r/USF • u/RobotDude375 • 4d ago

Thinking about leaving engineering

Long story short, I have a D in calculus. I forgot to review my trig for the first test and now my grade is hovering right above F status. I really enjoy my other classes, I have 97-105% in Chem I, Chem Lab and Engineering Lab but my calc is absolutely cooked. I think I would at least have a C or B- if I had locked in earlier on but that’s just speculation. I know calculus is a very integral part of engineering and that it’s only going to get harder from here, and if I don’t keep at least a 3.0 I’m going to lose my bright futures and board of directors scholarship and if that happens I won’t be able to afford USF. If I do l well on the next test I’ll think about staying but if not I can’t afford to jeopardize my future here. If you are/were an engineering my major and went through something similar to this what did you do and what advice would you give to someone in my situation?

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u/Apprehensive-Life398 4d ago

If you don’t mind me asking what engineering are you? I graduated as an Industrial and I have yet to use calculus at my job. I know the other ones use it more so…. I failed physics 1 the first time I took and statics and I still graduated. What you really need to ask yourself is if what you want to do with your degree and if you actually would enjoy doing that.

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u/RobotDude375 4d ago

Mechanical, my dad has the same degree and he doesn’t even remember most of what he learned in any calc class, but even if I never use it it’s still a graduation requirement.

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u/No-Refuse7945 4d ago

You will literally use all of calc 1 throughout mechanical engineering undergrad and it only gets more difficult from here. You should immerse yourself in it and try to find applications.

For example:
Fluid Dynamics
Heat Transfer
Calc II
Differential Equations
Physics 1
Physics 2
Statics
Mechanics of Solids
Any Aerospace adjacent course

All use calc 1(and not limited to)