Berta Candela AddedMonday, July 9, 2018 at 10:39 PM Going into my Junior Year. Any tips to stand out? Hi ladies, I'm a chem engineering major going into my junior year. I am looking into scholarships to pay for school and I'm looking for any tips on that, as well as guidance on what extra courses may make me a more competitive in the field. Was thinking about possibly minoring in mathematics or maybe Mandarin (I spent some time in China)? I work a lot to pay for school so I haven't been able to network much so really anything helps me lot! Just found this site and so far loving it. Thank you! Related to Chemical, Difficult Classes, Engineering Skills, Environmental, Graduate School, Internships & Jobs, Math & Science, Merging Fields, Opportunities/Challenges for Women, Preparation for College, Self Doubt, Social Concerns Reset Sort By Default Stacey DelVecchio , Caterpillar Inc Answered Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at 5:10 PM Great questions Berta. Regarding the scholarship, I think the best thing you can do is focus on results. If you'd had internships, talk about the results and/or impact of the work, not just the name of the company or division. If you were measuring parts for the summer, talk about why the parts needed to be measured and how the results will be used. Don't use acronyms. This is true for school and lab projects too. I can't tell you how many college students talk about Eng 502 (I made that up) when I interview them and they forget that I have no idea what that class or lab is. You mention that you work a lot to pay for school. Make sure you note on your scholarship applications that you paid for X% of your expenses. This is one of those results that I always like to see. Regarding what will make you more competitive in the field, it really does depend on what you want to do. If you want to be out on the manufacturing floor, then take some manufacturing classes. If you want to do more research, then take some theoretical classes and maybe some statistics. If you want to get a job in China, or travel a lot to China, then the minor in Mandarin would be good. If you don't really want that, I'm not sure the minor in Mandarin would make you more competitive. If you don't quite know what you want to do with your degree (and that's ok too), then look for classes that will help you with this. While the minor in mathematics sounds interesting, I'm not sure it will really make you more competitive. Hope this helps. Good luck. P.S. I'm a chem engineer myself and have been in industry for 31 years. For the past 20 years I have been a manager of engineers so I've done a lot of interviewing and hiring of engineers.