Reason #29: The Prereq Trap Starts Before ME

You slip before mechanical engineering even starts. One placement. One missing trig identity. Then a year slides away. See Reason #2.

At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the gatekeeping begins with the ALEKS math exam. Your score decides whether you start in algebra, precalc, or calculus (University of Illinois Department of Mathematics, n.d.). Chemistry has its own gate. Students below the line are routed to CHEM 101 before they can touch General Chemistry I, and CHEM 102 itself expects at least credit in or exemption from MATH 112 plus prior chemistry (Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning, 2025; University of Illinois Academic Catalog, 2025). 

Here is the worst case that costs a full year before you reach the spine that unlocks ME. Fall, you land below the calculus cutoff and take MATH 112. Spring, you take MATH 115. Your chemistry placement put you in CHEM 101 first, then CHEM 102/103 later. The following fall, you finally reach Calc I (MATH 220 or 221). You still cannot start Physics I for engineers because PHYS 211 requires credit or concurrent registration in Calculus II (MATH 231) (Department of Physics, n.d.). Statics (TAM 211) then waits again because it requires PHYS 211 and credit or concurrent registration in MATH 241 or 257 (University of Illinois Academic Catalog, n.d.). The ladder keeps moving right while the brochure keeps smiling.

Even the “easy win” courses are slotted. ME 170 has no prereq, but the official map pairs it with RHET 105 across first year based on your UIN, and any early slip nudges ME 270 and the design sequence farther out (Grainger College of Engineering, 2025). The schedule is a ladder, not a lattice. If your ladder starts on the ground floor, you climb longer.

And when you finally reach the ME spine, the market does not meet you at the door. UIUC’s Illini Success shows Mechanical Engineering with 58% employed and 40% in continuing education for 2023–2024; Grainger overall is 52% employed (Illini Success, 2025). At a top-ranked program, “about half employed” is the reality reported when the survey closes, see Reason #1 and Reason #12.

You are told this is grit. It is paperwork dressed as progress. Before you reach “mechanical engineering,” the prerequisites have quietly eaten your first two years. The bill arrives in time, not glory.

References:

Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning. (2025). Cutoff scores, credit policies, and course placement messages (Chemistry 2025–2026). https://citl.illinois.edu/citl-101/measurement-evaluation/placement-proficiency/cutoffs-2025-2026/2024-cutoff-scores-chemistry

Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. (n.d.). PHYS 211: University Physics—Mechanics. https://physics.illinois.edu/academics/courses/phys211

Grainger College of Engineering. (2025). Mechanical Engineering curriculum map: Fall 2022 and beyond. https://grainger.illinois.edu/academics/undergraduate/majors-and-minors/mechanical-map

Illini Success. (2025). 23–24 vertical report: Graduate outcomes by major (Mechanical Engineering). https://illinisuccess.illinois.edu/23-24-vertical-report

University of Illinois Academic Catalog. (2025). CHEM—Chemistry (CHEM 101, CHEM 102 notes). https://chemistry.illinois.edu/academics/course-schedule

University of Illinois Academic Catalog. (n.d.). TAM—Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM 211 prerequisites). https://catalog.illinois.edu/courses-of-instruction/tam/

University of Illinois Department of Mathematics. (n.d.). ALEKS PPL mathematics assessment exam: Course placement cutoffs. https://math.illinois.edu/academics/undergraduate-program/aleks-ppl-mathematics-assessment-exam