The Benefits of Purdue's First Year Engineering Program

By -
As the Early Action Deadline (November 1st) approaches, I am sure you are starting to compare engineering programs across several colleges. When comparing Purdue Engineering against other schools, one of the most prominent differences is that Purdue has a program “First Year Engineering (FYE)” instead of a “direct admit” program. Throughout FYE, students take general engineering classes which introduce design processes and manifest an engineering mindset. Within these courses, students are introduced to all of the engineering disciplines that Purdue offers. Although FYE might seem like a setback, that is far from the truth. I finished FYE last semester, and I am beyond grateful for the First Year Engineering Program. It allowed me to feel confident to choose the engineering discipline that best suits my strengths and my goals.



“Engineering Your Major” (EYM) Events

Engineering Your Major (EYM) events are mandatory events built into the engineering course curriculum. In class, each engineering discipline is introduced. This introduction includes that specific discipline’s coursework and potential career paths. Once each discipline is explained, there are events hosted by each engineering school. These seminar-like events give first year engineering students a more in-depth explanation of the major as well as a chance to ask current students and administration questions. These events were extremely helpful in my decision to choose my major: industrial engineering. Purdue offers a variety of engineering disciplines. These events helped to debunk misconceptions about certain majors and inform me about majors that I did not know much about. To be honest, I did not know what industrial engineering was until attending these events.

Access to Purdue Alumni

Throughout the first year engineering experience, you are exposed to all types of majors and careers. During my freshman year, I took the Women in Engineering seminar. During the semester, alumni came to speak about their careers. This helped expand my knowledge of different engineering disciplines and learn about the “day to day” life of different engineers. In addition, there are so many ways to connect to professionals at Purdue. Whether it is through a Women in Engineering Program event or a career fair, Purdue Alumni are always willing to share their experiences with current students. I found these conversations very helpful when deciding which engineering major to choose.

First Year Engineering Courses

During First Year Engineering, students will discover their strengths and weaknesses. I know that I did! Maybe chemistry is not your thing, but you found a love for coding through your coursework. Or maybe a new club you joined helped you to find your passion for environmental engineering. College is a time for you to be exposed to new things and explore your interests. Take time to submerge yourself in your coursework and extracurricular activities to find what you actually like to do. Ask yourself: Do I see myself doing this as a career?



Having a year on Purdue’s campus to explore interests through your coursework, the Purdue community, and other Purdue resources, gives FYE students an immeasurable advantage when declaring their major. Going into freshman year, I thought I wanted to be a chemical engineer. After completing the First Year Engineering Program, I learned about industrial engineering, and realized it was a much better fit for me and my goals. Without FYE, I would not have had that realization. I could not be happier where I am today!

Sophia Jarc, IE '26

WE Link Leadership Team


Stay Connected With Purdue WiE Program!

Facebook: Purdue Women in Engineering

Instagram: @purduewiep

Blog: purduewiep.blogspot.com

Email: welink@purdue.edu

YouTube: Purdue Women in Engineering Program - YouTube


Purdue Women in Engineering

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Purdue Housing

By -
Image
One of the many concerns incoming freshmen have is what to do regarding their housing options. In addition to the roommate selection process, you may be interested in seeing your on-campus options in terms of amenities and the communities available within the building. For example, when I accepted my admission to Purdue as a freshman, I knew I was interested in a standard double that I had experienced at a summer college program. To ensure my University Residences housing, I applied to Vertically Integrated Projects so that I would be able to pursue a research project as a freshman while also guaranteeing my housing within Earhart Hall through the connected learning community. For more information on learning communities, read our previous blog! Many freshmen will live in a residence hall, even if they are not in a specific learning community. Now, as a Resident Assistant or RA in Earhart Hall, I have been trained on the term “residence hall”; our halls go beyond a traditional “dormito...
Read more

Top 10 Extracurriculars Purdue Students Want You to Join Outside of Engineering

By -
Image
1. Purdue University Dance Marathon (PUDM):  The biggest student-run organization on campus! You can join as a dancer, where you get to fundraise leading up to the 18-hour long event or be even more involved and join a committee! Some of the committees include Riley Relations, where you fundraise to sponsor events for the Riley families throughout the year & are paired with a Riley family for the night of the event, Special Events Committee, where you organize 5K’s and other events around campus throughout the year, and so much more! 2. Boiler Gold Rush (BGR):  Whether it be as a new student, a team leader (TL), or even a Supervisor, there are so many ways to get involved with BGR! This week-long event is held the week before classes start in August. As a new student, it is your first chance to meet your new colleagues and participate in many games, fountain runs, and other fun activities throughout the week. It is also a great way to familiarize yourself with the ...
Read more

A very (sub)objective review of dining options at Purdue

By -
Image
Jenn and her friends after the Thankgiving dinner Food is an integral part of our day. For some people, the very first thing they do in the morning is eat breakfast. I personally prefer my cup of coffee to a stack of waffles. Nonetheless, food has the power to pick up a bad mood, enhance a good mood, and even ease the stress you are feeling about exams and homework. The awareness I have of how food impacts my mood is recently found since I started college in August. at home I usually came home to my mom or dad making something delicious in the crockpot. Suddenly I arrive at college and there are so many options that it can get overwhelming at times to figure out what to eat. Navigating the dining options at college did not seem like something I should have been worried about, yet it was something that took a month of experimenting to perfect.  The key is knowing where to go and what is consistent. I decided to help you out and give you some insight into how I view each dining optio...
Read more