college requirements

pateen

how ye, ah i'm new to this so feel free to 'move' it or whatever. Ya see i'm doin the LC i wasnt sure what subjects to pick so i did business geography and economic with ag sci outside of school. At the tim i didnt know what i wanted to do when i leave but now i'm thinkin mech. engineerin, now i'm wonderin do you need much science or higher level maths as i'm currently doing pass, i'd hope to go to an IT (GMIT) with hope of it being more practical , just wondering does anybody have any advice or thoughts. oh i did do phys chem for a month but didnt like the chem so changed for business, 1 more is tech drawin hard to pick up, Thanks in advance if i get any replies;)

Meglamonia

For any type of engineering I'd think you have to do higher maths and chemistry but don't quote me on that could be wrong! :P

pathway33

on the GMIT website it seems pass maths will do

unknown13

The Universities require HL maths for Engineering. Most of the IT's don't.

Fad

Generally the Eng courses you can get into without higher maths are level 7's (Though often there's an add on course available).

I dont think many Eng courses require Chemistry though, dunno where that was gotten from (Unless you're trying to get into Chemical Engineering....).

pathway33

Fad wrote: »

8

7

pateen

its not so much the chemistry but not havin any science is what i'm wonderin about?? id be hopin to do mechanical engineering itself, does anybody have expirience of these courses in IT's, Thanks again in advance.

Fad

pathway33 wrote: »

7

>_<

That's what I meant

readystudypass

Useful answer here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055995712&highlight=engineering and http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055819456&highlight=engineering

pateen

how ye, thanks for all your replies , now this might sound stupid but do you learn much practical stuff about cars or just tht physics, i heard some place you do metal work and welding is this true? oh and is anybody actually some form of a mechanical engineer, whats it like:o

Daniel S

I've talked to a few mechanical engineers, my dad, a guy who came to school to get us to do it. You don't need Chemistry. As far as I know, physics is more helpful. Another thing is, you could try for the university and do the "Special Entrance Exam" which is in UL and NUIG, maybe a few others. I was at the open day in NUI Galway yesterday and they said there is a week long course before the exam, and they will teach you how to pass it.

Midnight_EG

If you're planning on doing engineering, physics is very very handy to have! I'm a first year doing a Level 6 in Mechanical Engineering in an IT, and having physics meant I was able to get straight into the work and not be confused by all these Greek symbols and and stuff. There's people in my year who just can't wrap their heads around it, and it's simply because they didn't do physics!

Some Universities had HL maths as a requirement for engineering, but as far as I remember, DCU didn't. To get my level 6 I simply needed 5 D3's in ordinary subjects, and a C3 in OL maths. For the level 7 I'd have needed the same except a C1 in OL maths...I got a C2! :P Level 8 required me to get 2 C3's in HL subjects, a D3 in HL maths or an A1 in OL, and 3 D3's in OL anything.

Also, if you really do plan on doing Mechanical Engineering, go with Tech Drawing! You'll thank me for it when you get into Engineering Graphics, it's all CAD and sketching!

tl;dr Physics and Tech Drawing for Mech Eng is a big yes.

pateen

thanks Midnight_EG just wonderin by your name and location are you interested in cars like does the cours enhance your knowledge of cars in any way, where did you go to college?

Midnight_EG

pateen wrote: »

thanks Midnight_EG just wonderin by your name and location are you interested in cars like does the cours enhance your knowledge of cars in any way, where did you go to college?

Cars are my life :pac: I'm currently studying Mechanical Engineering in ITTD, which is the Institute of Technology Tallaght, in Dublin.

Despite the name, the course has nothing to do with cars in theory. The course is how things work, and how to make them. An example of some classes I have are Fluid Power Systems and Electrical Practice, along with Mechanical Science and Engineering Skills.

Fluid Power Systems is all about fluid based systems and air based systems, such as hydraulic lifts (car lifts and the like) and air based lifts such as the cylinder on a door that retracts when you open it, and then the compressed air within will push it back to close, you know? If you don't get the door one, just look at the top of some of the doors in your school and you'll see a little box and a cylinder/bar coming out of it. That's a Fluid Power System.

Electrical Practice is just that, wiring up lamps, switches, pattresses, and whatever else you might want to use. It teaches you general safety about electricity and you'll know how to wire some basic things around the house.

Mechanical Science, I find, is the hardest class within the course, because it's all Physics based! This would be the sort of 'overall' class of the course, the content varies widely such as using Scientific Notation to finding the area of a section of the college and others such as risk assessment and safety.

Engineering Skills is another hands-on type of class. When you start it you'll think it's all metalwork, which is basically it, but nearly all of the class is taken in the lab and you're making stuff such as callipers and clamps.

So far, I've seriously enjoyed the course and love just being a part of it, and tbh college is amazing too! The course, as an end product, I feel will actually help me with my knowledge of cars, as it teaches you how it works and all of the components in the car, but it won't teach you how to fix a car, if that's what you're after. I'd definitely recommend the course if you're interested in it.

pateen

thanks sounds class, did you do any science in school?

Midnight_EG

As I said above, I did physics.