Assignment 6: Maggie Anderson

      Over fall break, I went to University of Cincinnati. On Thursday, I took a general tour of the campus, then went to a short talk about the engineering school, because I thought I might want to go into that field.
      I don't.
     The student presenters talked a great deal about the classes and knowledge they get at UC, which gave me a better picture of what engineering is. It involves a great deal of problem solving and thinking outside the box, while I am good at math and enjoy math and merely want to sit in a room doing equations in the least creative way possible. Engineering just isn't quite for me, though I could still enjoy it.
       The real problems came from everything else, specifically the lack of anything else. The students had explained Breadth of Knowledge courses, which were their required non-engineering courses, of which there are four.  I later, during the question segment, asked how the engineering schedule allowed for taking many other classes. Their answer amounted roughly to "those four courses plus any other you want to and can squeeze in". Based on their co-op system (mandatory 5 semesters) and course load the rest of the time, there wasn't many opportunities for extra courses.
      I found this very off-putting. While I intend to major in something math-based, a well rounded education is very important to me. Though people say you never stop learning, college is the last learning-based stage of your life. After that, knowledge takes a secondary role to work and money and life. There are so many thing I want to do. I have always planned to continue my classical education, I enjoy history, and I want to try learning a skill, such as working with wood, metal or glass. I want these things to supplement my major, not to be crammed in around it.
        I thought engineering might still be possible at another school, perhaps one where co-op was less of a thing. My parents warned me that all engineering programs would be like that to some degree. My mother even told me about a friend of theirs at UK, who double majored in engineering and Russian. He was very smart and succeeded, but the engineering school gave him crap for it every day.
        Even had I not already realized that engineering might not be right for me, this would have convinced me. My major should not come at the expense of all other opportunities, not to mention my personal happiness and satisfaction.