As a first year engineering student, choosing your engineering discipline can be daunting. Students enter First Year Engineering form a variety of positions in terms of their certainty of major choice. I have been interested in Biomedical Engineering since high school. The summer before my first year of college, I spent a lot of time researching the work that Biomedical Engineers do and the education process at Purdue. This research allowed me to confirm my desire to choose BME as my number one choice when the survey in spring came around. (The first week of February, all of the first year engineering students receive a survey email that they fill out with their top two choices of disciplines for the following years.)
A friend of mine, Allison, had a different experience with her decision making process. She explains she was cautious to choose engineering in the first place but she always enjoyed math and science. For students still exploring, it is beneficial that Purdue has the general first year engineering program since it allows for ample time to decide which of the many disciplines is right for you. Throughout the Engineering 131 course, each school of engineering will come and give a presentation to introduce their opportunities to the students. This can help clear up any misconceptions or worries students may have about a specific school. Even after your first semester though, it can be difficult to make up your mind.
Another option for helping you decide between schools is to attend their open houses, meet with faculty, and join programs that allow you to be paired with older students in certain disciplines. An example of a program like this is the Mentors and Mentees program through WIEP.
Another strategy when deciding your major is to look at the course plan of study and see which classes spark your interest. It can be comforting to know that even after starting a certain discipline, it is doable to switch between schools. All in all it is a good idea to keep an open mind and explore all of your options before making your final decision. Making sure to look into all aspects of the different options will ensure that you make the right choice for you and end up where you will achieve the most success.
- Marisa Hughes
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