I agree with this response. Not sure your mentor guided you well on that front. On the program at SUNY. I think the folks I know were solid vessel designers. My understanding is it is very CAD centric for a number of core courses ( which makes all the sense in the world).
I think you need to make sure you gap year course selection really helps. CAD skills seem very transferable. Not sure which school you’re in now. I had some friends who tried to knock out a lot of core requisites only to find out not all calc 3 and differential equation courses are the same. Knocking out a lot of Humanities and other degree requirements is a good strategy to save money. If you pick poorly it can leave you with some deficits that only become apparent as you start to apply the theory in upper level courses. Be careful and absolutely check with whatever school you pick. I knew a SUNY guy who transferred in 24 credits from HS only to have to take their full degree requirements anyway. He just took a lot of upper level electives. Not saying that will happen in your case. Just do your diligence.
Good luck.