Trying to make the most of my credits

[prancenah]

Hi. I'm a transfer student from San Diego Mesa College (cc in San Diego) originally going for Mechanical Engineering. I transferred to UC San Diego as undeclared and at orientation they explained that basically anyone who was undeclared trying to go for Engineering wouldn't be able to declare their major. I'm going to speak to the head of the major's department this week to see if there are any exceptions to this, but until then I need a back up plan.

I'm currently enrolled in major prerequisite classes, however I don't want to waste a quarter or year pursuing a major I can't get in to. Any suggestions as to what major I should switch to? I was looking in to Mathematics/Economics joint major or maybe Astrophysics.

Classes I have taken:
Class Units Grade
ART 107 Contemporary Art 3.0 W
CHEM 152 Intro to Gen. Chem 3.0 A
CHEM 152L Intro to Gen. Chem Lab 3.0 A
CISC 190 Java Programming 4.0 W
COMS 103 Oral Communication 3.0 A
ENGE 151 Engineering Drawing 2.0 B
ENGL 105 Composition and Literature 3.0 B
ENGL 205 Critical Thinking/Intmd Comp 3.0 B
MATH 150 Calculus/Analytic Geometry I 5.0 B
MATH 151 Calculus/Analytic Geometry II 4.0 B
MATH 253 Calculus/Analytic Geometry III 3.0 B
MATH 254 Linear Algebra 3.0 W
MATH 254 Linear Algebra 3.0 B
MUSI 109 World Music 3.0 A
PHIL 106 Asian Philosophy 3.0 B
PHYS 195 Mechanics 5.0 C
PHYS 196 Electricity and Magnetism 5.0 C
PHYS 197 Waves, Optics, Modern Physics 5.0 A
PSYC 101 General Psychology 3.0 B
SOCO 101 Principles of Sociology 3.0 A

W= withdrawn from course (wasn't sure if I should include them or not). All taken in semester units.

I also took AP Biology with a score of a 3 and AP US History with a score of a 3. My current GPA is a 3.17, which I understand is probably the reason why I did not get in to engineering as my major. I just don't have time to waste and I am not sure what the best approach to take is. Thanks for your help!!

[clep3705]

Those course numbers are mostly meaningless to us. We can make a good guess about PSYC 101 and SOCO 101, but for the rest, we need course titles.

[prancenah]

Thanks! I updated it

[cookderosa]

I encourage you to talk to people in the field you hope to enter. They can best advise you which majors will get you where you want to be (much better than an academic advisor). I couldn't imagine telling you what major to switch to, but before you make any big decisions, you should investigate more.
PS you have done the hardest of the gen eds, so really anything is open to you. Now, if you had all that credit in culinary arts and wanted to be an engineer, THAT would cost you some time, but you're close. I know it feels like a long time, but in a lifespan - one year in any direction amounts to nothing. Choose the right major for your goal, not the fastest one.

[Leedeedee]

You don't say if you planned on a career in engineering or not. If that's your chosen field, I wouldn't let one University's lack of spaces put you off. There are plenty of other universities in the world. There are also ABET accredited Engineering Bachelor's degrees online. Excelsior has an accredited Electrical Engineering program. You might even be able to take some of the credits at your local community college to save money.

Excelsior College | Bachelors Degrees | Electrical Engineering Technology – Electronics

Or there's a list of others (more expensive I would think as they won't take as much CLEP/Credit by exam as Excelsior) here

Online Engineering Degrees - Accredited Programs & Schools

Unfortunately there don't seem to be any mechanical engineering programs but plenty of other engineering options there.

Obviously if you're not that interested in engineering and it was just a major of interest then scrub what I say above!

[Prloko]

You don't say if you planned on a career in engineering or not. If that's your chosen field, I wouldn't let one University's lack of spaces put you off. There are plenty of other universities in the world. There are also ABET accredited Engineering Bachelor's degrees online. Excelsior has an accredited Electrical Engineering program. You might even be able to take some of the credits at your local community college to save money.

Excelsior College | Bachelors Degrees | Electrical Engineering Technology – Electronics

Or there's a list of others (more expensive I would think as they won't take as much CLEP/Credit by exam as Excelsior) here

Online Engineering Degrees - Accredited Programs & Schools

Unfortunately there don't seem to be any mechanical engineering programs but plenty of other engineering options there.

Obviously if you're not that interested in engineering and it was just a major of interest then scrub what I say above!

Overall, good advice. But be careful with confusing Engineering Technology with Engineering. An EET is to an Engineer as a Paralegal is to an Attorney. Or PA to Physician. I made the same mistake and almost signed up for ODU's online EET program. Nothing wrong with being an EET, just wasn't what I was intending.

[cookderosa]

Overall, good advice. But be careful with confusing Engineering Technology with Engineering. An EET is to an Engineer as a Paralegal is to an Attorney. Or PA to Physician. I made the same mistake and almost signed up for ODU's online EET program. Nothing wrong with being an EET, just wasn't what I was intending.

Excellent point!

As a general rule of thumb at the community college: Any degree that includes the words TECHNOLOGY in the title probably won't transfer. Also, if the degree is an AAS or AOS these are non transfer. If the degree is an AS, and includes the calculus sequence, you're on the right path.

[Togas]

Overall, good advice. But be careful with confusing Engineering Technology with Engineering. An EET is to an Engineer as a Paralegal is to an Attorney. Or PA to Physician. I made the same mistake and almost signed up for ODU's online EET program. Nothing wrong with being an EET, just wasn't what I was intending.

What did you end up getting your degree in?
I am doing ODU's MET program, knowing full well the differences between ME and MET.

I am considering jumping to TESC and using a ton of Navy credits towards on of their programs but none of what I have looked at are ABET

[Prloko]

I replied to your PM..