Managing Extracurriculars

• Here is a list of SEAS Clubs that are relevant to engineering and worth looking into, if there’s any interest in the content. Being part of these communities can be very rewarding and a good way to gain relevant engineering experience.

  • However, it may not always be possible to commit to every organization due to the much more limited time available to dedicate as an engineer. Quality versus quantity may be something to consider, depending on goals and needs, and it’s always a good idea to balance out academic interests with personal fulfillment.

• Aside from engineering, it’s also important to pursue your own personal interests and maintain as much balance as possible within your life. While interviewing an upperclassmen, they spoke about being part of BASHA (Bengali Students Association), the Islamic society, and the boxing club. Aside from being involved with HRPG (Harvard Rocket Propulsion Group) and the Automotive Society professionally, they found it rewarding to be part of a community closest to home and try something new.

  • Engineers are people, too!!! It’s okay to have interests outside of the field that give you personal fulfillment. Not everything has to be about engineering :)

Studying Abroad

• While engineering is quite rigorous and there are lots of concentration requirements to be fulfilled, this can be done and should not be discounted from the list of college experiences that are possible.

• During the summer, it is completely possible to study abroad for language purposes (whether it be to fulfill a requirement or work towards a language citation), and it has been done in the past by engineering students.

• Furthermore, some engineering credits can be fulfilled at foreign universities. A mechanical engineer managed to complete three abroad, so it’s worth having a conversation with your concentration advisor early on to best determine how to plan courses.

  • Some engineers have also studied abroad in Taiwan during the summer for language citations and even interned abroad over the summer internationally, getting three concentration credits done in one semester. It’s possible!

Writing a thesis

• Generally students will be asked to consider a project junior year and delve into it deeply during senior year, but don’t panic: there are plenty of labs and advisors available, and an entire school year is allotted to complete it.

• Working with partners is also an option, and may be something worth looking into.