Summer Community College Courses for Engineers

Summer community college classes on you mind? Now that spring semester is over many students are thinking about taking courses at a community college.  Community colleges are a great way to get ahead in your degree plan and save money at the same time.  For engineering majors, there are some courses that can easily be transferred to your 4-year university.  (If you’re still in high school and wanting to start out at community college click here for some mistakes to avoid. )

Core classes

Core classes for engineering students are usually more annoying to take than useful.  I can’t recall the last time I needed to know the info taught in my Theater Appreciation class.  Now, I know that they say general education classes make for a more well-rounded student, but with the cost of tuition rising on what seems like a daily basis, I just don’t feel it’s worth it.

So, if you’re going to take courses over the summer during a shortened semester, core classes like English, History, Humanities, etc. are your best bet.  You’ll get the credits you need at a lower price.  Plus, the shortened timeline means fewer weeks sitting in a class you more than likely aren’t too interested in (at least that’s how it was for me).

Hold on though…. Before you start enrolling in classes make sure they’ll count towards your degree.  As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a huge difference between a course transferring and a course counting towards your degree.  You definitely need to make sure you’re picking the right classes before starting the semester!

Math Classes

Math classes are fundamental to engineering.  In fact, a lot of engineering degrees require so much math that you either get a math minor by default or you’re only a few credit hours away from it.  A math minor requires 18 credit hours to be completed.  By the time you take Calculus I-III, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and possibly Statistics, you’re almost there!

Since these are fundamental courses required by many majors, community colleges always offer lots of math courses.  They don’t always offer courses like Differential Equations or Linear Algebra, but Calculus is always available.  Taking Calculus, or any other required math class, in the summer has a few benefits:

1. Your course will be less in the summer (or at least it should be) which will allow you more time to focus in on the few classes you are taking
2. Summer teaching schedules are typically more relaxed for the professors, so they have more time to answer your questions and provide extra help when needed
3. Calculus courses are prerequisites for so many other higher-level classes that you’ll be able to start taking these other classes sooner. This can really help speed up that graduation date.

Physics/Chemistry Classes

Physics and Chemistry are two other fundamentals you’ll have to take to be an engineer.  Fortunately, you can almost always knock these out during the summer.  In fact, many community colleges have the summer structured so you can take Physics I during the first half of the summer and Physics II during the second half.  Talk about saving time and money!!  The same goes for Chemistry I and Chemistry II.

Warning!

I already mentioned that you must make sure your summer courses will transfer over and COUNT TOWARDS your degree but that’s not all you need to pay attention to.

Upper vs. Lower Credit Hours

First, let’s say you find a Differential Equations class to take.  The issue I’ve seen with the course is that some schools offer it as a 2000-level sophomore class, whereas other places consider it as a 3000-level junior class.  Why does that matter?  ABET and the state (Texas in my case) require that students complete a certain number of credit hours in different categories.  You must take a specific number of upper level courses to get the required credit hours.

If you take the lower level (2000-level) Diff EQ class and your plan requires an upper level course, your credit hours may not line up with the requirements.  If you don’t meet the requirements, you don’t graduate.  So again, before you enroll in a class you must ALWAYS verify with your university that the course will be acceptable for your degree.

It’s Not Always Easier

Second, a lot of students sign up for summer engineering courses like Statics, Dynamics, and Mechanics of Materials.  This is perfectly fine if you aren’t just signing up because you think they’ll be easier.

This is a bad plan for two reasons: 1) community college classes aren’t necessarily easier, their instructors can be equally as challenging, 2) the compressed semester makes it hard for many students to learn and retain the information.

These basic engineering courses must be fully understood if you want to succeed in engineering.  There’s no way you’ll do well in Fluid Mechanics if you don’t even understand Statics for example.

So, if you are a student that struggled in Physics or math classes, I would advise you to not take a compressed summer class in Statics, Dynamics or Mechanics of Materials.  More than likely, you’ll be better off taking it during a long semester at your university.

In Summary

Community college is one of the best ways to save time and money on your engineering degree.  Just remember to check with your university advisor before enrolling!  If you need help finding a community college, click here to search for one in your area.