For Engineering students and graduates: contents/ books of 1st semester in college?

Maga

Hi there,

I am a mature student who is going back to College this year, it has been a good number of years since I've seen all the stuff for the LC, so I was hoping to get some insider information from you guys, please.

- What books have you used for your first year, especially first semester, please? (I was hoping to get them now and prepare during summer)

- What are the hardest modules, so I could start studying them from now?

- Any other tips/suggestions?

(I know it varies from one course to another, but I was looking for a general information)

Thank you so much, it would really be a great help!

All the best,
Lucy

CatFromHue

you dont mention what course you are actually doing but if you wanted to do something how about going over some of the LC material again. the maths and science ones would be the most important.

that would put you in the same position as other first years. remember most colleges have a maths support group. so if you do struggle dont forget about them.

you could also contact the head of the course you intend to do and see if you can get some help off him/her as to what would be of benefit for you to do.

Maga

Hi, thanks a lot for your reply.

I'm actually submitting my application this week, so I'm not sure what course I'll be able to get in yet.

My major concern is whether I will be able to follow the classes, considering it's been over 10 years I don't see any material from the LC.

I intend to work on it on my own and also have grinds until September, but it's a bit hard to tell whether that will be enough and what should be my main focus during these months.


That's why I thought if I got the books for the first year and started studying now, I could use that as a reference point.

Thanks again for your help! It's great news that there are support groups in colleges!

All the best,
Maga

maddladd

Hi Maga, I went back as a mature to do elec eng a couple of years ago, struggled at first with differentiation and integration ( never did hons maths) and also if your course involves autocad it would be a help if you did a course in that, other than that you'll slip back into it quick enough!

bnt

I agree with the above: if you're going to study anything, Calculus should be at the top of the list for 1st year. Then general Mechanics e.g. forces, motion, energy, and so on.

Darren1o1

Maga wrote: »

Hi there,

I am a mature student who is going back to College this year, it has been a good number of years since I've seen all the stuff for the LC, so I was hoping to get some insider information from you guys, please.

- What books have you used for your first year, especially first semester, please? (I was hoping to get them now and prepare during summer)

- What are the hardest modules, so I could start studying them from now?

- Any other tips/suggestions?

(I know it varies from one course to another, but I was looking for a general information)

Thank you so much, it would really be a great help!

All the best,
Lucy

Do you have any Idea on the course/school you are expecting to go to? Universities and IT's will differ from one another on content, and some might have more challenging modules based on there focus.

Turbulent Bill

I'd agree with the suggestions above to revise the LC stuff, just to refresh your memory and get you started. The syllabuses have probably changed a bit since you did it, get an LC maths/physics book, past papers etc. for a start.

I wouldn't bother buying college books (at least not yet). Most beginners texts are massive and expensive, and lecturers don't use all of them as references. Your college library should have a stack of the standard books, and you'll know after a few weeks if there are any you really need to buy.

Best of luck!

Maga

Hi,
Thank you so very much for your suggestions! You have no idea how much they helped!

These are courses I'm thinking to apply to, in order of preference:

- ITT: Energy and environmental or Energy systems
- DIT: Engineering (common first year, level 7 and 8)
- UCD: Engineering (omnibus entry)
- DCU: Mechatronic Engineering

What is your opinion on these courses and their focus? Any tips or suggestions?

Thank you so much again!

Kavrocks

I am currently studying Mechatronic Engineering in DCU and I just finished the semester 1 exams for first year yesterday.

We studied various subjects some more in-depth then others but a basic overview of what we studied would be:

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Introductory Electronics
• How Computers Work
• Microsoft Word, Excel and Visio
• Visual Basic Programming in Excel
• Maths
• Technical Drawing
• Project Work including various things like metalwork, soldering, technical drawing and CAD.

If you would like more info or anything about the course and DCU you can pm me at anytime.

CatFromHue

i dont think there is much difference between dit and ucd but im not sure. both would be good degrees were you do a common first year and then choose where you want to specialize e.g mech etc

also think about how wil you get to the colleges. that should come into your reckoning too.

Aswerty

I graduated from the Mechatronic DCU course in 2009. I was in the last year of the old syllabus so am not too sure how the structure changed.

Each year involved doing the core modules of both the Electronic and Mechanical degrees. The peripheral and more in depth modules of those degrees would be what the Mechatronic graduate would miss out on. Mechatronics would do more on control then any other degree though, I did 3 modules on control in final year if I remember correctly.

Overall the course was pretty good except for some course structure problems, I think these were ironed out in the syllabus restructure though. The degrees main selling point is in INTRA (work placement in 3rd year) and the final year project you are expected to be capable of taking either the Electronic or Mechanical role. On the down side the course is a little heavy because most every module is pretty important due to keeping on top of both disciplines.

In terms of advice I'd say to go for an undenominated 1st year because you're going to learn what you like and it gives you the freedom to make choices going in to 2nd year.

Dilbert75

If you're buying books I'd recommend bookfinder.com - excellent service, normally vastly cheaper than in bricks & mortar...

pprendeville

I'm passing on these books. 2 very useful ones on pneumatics.

00MARTZ00

hi maga
i wouldnt worry too much about getting books just yet.
i went back to DIT as a mature to do electrical services engineering i never did my leaving cert went straight into a trade and the qualification let me go back and straight into the 2nd year. most of my class were all electricians aswell and have gone back and the ages are very varied. its well do-able and when you start the course the lecturers will let you know what books if any you should get.