Incoming college freshman

[Sea Aych]

As well, if you really want the hardcopy of some textbook, for whatever reason, go online to ebay or whatever and look for the "international edition" of that book. I've gotten a couple $250 textbooks i really wanted on paper for $40 and $50. The international editions are more than often completely identical except for the cover and sometimes the page numbers

[325i_swap]

There is a cool app for iOs called genius scan that will help you in this endeavor if you do it.

Looks like I should invest in an iPhone lol

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[BobombETA]

This is so perf

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There is a cool app for iOs called genius scan that will help you in this endeavor if you do it.

[325i_swap]

OP: Do what I did. Buy your books, take digital pictures, transfer to pdf form and take them back the next day. Other than workbooks, this will save you THOUSANDS!!

This is so perf

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[Jorgen]

Really happy to read this. The more I read about engineering and the more engineers I talk to the more excited I get.

And I got the partying out of my system in about three months in high school. Its just boring to me.. meh..

There are other ways to save money on books that don't cost you days of taking pictures.

I am not sure what the website is anymore but I was able to download a bunch of my grad school books from some site in Russia for like $1.50 each and these were like $200-500 books.

[BobombETA]

OP: Do what I did. Buy your books, take digital pictures, transfer to pdf form and take them back the next day. Other than workbooks, this will save you THOUSANDS!!

Plus you gain access to CTRL + F.

Win win.

[slaterd]

Don't pay retail for text books. There are always deals. Same goes for selling back text books.

OP: Do what I did. Buy your books, take digital pictures, transfer to pdf form and take them back the next day. Other than workbooks, this will save you THOUSANDS!!

[MF DOOM]

I majored in MechE in college. Undergrad was a mix of the best and worst times of my life lol. I made some amazing friends and had a ton of fun, while at the same time being stressed out by the work load and trying to get decent grades. If there is one tip I can offer, it is to NOT skip classes. Seriously. Going to class will save you a ton of studying time. I almost never studied in college, at all, and finished with a 3.2GPA. That's not amazing or anything, but considering how much fun I had, it's pretty decent. Going to class and doing the homework was more than enough to prepare well for mid-term and final exams. The classes that I did the worst in were the ones that I skipped and/or didn't do the optional homework for.

Here's the thing with engineering. It is NOT about memorizing things. Yes, there is some of that, but the main thing you need to do is look at the subjects as systems and understand HOW they work. Once you see how it all comes together and interrelates, tests are a relative breeze because you can figure out the answer rather than just trying to regurgitate memories. Developing the "figuring" skill is vital both in your college studies, and even more so if you want to do well as an engineer when you are out and working. TONS of people graduate with engineering degrees while being lousy engineers because they relied more on memorizing than figuring.

Really happy to read this. The more I read about engineering and the more engineers I talk to the more excited I get.

And I got the partying out of my system in about three months in high school. Its just boring to me.. meh..

[bmwman91]

not true for engineers. I always had classes or labs on Friday. was only 1 so you can manage.

Oh yeah, I had a chem lab on a friday, and a fluid mechanics lab. The *rest* of the school's weekend started Thursday, meaning that there were big parties starting in the evening. I don't think too many people outright blew off classes on Fridays though.

[BobombETA]

Don't pay retail for text books. There are always deals. Same goes for selling back text books.

[itskingsteelo]

advice: party like theres no tomorrow, but study like youre going to start working in your field tomorrow. college parties are the shit!! dont be the awkward silent guy that wants to party but doesnt like to talk much because then youll never be invited. figure out what beers do and dont give you a hangover, once you figure that out youll be good.

[Thizzelle]

Partying became mostly a weekend thing (and the weekend starts Thursday when you are in college FYI).

not true for engineers. I always had classes or labs on Friday. was only 1 so you can manage.

[Thizzelle]

should of started at community college to see if you like it and get all the scrub ass classes out of the way for cheap.

[325i_swap]

I majored in MechE in college. Undergrad was a mix of the best and worst times of my life lol. I made some amazing friends and had a ton of fun, while at the same time being stressed out by the work load and trying to get decent grades. If there is one tip I can offer, it is to NOT skip classes. Seriously. Going to class will save you a ton of studying time. I almost never studied in college, at all, and finished with a 3.2GPA. That's not amazing or anything, but considering how much fun I had, it's pretty decent. Going to class and doing the homework was more than enough to prepare well for mid-term and final exams. The classes that I did the worst in were the ones that I skipped and/or didn't do the optional homework for.

Here's the thing with engineering. It is NOT about memorizing things. Yes, there is some of that, but the main thing you need to do is look at the subjects as systems and understand HOW they work. Once you see how it all comes together and interrelates, tests are a relative breeze because you can figure out the answer rather than just trying to regurgitate memories. Developing the "figuring" skill is vital both in your college studies, and even more so if you want to do well as an engineer when you are out and working. TONS of people graduate with engineering degrees while being lousy engineers because they relied more on memorizing than figuring.

Have fun while you are in college. Don't go out binge drinking too frequently or anything (binge drinking is just plain stupid), but it is perfectly possible to party fairly hard a few nights a week while still doing well at your studies. I probably partied too much my first 2 years and my grades suffered a little (ignoring those 2 years, my GPA would have been 3.6 instead of 3.2), but I had a blast. By 3rd year I had a lot of that out of my system and the engineering courses got a lot more interesting which helped get me motivated to work harder and party a lot less. If you are doing it "right" you'll party hard enough to get it out of your system after a year or two and then settle into better habits by year 3. By the time I was 21, all the novelty of alcohol was long gone and while I still enjoyed having a drink or two, partying became mostly a weekend thing (and the weekend starts Thursday when you are in college FYI). In my earlier years, weekends were 7 days long lol. I don't really recommend that, truthfully, especially since the first year is mainly geared towards weeding people out. It's hard to get to those morning classes when you are hung over!

Also, if you can get connections for engineering internships, DO IT. Internships will teach you an incredible amount about engineering and what you want/don't want to do with your life. They also make it easier to get a job when you graduate.

Wow, thanks for the info ! I move into the dorms on the 24th and school doesnt start until 4 days later I believe, and I heard that tine is all parties so hopefully in that time I can get some good times in so I can focus when school actually starts haha

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[bmwman91]

I majored in MechE in college. Undergrad was a mix of the best and worst times of my life lol. I made some amazing friends and had a ton of fun, while at the same time being stressed out by the work load and trying to get decent grades. If there is one tip I can offer, it is to NOT skip classes. Seriously. Going to class will save you a ton of studying time. I almost never studied in college, at all, and finished with a 3.2GPA. That's not amazing or anything, but considering how much fun I had, it's pretty decent. Going to class and doing the homework was more than enough to prepare well for mid-term and final exams. The classes that I did the worst in were the ones that I skipped and/or didn't do the optional homework for.

Here's the thing with engineering. It is NOT about memorizing things. Yes, there is some of that, but the main thing you need to do is look at the subjects as systems and understand HOW they work. Once you see how it all comes together and interrelates, tests are a relative breeze because you can figure out the answer rather than just trying to regurgitate memories. Developing the "figuring" skill is vital both in your college studies, and even more so if you want to do well as an engineer when you are out and working. TONS of people graduate with engineering degrees while being lousy engineers because they relied more on memorizing than figuring.

Have fun while you are in college. Don't go out binge drinking too frequently or anything (binge drinking is just plain stupid), but it is perfectly possible to party fairly hard a few nights a week while still doing well at your studies. I probably partied too much my first 2 years and my grades suffered a little (ignoring those 2 years, my GPA would have been 3.6 instead of 3.2), but I had a blast. By 3rd year I had a lot of that out of my system and the engineering courses got a lot more interesting which helped get me motivated to work harder and party a lot less. If you are doing it "right" you'll party hard enough to get it out of your system after a year or two and then settle into better habits by year 3. By the time I was 21, all the novelty of alcohol was long gone and while I still enjoyed having a drink or two, partying became mostly a weekend thing (and the weekend starts Thursday when you are in college FYI). In my earlier years, weekends were 7 days long lol. I don't really recommend that, truthfully, especially since the first year is mainly geared towards weeding people out. It's hard to get to those morning classes when you are hung over!

Also, if you can get connections for engineering internships, DO IT. Internships will teach you an incredible amount about engineering and what you want/don't want to do with your life. They also make it easier to get a job when you graduate.