College Acceptance Tip

Continued from College Admission Tips

Acceptance tips and courses 

What you'll discover at most colleges is that science and technology students basically take the same courses for the first four quarters or the first three trimesters.  But this college acceptance tip applies to many fields of endeavor.  When I say the same courses, in many cases the courses are identical, and electrical engineers and science majors attend exactly the same lectures for the first year.  There may be some variation in courses in the third or fourth quarters.  I'll use the term quarters which is the way Drexel (DU) worked at the time.  DU had four quarters in a year, Penn State had three trimesters.

Course variations

I took thermodynamics for Physic majors, but really the course material was almost identical.  The "science" thermo might have been a little more theoretical with a stronger emphasis on math.  But at DU there was no slacking off for EE's in the math department, it was basically just as tough as the science educational path.  I think the "Static's" course also had a science bias.

After the fifth quarter I knew Physical science was not for me!

Studying how to play billiards (atomic collision/ interaction science) in infinite mathematical detail just didn't keep my attention.  I wanted to play with electronics hands on!  I needed a change, so I ended up in the Dean of Sciences office.  I had been doing pretty well grades wise at the time.  I told the Dean I wanted to switch to Electrical Engineering.  His reply was odd, I guess he looked at my grades and said wouldn't you rather get a math and physics degree?  No, NO, no, Dean I'd like to switch to EE.  He said fine, no problem.  I did ask about the subtle differences in courses I had taken and he said that wouldn't be an issue.

So now I'm an EE!

In the Junior year at Drexel there is a review of your course requirements record in preparation for graduation.  Obviously they do this a year before you graduate to give you time to correct problems, and boy did I have problems.  Turns out, I learned to my chagrin, I was missing five required courses!  But it wasn't a big deal.  I sat down with my advisor and we went through my courses.  He says you didn't take humanities.  I said yes I did see here, but the course number was different.  I had taken Humanities for physicists, whatever the difference was?  Well once my advisor and I reviewed all the course content he concurred there was no problem and I had met all the requirements to date for my Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering degree.  All right!

Had I switched colleges sooner

Had I switched degree paths after the third term there probably would have been no requirements problem at all.  So what does this all lead up to.

The college acceptance tip

Regardless of your career path, when you apply to college and you think you'll have problems getting accepted, because of academics or simply tardiness in your application, or just competition from many qualified peers, study your college's educational offerings.  Remember, for many degree paths, the course offerings the first year may be identical so you could select a less competitive educational path as I did accidentally.  Perhaps humanities to business, business to education, etc.  Every college will have differing specializations and will also have "Colleges of" that they are not well known for.  Seek out these career path Colleges and check the course requirements versus your desired career path at that institution.  You can then apply for the less popular "College of" and be accepted!

A young friend uses this technique openly

A young friend of mine was trying for acceptance at Drexel in the College of Electrical Engineering, in the late 1970's.  He was having difficulty because he had applied pretty late in the season.  He had good credentials.  He also was not applying right after he graduated from high school; does this matter?  Regardless, I told him my tips for college admission and he discussed this with DU.  I thought he might do this secretively.  DU approved his application for the college of Mathematics knowing he intended to transfer to the College of Electrical Engineering.  Why, I don't know.  One reason may be, and this is true of all colleges, after 3 terms two thirds of the students will have dropped out or changed career paths anyway.  Many of my freshman year buddies ended up in the DU business school in their second year.

I wish you success in your pursuits and I hope these college acceptance tips serve you well.

Good luck with your college experience and college admission.  Have fun in school.  (I had way too much fun and my grades suffered).  Attending Drexel in the city of Philadelphia was an incredible "growing up" experience.  Growing up I lived in the suburbs, you can learn a lot about living, by living in a city for a few years.  After college I stayed in Philadelphia for another 4 years, and really enjoyed it.  The economics of living in the city is what drove me out!  I needed a new car and between the insurance, the city income tax, and apartment rent, it was cheaper to buy a house in the burbs, and get that big mortgage tax break, big car insurance rates break, huge income tax reduction, etc.  By by Philadelphia!

Hope this tip helped
Bob

Please see my College expenses tip!