find tough or demanding when it came to engineering classes? I find it takes me absolutely forever to do my homework and focus on it, I blame being out of school for 5 years for that (although i know it could be alot worse).

Did you guys find the later engineering classes to be much more difficult than this earlier stuff?

btw, i'm a Mechanical engineering major, and if it matters, i've completed an associates in EET in 1999 from a tech school

[sgarnett]

well, you guys are really scaring me!!
...
i hear these stories and i'm starting to question myself even more.
...
if it comes down to 2-4 hours of sleep EVERY night, i don't think i can do it
...

Well, I was trying to scare you - a little. Your performance this semester, to put it bluntly, won't cut it. I'm not trying to be critical, just speaking from experience (I had to get serious after my first year too), and you do recognize that something has to change or you wouldn't have started this thread (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

However, I'm NOT trying to scare you out of the program, or impress you with how hard I (or anyone else) worked, or whatever.

Like I said, a lot of what makes it tough is the hurdles you create for yourself. We each pick different hurdles, but it all comes down to trying to do too much, to avoid making choices and try to cram it all in.

You CAN get enough sleep (most of the time), but something else will have to go. You're already on the right track with rearranging your schedule. However, you may have to start thinking more about the real "cost" of things. For example, will competing in an autocross mean you have to give up 8 hours of sleep during the week to get the studying done? Then you make your choices, but you have to treat studying as non-negotiable (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)