First-year engineering, decoded by people who just did it.
EngInQuire runs pre-semester review sessions and free study resources for incoming Schulich engineering students — built by two upper-years who finished first year with 3.9+ GPAs and remember exactly what tripped people up.
Pre-semester sessions
Focused in-person reviews that compress the first six weeks of confusion into one afternoon — before classes even start.
Free resources
Guides, schedules, and weekly tips published all summer — most of what helped us wasn't behind a paywall.
Real mentorship
Honest advice from students one year ahead, not a faceless service. Replies come from actual people.
Reserve your spot
Pick a session date and join the list. We keep limited spots so every question gets answered.
Show up & learn
Three focused hours on the courses and habits that decide first-semester GPA, plus a printed cheat-sheet to take home.
Start ahead
Walk into September already knowing the unwritten rules — and keep getting our free resources all year.
We're not a tutoring company. We're the upper-years you wish you'd known the summer before first year.
"First semester isn't hard because the material is impossible. It's hard because nobody tells you how it actually works."
— Jacob & Tom, Founders
The grading curves, the unspoken study habits, the gap between high-school studying and engineering studying, the courses that quietly decide your GPA before midterms even hit — that's the stuff that catches people off guard.
We finished first year at Schulich with 3.97 and 3.94 GPAs while doing engineering research, coaching, and building real projects. We remember exactly what we wish someone had sat us down and explained in August.
EngInQuire is that conversation, structured — pre-semester review sessions for students who want to start ahead, plus free resources that make the rest of the year less of a guessing game.
Straight talk
Real schedules, real mistakes, real advice. Nothing aspirational that doesn't actually work.
Free where it counts
The core knowledge stays free. Sessions are for those who want structured, in-person depth.
One year ahead
We just lived it. The memory is fresh, the courses are current, the advice is relevant.
Start the year already ahead.
In-person sessions that turn the first six weeks of confusion into one focused afternoon. Pricing is being finalized — reserve a spot now and you'll be first to know.
Session One
For local and early-arrival students. Smaller cohort, more one-on-one time.
- 3-hour in-person session
- Two anchor first-semester courses
- Printed cheat-sheet handout
- Q&A with two 3.9+ students
Session Two
For international students and anyone who missed Session 1. Same content, refined.
- 3-hour in-person session
- Two anchor first-semester courses
- Printed cheat-sheet handout
- Refined from Session 1 feedback
1-on-1 Mentorship
Monthly check-ins through first semester. Limited spots, opens after the group sessions.
- 1 hr / month video call
- Course-specific guidance
- Async question access
- Study-system review
Pricing not set yet. We're still finalizing what's fair for students. Reserve a spot with no commitment — you'll get the price and payment details by email before anything is due.
What you get without paying a cent.
Most of what helped us hit 3.9+ GPAs wasn't behind a paywall — it was just hard to find. We're publishing it here, free, throughout the summer.
First-Semester Survival PDF
A short guide to the courses, the unwritten rules, and the habits we wish we'd had on day one.
Weekly Tips on Instagram
Short videos covering one specific tactic or course concept, every single week.
Sample 4.0 Week
How we actually structured our weeks — study, gym, research, sleep. Real, not aspirational.
Incoming Student FAQ
Straight answers to the questions every first-year asks — laptops, textbooks, course load, and more.
Q&A in our DMs
Got a question right now? Message us on Instagram — we answer incoming students for free.
Two students, two paths, one philosophy.
Both finished first year near the top of the class — here's who's actually teaching you.
Jacob Hailemariam
A machine-learning researcher heading into the tech field. Jacob is an NSERC-funded undergraduate researcher building deep-learning models for LiDAR–hyperspectral sensor fusion, with a first-author paper in the works. Outside research he designs PCBs and writes embedded firmware on an electric-motorsport team. He's aiming squarely at the ML and tech industry — and finished first year at 3.97 while building things he actually cared about, proof that depth and grades aren't a trade-off.
Tom Kurian
High-school valedictorian with a 99% IB average in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, currently working as an Asphalt Materials Laboratory Technician at the University of Calgary. Experienced in advanced pavement materials testing, including the Dynamic Modulus, TSRST, and Hamburg Wheel-Tracking tests, while contributing to industry-funded research through the Bituminous Materials Chair. Also serves as an editor of the laboratory's SOP for the Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) Test and is passionate about making complex engineering concepts easy to understand.
Review tests — get exam-ready for first-year engineering.
Two diploma-style review tests to sharpen the math first year leans on hardest. Pick one, answer 20 questions one at a time, and get a full worked solution after each — right answers turn green, misses turn red and reveal the correct choice.
Pre-Calc Review Test
20 exam-level questions adapted from the Alberta Mathematics 30-1 diploma practice test — transformations, logarithms, polynomials, trigonometry, and the binomial theorem.
Calculus High School Review
20 questions across limits, the differentiation rules, implicit and related rates, optimization, curve analysis, and area between curves — the calculus you use most in first year.
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Have a question? Want to be first on the list?
We're two students, not a company — replies come from real people, usually within a day. Reach out about sessions, free resources, or anything about engineering at Schulich.
Prefer to reach us directly?
Call or text either of us, or email our UCalgary inboxes — for any inquiry, big or small, don't hesitate to reach out.