[xhdjejxjx]

It's more than that, unless you consider investing your physical health part of the deal too.

As a current mechanical engineering junior, the expectations have gotten really quite insane. In order to graduate on time you have to be taking 15-18 credits of the hardest classes offered at university. Right now I'm in an 18 credit semester, and next I will be taking 17 credits. Currently I'm in fluid mechanics, finite element analysis, engineering statistics, thermodynamics, and advanced multivariable calculus.

I average about 4-5 hours of sleep. The level of stress associated with this major is making me lose my hair at 20 years old, and I've also developed this weird problem where I profusely vomit several times a day.

[will_pseudonym]

Your body is telling you to stop going down that path that you're going down. Ignore those signals and you'll be on your way to an early grave.

It is okay. I graduated at 25. The world doesn't stop if you don't graduate on time. Your world will stop, however, if you die from a body decimated by stress and lack of sleep.

[tass]

You should talk to a school counsellor about the load. What is the worst that can happen if you don't graduate on time? I'm asking because i don't actually know...

Talk to a doctor about the other problems you're having - if it's stress related you'll at least have some evidence to back you up if you discuss workload with your school.

[xhdjejxjx]

But you don't understand: that's what everyone else in the program is doing too.

[thephyber]

What does what "everyone else is doing" have to do with _your_ personal physical and mental health?

Take an honest appraisal of what you think you can do and talk it over with both your major counselor and a school nurse. If your body or mental health can't handle it, take it down a notch and consider dropping a course and retaking it the next semester/quarter.

Half of the controversy of the suicides based on parental+peer pressure and competition is that the demands will never plateau or fall. They will continue to rise above the abilities of more than 99% of the people who enter the competition. There is no supply/demand curve where parents/peers and you will magically find an equilibrium. Learn to have your own expectations, independent of your parents and peers.

[secabeen]

The other thing to remember is that only a few years after you finish your education, the specifics of it will matter little. What you show on your resume for your first job completely swamps where you went to school, and especially how you did there.

[rwallace]

What's to understand? If all your acquaintances started cutting themselves or smoking crystal meth, would you insist on emulating them in that too?

As it is, your standard of living would be markedly improved if you went and lived on the streets and scrounged food out of dumpsters. Bonus: you're not even effectively learning the material you're nominally studying. Cut back to a sane workload. If they won't let you stay in that course at that rate, transfer to something else, or drop out entirely. If being a homeless derelict would improve your standard of living, you need to do something other than what you're doing.

[will_pseudonym]

You are risking your life to keep up with the Joneses. It's not worth it.

[jsudhams]

Hey corporate experience of 17 years and most of them were fortune 500 companies. Unless you want to be inventor or world leading scientist ... you don't need anything. Do avg in college join a big company in simple position work your way up (smart or hard whatever works for you) and use your common sense you will become evp/coo if not a ceo.. none of the college shit matters in companies which is were you will end up...

[imron]

> In order to graduate on time you have to be taking 15-18 credits of the hardest classes offered at university. Right now I'm in an 18 credit semester, and next I will be taking 17 credits

So what you're saying is you could drop 2-3 credits a semester, and still graduate on time?

> and I've also developed this weird problem where I profusely vomit several times a day.

I really hope you've seen a doctor about this.

[xirdstl]

What is "on time"? I graduated from an engineering university a decade ago, and it was commonplace for an undergraduate degree to take 4.5 - 5 years. There's no rush to finish in 4. You have the rest of your life to work.

[theworstshill]

This should only be happening in your final year when you're doing multiple final engineering design projects at once. You need to rethink how you learn, or your health is fucked.

[bcassedy]

Has this not always been the case for engineering majors? I seem to recall that graduating in 5 years was pretty much the norm for engineers.

[xhdjejxjx]

You have to graduate in four or you're out of the program.

[Retric]

Summer classes can really help the load. Even if the school does not offer it you can generally self study a math class.

Another option is to accept a lower grade in a class. Ex: If getting a C on a project saves you 80 hours of work it can be worth it.

PS: Giving up sleep is false savings over time.

[lfowles]

> Another option is to accept a lower grade in a class. Ex: If getting a C on a project saves you 80 hours of work it can be worth it.

Not that I'd recommend going as far as I did, but this was my college motto. 20% of the work for 80% of the grade, then move on to homework for the next class.

[seansmccullough]

You need to work on organization. I get it hard as hell and their asking a lot, but a lot of what you're "suppose to" do to get good grades and learn is bullshit.

[imron]

Don't know why you're getting downvoted.

Time management/organization skills can go a long way.