Will I have no life in engineering?

I'm thinking of applying to do engineering for my undergraduate after my A-levels but I heard the saying that engineering students can only pick 2 out of: grades, social life and sleep, which puts me off slightly.

Engineering students, do you have no life or do you have time to yourselves in uni to attend clubs, socials, pursue hobbies etc?

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

UEA Rep Fatma

Official Rep

Original post by linguistic-chest

I'm thinking of applying to do engineering for my undergraduate after my A-levels but I heard the saying that engineering students can only pick 2 out of: grades, social life and sleep, which puts me off slightly.
Engineering students, do you have no life or do you have time to yourselves in uni to attend clubs, socials, pursue hobbies etc?

Hello! @linguistic-chest 🙂
Firstly, it's great you're thinking of applying to study engineering!
I don't do engineering, I do natural sciences (mainly chemistry, so still STEM based!) but I do have some friends who do engineering and they definitely still have time to themselves!
You will most likely have a higher workload compared to others who don't do a STEM heavy subject, but if you manage your time well you can certainly have fun at uni too!
For example, most universities will avoid scheduling students for lectures/tutorials etc.. on a Wednesday afternoon because that is the day where most societies and sports clubs do events.
One thing I'd recommend you do is get your work done as soon as it's set. This means you won't have to stress right before the deadline.
It's important to also have rest days in the week. Make sure you are still doing the things you enjoy!
Definitely don't be put off engineering just because of the workload, and if you find it interesting it won't feel as bad!
I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any questions! 🙂
Good luck with your applications!
Fatma
Natural Sciences student.

Reply 2

tony00005

Original post by linguistic-chest

I'm thinking of applying to do engineering for my undergraduate after my A-levels but I heard the saying that engineering students can only pick 2 out of: grades, social life and sleep, which puts me off slightly.
Engineering students, do you have no life or do you have time to yourselves in uni to attend clubs, socials, pursue hobbies etc?

You will be fine. It obviously depends on the uni and how high the grades you want to achieve, but in general pretty much everyone has plenty of free time, especially first year.

Reply 3

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Youll be fine, yes there are periods of intensity but these are typically one or two weeks per semester (mostly in years 3 &4), additionally most of this is avoidable with good planning but most people prioritize student life until assignments become unavoidable, you will generally have way too much free time. You certainly will be able to have a social life, do volunteer roles, participate in societies & do your academic work, yes occasionally you’ll make compromises but generally life will be good.

On the whole student life is a pretty easy going fun few years, even for engineers, medics & whatever other courses you may imagine.

The reality is a lot of student night life is mid week & universities start at 9am, so what a lot of students find is they have one or two days per week where they are having to survive a 2hr 9am lecture with a hangover on 3 hours sleep, this is just part of the student experience though.

Reply 4

Smack

Original post by linguistic-chest

Was it Americans who were saying that? Engineering is definitely an intense degree - though no more so than other rigorous degrees - but you can absolutely have a decent social life whilst studying it.

Reply 5

linguistic-chest

ty all appreciate the replies

Reply 6

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by linguistic-chest

I'm thinking of applying to do engineering for my undergraduate after my A-levels but I heard the saying that engineering students can only pick 2 out of: grades, social life and sleep, which puts me off slightly.
Engineering students, do you have no life or do you have time to yourselves in uni to attend clubs, socials, pursue hobbies etc?

Hey there , I love to see other students interested in studying engineering and I understand your reservations in regards to having balance like other students.
As a third year student who managed to work all through out my three years and am currently a research intern. I can confirm that balance is definitely possible , I go to gym 4 times a week , church on Sundays , have weekly coffee dates with friends , work part time, I was in the electronics clubs , sustainability society and ran my own society. And I still managed to keep an average of a first and am predicted to graduate with a first.
Don't get me wrong , it's busy and sometimes I struggle and have burnt out once or twice and needed to take a weekend break but overall with a little time management you can have a life and still do well in engineering. most of my friends have jobs and some are on sports teams and have an avid social life but we manage to do just fine by managing our schedules well.
I say join the STEM life if you are passionate and plan out your time well , you will be fun. You'll be surprised just how social a lot of students on our course are , we just put more effort into planning out our time than most people.
PS: it helps if you study at a university that has sufficient academic support when needed , like mine does.
I hope this helps .
Cece
Energy Engineering Student
De Montfort University .