Coming into my Junior year, I would hear many horrific stories about the supposedly hardest class in my major: AME 341 aka MechOptronics (MechOp). My friends would consistently tell me how they would always run out of lab time to do the experiment, write 20 hours on a lab report, and several pull all-nighters all to just get a C on a report. Obviously, I was a little concerned entering this class. However, even though this is my hardest class this semester, during these first several weeks, I have actually grown to really like this class.
I have lectures in this class every Monday and Wednesdays, and Labs on Thursdays. During the lectures, the professors are very good at presenting the information that, for the first time in a while, they have my complete attention. In fact, I am always surprised at how fast class goes by. On Thursdays, there is a lab section in which you perform an experiment related to the content taught during the week. After the lab is done, you have to write a report on your experiment that is due in the beginning of the next lab section.
Yes, the rumors are true in that you have to put a lot of time and effort into your work if you expect to get a good grade. However, there is an entire week between when the lab is done and when the report is due. So, there really isn’t any excuse to staying up all night to finish the report the day before it is due. What I’ve found so far is that if you just pace out the work, not only can you get sleep (yay!) but you can also get a better grade.
Ultimately, this is probably one of my favorite classes because I KNOW that everything I learn in this class can (and most likely will) be applied to any job I have outside of college.
