As a FIRST year Engineering Student, I do not have the experience you all have expressed here. See FIRST is my motivation. Engineering is what I want to do. FIRST has given me experiences which I feel set me a part from my"peers." But to me, my real peers to me are those of you within the FIRST community. Also its what gets me through the day. Being a mentor on NUTRONs isn't just cause I love doing this, rather it is also an escape from the vigors of freshman engineering. (Erin, you didn't just read this

) The classes you have to take your first year are to weed people out. It was the same for high school with the International Baccelaureate Program. The first year was to try to get people who didn't want to do it out. Like here at Northeastern, I think it is our chemstry course now but its probably physics next semester.
Aaron, if anything else, folllow your heart to wherever it leads you. That's another thing FIRST has taught me.