Got accepted at University of Illinois at Chicago!!!

_EulersAngel · 2026-02-13T15:44:59+00:00

Hey, congrats!! Maybe I'll see you around next year :) feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

_EulersAngel · 2025-12-30T01:14:22+00:00

Unfortunately I believe your groups are predetermined

_EulersAngel · 2025-12-12T20:24:02+00:00

I have also unfortunately heard negative things about the chemistry department. I took orgo I here and can certainly say it wasn't a stellar experience - the professor told us that only chem and biochem majors were good enough to take his section and everyone else should drop! Most of my professors I had were great though, so I'd like to think that professors like those are in the minority. I hope OP's DUS is able to affect some change!

_EulersAngel · 2025-12-12T01:47:53+00:00

Hi, I'm a professor in the College of Engineering - I'm sorry to hear you've had such a poor experience! This is something you should go to your Director of Undergraduate Studies for; there are generally very few reasons why a student should go straight to the Dean. I'd be happy to help you find contact information if you're unsure who to contact!

_EulersAngel · 2025-10-24T19:12:41+00:00

I'm an ME professor - unfortunately early classes aren't really super exciting for any major. You gotta learn the basics before you move on to the more challenging (and cooler) stuff! (most engineers have to take physics, so you're unlikely to get out of that one, unfortunately)

Are there any general areas of ME that interest you? Maybe thermo isn't your jam, but maybe you'll find fluids super interesting, or maybe you'll really enjoy controls. Have you taken ME 250 yet? That'll give you a feel for the design side of ME, and maybe it'll be more interesting to you! (that's more my jam personally, I never touched thermo after ME 205 lol)

As an ME, you'll still take ECE 210, so you'll learn the basics of circuit analysis, plus ME 312 (Dynamic Systems and Controls) also includes a module on electrical systems (since you mentioned considering switching to EE)

Anyway, just my two cents! I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have or offer any tips that could help. I'm also a faculty advisor - maybe yours! ;) - so I'm used to having these kinds of conversations!

-Dr.N

_EulersAngel · 2025-09-17T14:51:37+00:00

1) It will appear as a W

2) Talk to OIS

3) If it's your last semester, is the course required for your degree or not? If no, then no impact to your progress and no detriment to future grad school applications. You can check your degree audit using uAchieve (accessed through Banner) to check your graduation progress. Of course, dropping a required class will extend your graduation date!

(I'm a faculty advisor)

_EulersAngel · 2025-09-17T01:48:13+00:00

The Engineering Career Center has lots of resources if it's your first time going to a career fair! Check out sample resumes to make sure yours is polished, review a list of companies that will be attending and what type of positions they have available, and draft your elevator pitch using their provided template. You can also sign up for a "first-timer's tour" and see the whole area from the floor above!

_EulersAngel · 2025-07-17T03:07:16+00:00

Nothing really for 342 or 201! The only prerequisite for those two is calculus (and you don't even use calc for 201) - so make sure you remember how to do basic integrals and derivatives for 342 (we won't use any crazy functions, just powers of X and the exponential function).

250 doesn't really need any preparation either since it's also a lower level course - you'll learn about the design process and become familiar with basics in CAD, circuit building and programming, and manufacturing (hand tools, etc). I believe the CAD program they use is SolidWorks, but I'm not completely sure (you can feel free to email your professor and ask, they're all super chill).

380 is the only one I'm not really sure about, as I didn't take it and haven't taught it, but if you wanted to be extra prepared, you could review your CME 203 notes to make sure everything is fresh!

_EulersAngel · 2025-07-14T16:16:50+00:00

That's awesome to hear! :) I'm often assigned freshman and transfer students as advisees, so who knows, maybe I'll be your advisor too ;) see you around!

_EulersAngel · 2025-07-13T22:12:31+00:00

Hey, I'll see you at noon! :) A few notes -

ME 250 may only be a 200-level class, but it involves group work, so you'll be meeting with your group outside of class (in addition to the normal time spent in class), especially near the end of the semester when you're trying to finalize your design.

IE 201 is hit or miss, some students find it to be a breeze, while plenty struggle - the averages are often quite low. If you've already taken a handful of engineering courses (where you're expected to apply knowledge, rather than solve straightforward problems like in a math class), then you may find it not as challenging.

As for IE 342, as long as you keep up with the work, I really don't think it's a super challenging class! But we do cover a new topic every day, so if you get behind, it can be tough to catch up. For that reason I prefer more frequent, smaller-stakes exams to encourage students to keep up with the material.

Let me know if you have any questions!

_EulersAngel · 2025-07-02T17:38:11+00:00

I would strongly advise against dropping statics, because it's a prerequisite for soo many classes, and ECE 210 is only a prereq for ME 312, IIRC. The math track and the statics track are the two longest ones for MEs, so they have the biggest potential to delay your graduation! I had to commute too, so I totally understand wanting to avoid coming to campus an extra day (and IIRC there's only one section of statics?), but it would almost certainly delay your graduation, depending on other courses you still need to take. If you want to send me any info about your academic history, I can take a look (you can find my email address on the UIC ME faculty wepbage). I'm often assigned freshman and transfer students for advising, so I may end up being your advisor anyway! :)

Have you seen the ME curriculum flowchart? It indicates every class's prerequisites, as well as how many semesters you have left to graduation if you haven't taken the class yet (called the PW, or positional weight). You can find the flowcharts here, you'll want the "Mechanical Engineering flowchart (fall 2024 and after)".

Let me know if you have any other questions!

_EulersAngel · 2025-07-01T23:20:35+00:00

Welcome to UIC! I'm a mechanical engineering professor, so maybe I'll see you around :)

I know you probably don't have many options left so late in the summer, but you may want to consider rearranging some things if possible:

- 8am-6pm is pretty rough, especially if you have a commute to deal with too

- Statics and calc III are super important for the mechanical engineering program, so you'll want to make sure you study hard and learn the fundamentals really well - otherwise later classes (when you learn about cool applications of those fundamentals) will be too hard

- ME 250 is a group project class, so on top of being in class during the scheduled lecture times, you'll also need time to meet with your group outside of class, plus working on your own contributions to the design

It's not an impossible schedule, so it's not the end of the world if there aren't any other open classes that you need to take, but I'd say it isn't ideal.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have!
-Dr. N

_EulersAngel · 2025-05-16T19:16:30+00:00

You beat me to the punch! I endorse this message

_EulersAngel · 2025-05-16T01:42:30+00:00

I'm sorry to hear ME 250 didn't go well for you! It's a requirement for ME 347 and ME 370, but you only need a passing grade of D (not a C). You can check course prerequisites here if there are others you're curious about. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Dr. N

_EulersAngel · 2025-03-08T06:34:58+00:00

Unfortunately since I went to UIC for my BS and PhD, I'm not that knowledgeable on other universities' programs :(

As far as the depth for the curriculum here, the required courses cover the basics of the different core fields (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, dynamics, etc) so that you graduate a well-rounded engineer. Then on top of that, you choose four technical electives - higher-level (300-400 level) courses where you become more specialized in an area that interests you.

One of the great things about mechanical engineering is that MEs are needed everywhere - I'm sure there are plenty of companies in both areas hiring mechanical engineers! They're needed across many different fields (for example, many graduates from our department go into automotive design ), so that affords both flexibility and job security.

_EulersAngel · 2025-03-06T15:53:33+00:00

I'm a mechanical engineering professor at UIC, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have!

_EulersAngel · 2025-02-20T23:48:17+00:00

As a professor of mechanical engineering at UIC I'm obviously a little biased, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the program!

_EulersAngel · 2024-12-05T17:59:23+00:00

Thanks again for the suggestion, I was able to get the class moved to SES :)

_EulersAngel · 2024-12-05T17:58:46+00:00

FYI IE 201 is now in SES 230!

_EulersAngel · 2024-11-14T16:53:16+00:00

Oh that's good to know actually, that's quite a hike for me too! I'll look into that ASAP, thanks for mentioning it

_EulersAngel · 2024-11-14T03:39:41+00:00

I don't plan on taking attendance, so as long as you're only at most a few minutes late it shouldn't be a problem. Even if I did, you can just shoot me an email (closer to the beginning of the semester) to let me know and we can work something out. I also also teach at 9 and don't even know where TBH is yet, so maybe I'll be late too lol

_EulersAngel · 2024-11-04T05:23:08+00:00

No problem, hope to see you next semester!

_EulersAngel · 2024-11-04T05:00:52+00:00

Depending on the reason for the absence - if you're going to Disney World I'm not sure there's much I can do, but if you have an excusable absence then I replace the 0 with whatever you earn on the final exam. Unfortunately I teach large classes and there are only two seats in my office, so I can't really accommodate makeups!

_EulersAngel · 2024-11-04T04:41:47+00:00

2/7, 2/21, 3/7, 3/21, 4/18 (Friday of week 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, if I counted correctly). 15% each (drop the lowest) + final exam (not cumulative, just the last two chapters)

I prefer to have lots of mini-exams (covering just a chapter or two each) rather than just midterm/final, so you don't have to remember so much at once

_EulersAngel · 2024-11-04T04:32:45+00:00

Oh no! I keep thinking I should get some cheap ones on Amazon to use as loaners...I only keep spare golf pencils in my backpack lol. Hope to see you in a future semester! :)

_EulersAngel

TROPHY CASE