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Mechanical/Civil Engineer


JPG328

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I decided that I didn't want to do anything math related until I got into the 12th grade. Now I want to be a mechanical or civil engineer and I'm in Math Studies. Does this put me at a disadvantage. It's not like I'm struggling through the class, in 11th grade I got over 100% test grade average.

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You should have Physics HL and Maths HL ideally when applying for Engineering courses, most of my friends studying Engineering now coupled those two subject with Chemistry HL. But I would urge you to get out of Maths Studies and fast. Having a high test average in a class designed for students that are either a) too lazy or b) horrible at Maths to the point that they genuinely cannot cope with it, is not much of an achievement.

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You should have Physics HL and Maths HL ideally when applying for Engineering courses, most of my friends studying Engineering now coupled those two subject with Chemistry HL. But I would urge you to get out of Maths Studies and fast. Having a high test average in a class designed for students that are either a) too lazy or b) horrible at Maths to the point that they genuinely cannot cope with it, is not much of an achievement.

I doubt I can leave the class while already in my last year.

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I doubt I can leave the class while already in my last year.

Try. Because beyond the obvious disappointment you might face at University, you have no idea how behind you are in Maths because of two years in this class. You will be struggling the first few months assuming you do end up pursuing Engineering, and even then you will continue to struggle further on as High School is when you build your basics in Maths and I imagine that Engineering would require you to have a very solid foundation in Maths. A Studies class is going to lave you floundering at University.

Tell your IB Coordinator that you've recently come to realise how much Studies is hurting your future chances. Tell him/her you will work hard and get a tutor and what-not. Maths SL is not impossible per say, just challenging if unprepared. But even a 5-6 is very much within your grasp if you put your mind to it.

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I doubt I can leave the class while already in my last year.

Try. Because beyond the obvious disappointment you might face at University, you have no idea how behind you are in Maths because of two years in this class. You will be struggling the first few months assuming you do end up pursuing Engineering, and even then you will continue to struggle further on as High School is when you build your basics in Maths and I imagine that Engineering would require you to have a very solid foundation in Maths. A Studies class is going to lave you floundering at University.

Tell your IB Coordinator that you've recently come to realise how much Studies is hurting your future chances. Tell him/her you will work hard and get a tutor and what-not. Maths SL is not impossible per say, just challenging if unprepared. But even a 5-6 is very much within your grasp if you put your mind to it.

Is it really hard to teach yourself Calculus. There was a student at my school two years ago in Math Studies that decided he wanted to learn calculus, so he taught himself from a book with the help of a teacher.

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just want to restate Arrowhead's point about Maths and Physics both at HL. all universities require those two subjects for all Engineering courses. well, unless you want to go to some bad uni that sets no requirements for their courses. or I heard the US universities don't care what subject you take (can anybody confirm this?) so probably you can just ace your SAT Maths and go there...

but, yes do ask your IB coordinator and teacher if you can switch to Maths HL. if not, to Maths SL (although you still won't be accepted in good non-US universities if you only have Maths SL). if there's no way you can switch, well then take a foundation course at uni. but do get your 7 at Maths Studies. if not, the Engineering Admission guy will laugh at you.

or, this is your best solution: apply for a course that is not related to Maths. I actually don't think you'll like Engineering. have you checked out the course structure at some unis? see if you like it. think again.

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just want to restate Arrowhead's point about Maths and Physics both at HL. all universities require those two subjects for all Engineering courses. well, unless you want to go to some bad uni that sets no requirements for their courses. or I heard the US universities don't care what subject you take (can anybody confirm this?) so probably you can just ace your SAT Maths and go there...

but, yes do ask your IB coordinator and teacher if you can switch to Maths HL. if not, to Maths SL (although you still won't be accepted in good non-US universities if you only have Maths SL). if there's no way you can switch, well then take a foundation course at uni. but do get your 7 at Maths Studies. if not, the Engineering Admission guy will laugh at you.

or, this is your best solution: apply for a course that is not related to Maths. I actually don't think you'll like Engineering. have you checked out the course structure at some unis? see if you like it. think again.

I'm just looking to stay in Florida. I'm not planning to attend some elite top tier school.

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Even if you stay in Florida and go to Florida State or University of Florida or something along those lines, you still need a decent level of math to be an engineer. SL is the MINIMUM with HL preferred, and even then math courses for engineering students go far beyond that (I've seen my cousin's math assignments and he's studying to be an engineer :P). I don't know if you can switch into HL at this point in time, but try your hardest to get into HL, and if not, SL. And if all else fails, you can always study for an AP calculus exam or something on your own, although I wouldn't recommend it. Some of the concepts can be hard to grasp and are a bit abstract and without a teacher or someone who knows what they're doing you can easily get lost.

Desy's right when she says that the US doesn't really care about your individual subjects too much, but they WILL look at your classes and see how difficult they are, and math studies is accepted at no university that I know of, not even at lower-ranked schools.

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I have friends studying engineering at Uni right now. Some did SL and some did HL, but none did studies because if you have done studies it impossible to get into engineering in Australia. However, while those that did HL are breezing through the maths courses, a few of that did SL and got something like a 5 are occasionally struggling because they are not use to the difficulty level. Im not sure if engineering courses are similar overseas or not, but if go through 2 years of only doing studies, when you go onto university you may struggle, not because you dont have the mathematical talent now, but just because you have spent so long only doing 'easy' maths that you wont be use to the difficulty of the course work. If you can get to at least SL, do so as soon as possible, or engineering at university may be a real struggle even if you find a uni that will accept you with only studies.

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I have friends studying engineering at Uni right now. Some did SL and some did HL, but none did studies because if you have done studies it impossible to get into engineering in Australia. However, while those that did HL are breezing through the maths courses, a few of that did SL and got something like a 5 are occasionally struggling because they are not use to the difficulty level. Im not sure if engineering courses are similar overseas or not, but if go through 2 years of only doing studies, when you go onto university you may struggle, not because you dont have the mathematical talent now, but just because you have spent so long only doing 'easy' maths that you wont be use to the difficulty of the course work. If you can get to at least SL, do so as soon as possible, or engineering at university may be a real struggle even if you find a uni that will accept you with only studies.

Thanks!

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