More academic stuff (ENGL 199 final)

[kyrasantae]

I mentioned here that I was getting a copy of my essay for the English final exam. Well, my prof had forgotten about it, and gave me a copy today after I reminded her. Remember the context; it was a couple of days after the Second Sundering (is this starting to sound a bit like Ansalon?), and I was mulling over switching to chemistry.

(There may be typos from my transcription.)

Question (I can't remember the exact phrasing, but this is pretty close):
A friend is considering transferring into Engineering at the university. Write an essay to persuade her to reconsider. (at least 500 words)

There is a huge amount of prestige associated with engineering, but it truly is not worth the stress you would face studying it. Not only is the courseload heavy and the material challenging, but the environment of the faculty would be repressive to a girl of your character and disposition.

If you follow strictly the course sequencing in the Calendar for engineering you will find yourself taking at least six courses every term; not only would there be lectures, but there would be many full-length experimental labs on top of the lectures. You will have weekly homework for all of them, and lab reports to write. You are expected to spend as many hours a week, if not more, on homework and study as you spend at lecture.

The socially active students say that it's better to take your time and spread the courses out over five or six years instead of completing them in four, but because class sizes get smaller as courses become more advanced, there are very limited scheduling options and it can be a tremendous headache to make a workable plan for your program. Besides, I know you want to finish school and get out into the world as soon as you can. You don't need to take as many courses to complete a science or an arts program. Not only does this mean you will have more free time, it also means that you may pay less in tuition.

There is also little opportunity for customization in the engineering program. Depending on the discipline you choose, you will at most get to choose three technical electives and two complementary studies electives. [Note: this actually isn't true; apparently forgottenlord gets three complementary electives and four technical electives in his program] These electives must be chosen from a restrictive list. You want to take a class in French? Sorry, you're not allowed to take foreign language classes for complementary studies credit. Have your eye on that biomechanics class? Sorry, it's not on the list. It's frustrating when you cannot truly make your program of studies unique. In the arts and science programs, you have almost complete reign over the courses you want to take. You can cross over into other disciplines by declaring majors and minors, broadening your education. In engineering all you can do is specialize your degree by choosing your technical electives, narrowing down what you learn.

Are you thinking of entering the co-op program? Think again. You must pay tuition fees for your work terms, and you're under pressure to find a job placement as soon as possible. The department's ability to find placements and openings for you is limited, and only a lucky few receive placements in the formal recruitment at the beginning of the term before the work term. You are also expected to complete an essay assignment for ever four months of work. Would you not rather have your summers off, to take a vacation with family, to be free to take up an unrelated service job at a call centre or restaurant if you cannot find a job that suits your field? Myself, I am in this bind. It is almost the end of the term and I do not have a job placement yet. I would love to go back home to my parents for the summer and spend quality time with them, but I know that the co-op department's placement efforts for Calgary are going to be more limited than their efforts here in Edmonton. As a result I am staying here all summer, at risk of being kicked out of residence housing if I don't get a placement (because I'd have no academic activity, I would have to leave).

On a social level, despite the increasing number of females in the program, the engineering faculty is still a very testosterone-charged environment. There is a certain amount of pride and elitism enjoyed by some engineering students that border on arrogance. The parties are wild, and the conversations masculine. I was once working in one of the student club lounges and a group of other students, including another female, were engaged in discussion and jokes about trucks and sexual prowess. If you're more interested in the social aspects for camaraderie and fellowship, then this kind of environment is for you, but I believe it would hurt your sensitivities, as it did mine.

You are a person diverse in talents and interests. The workload of engineering would leave you in want of personal time to dedicate to those interests. Not only that, the essence of engineering is technicalities and numbers, and being immersed in it would stifle your talents and character. Already I find myself less articulate in my writing and more brash in character than I was in high school, and I know this is a result of my experience here. You have so much to offer, and I would hate to see you lose some of it to your education and training. If you are interested in engineering for the money and the prestige, stop right now. The material advantages are not worth the stress, the pain, and the losses you would have to suffer.

Relax, work (not too hard), spend time with yourself and friends, expand your horizons, and nurture your strengths. Isn't that what we all want out of our university experience?

I write this for you because I too wish to leave engineering. I have been terribly mistaken in believing that it would be a profession that I could spend my life practicing while being happy and proud of what I have accomplished and who I am. Don't fall into the same trap into which I have. Change your mind before it's too late.

//

This essay is dedicated to everyone who knows of my struggle and my quest to spend my life devoted to the fine arts, all the while trying to get out of this artistic hell alive. The imaginary audience in this essay is myself, before I made the fateful choice to be here for this. -- [signed]

Written in about an hour and twenty minutes, I got a B+ on this paper, which is, if I remember correctly, the highest grade my prof gave on the final exam (I don't think I was the only B+ though). Not only that, it's written in some of the most legible cursive I've ever used on an exam.

Woot, it's 1000 words - 200 more than I estimated.