Purdue had a Day on Campus for incoming students to attend over the summer, before starting classes. It seemed like most students had their parents with them, but my parents didn't come. I wanted to bring my high school friend, but they said no to that too. So I made the 3-hour drive each way by myself, first road trip.
The day began in a huge lecture hall in the Electrical Engineering building, where somebody talked about Purdue. The one point I remember them saying was this: that the male students, when they got a bad grade, usually blamed the professor. The female students, when they got a bad grade, usually blamed themselves.
I might have taken my Spanish placement exam that day. I know that Purdue had their own exam, and I remember taking the exam on campus. Note that, for Purdue, the SAT2 Spanish exam was not worth taking - they would still have made me take their exam on campus. Whatever school you attend, check out their rules on this sort of thing.
Also that day, I met with a Freshman Engineering adviser, and signed up for classes. Math, chemistry, Spanish to lock in my credits. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to study Mechanical Engineering or Electrical. The adviser suggested a programming course, and possibly drafting. I had enjoyed Pascal programming in high school, so I agreed to a C programming course.
I told the adviser that I wanted to get back into band. I wasn't sure of my skills since I hadn't played my clarinet in two years. I understood I was supposed to prepare an audition piece, and I had no idea where to start. I had never prepared for an audition before. The three times I sort of auditioned for plays, I showed up and they told me what to do (read this script...). The adviser said that if I wasn't sure, I should sign up for Marching Band, and then I could switch if I needed to. So that was what I did.
(Considering that Marching Band was a matter of week-long Band Camp tryouts before the semester began, starting with that did keep my options open.)
There was a Freshman Engineering seminar that was really good, it talked about the various engineering disciplines, and helped me with focusing my major. There was also a Women in Engineering class, that came in two parts: we had small group sections, to talk about our lives and challenges. We also had a larger lecture, where alumni came and talked about their experiences as engineers. I highly recommend that class.
Purdue has changed since I was a freshman. When I attended, all engineering students started out in Freshman Engineering, and then declared their major / engineering discipline as sophomores. Today, students go directly into their respective engineering school. So, my cousin will be studying Chemical Engineering at Purdue next year. (Motivation to keep writing / write more!)
I don't remember the other activities that day. I probably stopped by the Administration office, the Bursar, walked around campus, ate lunch, and saw my dorm. It was a fairly full day. Somewhere around 2 or 3 pm, I drove back home.
The day began in a huge lecture hall in the Electrical Engineering building, where somebody talked about Purdue. The one point I remember them saying was this: that the male students, when they got a bad grade, usually blamed the professor. The female students, when they got a bad grade, usually blamed themselves.
I might have taken my Spanish placement exam that day. I know that Purdue had their own exam, and I remember taking the exam on campus. Note that, for Purdue, the SAT2 Spanish exam was not worth taking - they would still have made me take their exam on campus. Whatever school you attend, check out their rules on this sort of thing.
Also that day, I met with a Freshman Engineering adviser, and signed up for classes. Math, chemistry, Spanish to lock in my credits. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to study Mechanical Engineering or Electrical. The adviser suggested a programming course, and possibly drafting. I had enjoyed Pascal programming in high school, so I agreed to a C programming course.
I told the adviser that I wanted to get back into band. I wasn't sure of my skills since I hadn't played my clarinet in two years. I understood I was supposed to prepare an audition piece, and I had no idea where to start. I had never prepared for an audition before. The three times I sort of auditioned for plays, I showed up and they told me what to do (read this script...). The adviser said that if I wasn't sure, I should sign up for Marching Band, and then I could switch if I needed to. So that was what I did.
(Considering that Marching Band was a matter of week-long Band Camp tryouts before the semester began, starting with that did keep my options open.)
There was a Freshman Engineering seminar that was really good, it talked about the various engineering disciplines, and helped me with focusing my major. There was also a Women in Engineering class, that came in two parts: we had small group sections, to talk about our lives and challenges. We also had a larger lecture, where alumni came and talked about their experiences as engineers. I highly recommend that class.
Purdue has changed since I was a freshman. When I attended, all engineering students started out in Freshman Engineering, and then declared their major / engineering discipline as sophomores. Today, students go directly into their respective engineering school. So, my cousin will be studying Chemical Engineering at Purdue next year. (Motivation to keep writing / write more!)
I don't remember the other activities that day. I probably stopped by the Administration office, the Bursar, walked around campus, ate lunch, and saw my dorm. It was a fairly full day. Somewhere around 2 or 3 pm, I drove back home.
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