Hi everyone !
My name is Elizabeth and i'll going to Eng 1 at Mac this fall.
I have a little problem. Actually after finishing high school i travelled a lot for about 2 years. In the meantime my friends got into uni./college and carried on with their careers. Now that i'll be going to school as well , i'm feeling a little bad about the fact that my friends would graduate while i'd still be in school.
My question to you guys is this : Is it possible to finish the 4 year eng program in a little less maybe 3 years? Has anyone done it before or is it at all possible? I know that i almost certainly would have to go to summer school/online courses.
I would really like some insights . Please help
Thanks

There is no shame in taking time off before uni. And no I don't believe so since the majority of the courses (minus first year courses and second year math) are not offered in summer and thus have to wait for the next year. The courseload is already heavy as it is so you can't really overload..

what about online courses (athabasca or ryerson) or maybe at some other university from where i can transfer my credits to Mac?

Anyone having any views/suggestions , please comment ... I'm really stressed out about the time i have already lost :/

It's not possible, sorry. You have about 35-40 units per year (depending on faculty) with 40 being the absolute maximum. You need to somehow spread across your 4th year 35-40 units over the first 3 years. The problem is the majority of eng couses are not offered in summer school, nor online. So you would need to take it during the year, but you're going to run into the 40 unit hard cap, so you can't do that either.

Like you might be able to do 3 and a half, but i don't think 3 is possible.

Why does it matter so much if people you know graduate before you? They started earlier, they'll finish earlier. You seem to be making a big deal out of nothing.

Originally Posted by adaptation

It's not possible, sorry. You have about 35-40 units per year (depending on faculty) with 40 being the absolute maximum. You need to somehow spread across your 4th year 35-40 units over the first 3 years. The problem is the majority of eng couses are not offered in summer school, nor online. So you would need to take it during the year, but you're going to run into the 40 unit hard cap, so you can't do that either.

Like you might be able to do 3 and a half, but i don't think 3 is possible.

o boy ... i was hoping that if everything else failed then i would just take them in the regular school year. Is the 40 unit cap like hardcore or can you remove that by talking to your faculty if you get like super grades in first year?
Thanks for your reply

Originally Posted by Goran

Why does it matter so much if people you know graduate before you? They started earlier, they'll finish earlier. You seem to be making a big deal out of nothing.

I know that it shouldn't really matter but just when i think that getting 70-80k+ jobs while i'll still be going to classes , it just makes me sad .. is all . But i see you point nonetheless. Thanks

Originally Posted by Tsunade

I know that it shouldn't really matter but just when i think that getting 70-80k+ jobs while i'll still be going to classes , it just makes me sad .. is all . But i see you point nonetheless. Thanks

There's really nothing to be sad about though. There's a time for everything, and hopefully your time will come for that as well, albeit a bit later. Not everything can be in sync, so it's just better to adjust and not try to overburden yourself by trying to finish so much earlier.

Rushing your degree will just most likely damage your GPA (for most). You may have got stellar grades in high school, but high school GPA does not translate at all to university GPA.

Engineering is one of the few disciplines that doesn't have any (comparatively) courses offered in summer school. Make sure you take a look at the summer school time table to take any and all courses you can take (2nd year math, all your electives, one or two of your technical electives if possible, etc) which will reduce your overall course load. Still pretty sure its impossible to do it in under 4 years because of the overload cap.

Keep in mind, even though some people can do it, overloading every year will hinder your social and working life, and rushing your degree as quick as possible will only let you do summer coop/internships (again, not some years if you have electives to do concurrently).

And I don't believe 70-80k is a starting salary for most places of work, unless the people you know are actually getting junior/senior engineering jobs immediately post-grad (senior via coop connections) or are a part of a startup company.

Originally Posted by Tsunade

I know that it shouldn't really matter but just when i think that getting 70-80k+ jobs while i'll still be going to classes , it just makes me sad .. is all . But i see you point nonetheless. Thanks

If it makes you feel better none of your friends will be making 70-80k in their first year after graduation unless they are geniuses

You have the benefit of the experiences you had while travelling and that will stay with you while you're in school AND after. Your friends won't have that option for a long time now because they most likely have quite a bit of student debt to pay off. I'm 25 and just started at Mac last year - I knew that university wasn't for me at 17 and most of my friends (and my little sister) have already graduated. Some are in grad school. My husband is 27 and is just starting his degree this September. A couple of years can make a big difference in how well you do in school - and how well you'll do when you're done as well. PLUS you'll make lots of new friends at McMaster as well.

Originally Posted by RyanC

Rushing your degree will just most likely damage your GPA (for most). You may have got stellar grades in high school, but high school GPA does not translate at all to university GPA.

Engineering is one of the few disciplines that doesn't have any (comparatively) courses offered in summer school. Make sure you take a look at the summer school time table to take any and all courses you can take (2nd year math, all your electives, one or two of your technical electives if possible, etc) which will reduce your overall course load. Still pretty sure its impossible to do it in under 4 years because of the overload cap.

Keep in mind, even though some people can do it, overloading every year will hinder your social and working life, and rushing your degree as quick as possible will only let you do summer coop/internships (again, not some years if you have electives to do concurrently).

And I don't believe 70-80k is a starting salary for most places of work, unless the people you know are actually getting junior/senior engineering jobs immediately post-grad (senior via coop connections) or are a part of a startup company.

I understand engineering maynot offer much courses in summer and theres that overload cap but what if i take some part-time courses(not leading to degree) at other universities (like ryerson) and transfer them back to mac ? would that work ?
I'm sorry that i'm being so persistant about this and you might even get irritated but i hope you understand my predicament. My parents , relatives and some friends are giving me a horrible time saying stuff like how i have been left behind by school mates and honestly i'm really tired of all the comments they make

Originally Posted by Moghue

If it makes you feel better none of your friends will be making 70-80k in their first year after graduation unless they are geniuses

haha , thats what i like to hear

Originally Posted by Tsunade

I understand engineering maynot offer much courses in summer and theres that overload cap but what if i take some part-time courses(not leading to degree) at other universities (like ryerson) and transfer them back to mac ? would that work ?
I'm sorry that i'm being so persistant about this and you might even get irritated but i hope you understand my predicament. My parents , relatives and some friends are giving me a horrible time saying stuff like how i have been left behind by school mates and honestly i'm really tired of all the comments they make

Why would you want to do this? The workload at one university is enough, let alone two.

This isn't high-school/public-school, no one cares if you take time off to pursue other activities.