What to Expect

You don't have to be fresh off the farm to be a good agricultural engineering student. If you're a good problem solver and can handle plenty of homework, you too can find success.

"You don't have to come from a farm to do well in this program," says Greg Johnson. He took an agricultural and biosystems engineering program. "In fact, a majority of [the] students have never even been on a farm."

Johnson enrolled in the program because he wanted to find ways to reduce hazardous chemical use. "I wanted to do work that would help clean up the mess that we have made of the world," he says.

Part of the attraction is the diversity of the program. Some students even work overseas for a semester to broaden their learning experience.

Students should be prepared to work hard. "The biggest surprise was the workload, but I very quickly adjusted to it," says Johnson. He says he usually spent four hours a day on homework.

Kim Bothi is another product of an agricultural and biosystems engineering program. She says the best thing about the program was the close professor-student interactions. "The smaller class sizes allow the students to be comfortable asking the professor questions and getting involved in class discussions," she says.

How to Prepare

Take all the high school math and physics courses you can.

"It is also important to get involved in any extracurricular activities that you may be interested in," says Bothi. "This is an excellent way to learn how to efficiently manage your time while doing something that you enjoy."

And if you can find a summer job related to your field of study, so much the better. "This will also help you gain valuable experience and create industry contacts that may be the leading edge you will have when applying for jobs after graduation," she says.