Engineering in College

Focus on active problem-solving and peer-led discussions rather than passively re-reading lecture slides. In a 2019 randomized study of introductory college physics courses, students taught with active methods learned more than students taught by highly rated lecturers — yet felt like they had learned less, because they took the extra mental effort as a sign they weren't getting it. Feeling like you're struggling while you work problems doesn't mean it isn't working.

Depends on: The student's willingness to embrace the discomfort of working through difficult practice problems from scratch rather than taking the "easy" route of just watching a professor solve them on a board.

Set "input-focused" study goals (e.g., "I will do focused practice problems for two hours") rather than "output-focused" goals (e.g., "I will memorize this entire chapter today").

Depends on: The student's baseline self-discipline. Input-focused goals only work if the student holds themselves accountable to actual, distraction-free deep work during those dedicated time blocks, rather than just running out the clock.

Front-load heavy prerequisite chains and map out notoriously difficult classes for your sophomore or junior year.

Depends on: Your specific university's curriculum flowchart and class availability. This strategy only works if the department offers those critical path classes in the semesters you need them, and requires careful academic advising to ensure you don't overwhelm a single semester.

Prioritize securing at least one industry internship or co-op before graduation. Education research counts internships among the "high-impact practices" linked to higher student engagement and retention, and in a 2018 study, interns at an engineering firm could name specific skills they had picked up on the job.

Depends on: The student's ultimate career goal. If a student strictly intends to pursue a Ph.D. and enter academia, participating in undergraduate laboratory research will generally take precedence over corporate industry internships.

Volunteer in a professor's research lab by your sophomore year to gain hands-on technical skills and equipment experience that standard core classes won't teach you.

Depends on: Faculty availability, department funding, and the type of institution. This is highly feasible at large research institutions (R1 universities, in the U.S. classification) but may be much harder to secure at smaller teaching-focused colleges with limited graduate lab space.

Put physical exercise on your weekly calendar as protected time, not something you'll get to once the work is done — in a heavy course load, the work is rarely done. A 2022 systematic review of 18 studies covering 11,500 medical students in 13 countries found that students who were more physically active had lower burnout and a better quality of life, with more activity tending to go with bigger differences. That's an association, not proof that exercise prevents burnout.

Depends on: Your schedule and how you manage it. Exercise only helps if it fits around your critical deadlines instead of eating study time you can't spare — and the research behind this tip comes from medical students, not engineering students specifically.