Concerns with degree of competition in engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
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<p>So, it seems that you need a pretty good gpa to get a job after graduating with an engineering degree. In the engineering section, i've seen posts about people who regret going to a university that has prestige in engineering only to get a LOW gpa (2.6-2.8,ect), and they seriously regret going to a prestigous university.</p>

<p>How hard is it to get a 3.0+ in Computer Engineering at UCSD? </p>

<p>Because after reading these posts about people going to prestigious universities vs their party friends who graduate with a 3.8 and get better job offers, i'm kind of thinking maybe i should go to CSULB or some cal state and get a better job with a higher gpa.</p>

<p>Overall, it comes down to the question of how hard is it to get a 3.0 at least at UCSD in engineering. I am a computer engineering</p>

<p>I already sent in my SIR but i think i can repeal it if it really is damn hard to get a 3.0 or above at UCSD. UCSD is good for engineering, but the prestige can also mean a bad gpa and slim to none job offers</p>

<p>It seems that yeah grade curves are damn nasty and that only a specific number can get a A, or B, and the rest are screwed with C's , which kind of leaves them in the dead water of being teachers in the end</p>

<p>Eh i wonder if i should just go to cal state where, with my hard work and motivation + less competition, i can get a much higher GPA vs the possibility of HARd work and motiviation being rendered USELESS because of the intense competition.</p>

<p>Only saying this because it seems that quite a numb er of people on the enigneering forums regret going to a prestigious university only to be stuck with 0 job offers in the end (if u have LOWER than a 3.0 GPA)</p>

<p>Any engineer graduates of UCSD have experience bout getting jobs? What kind of GPA do most people have, and what kind of GPA do people at UCSD need in order to score a job after graduating?</p>

<p>Hmm..thanks</p>

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<p>This is a better question to ask over in the engineering forum. Most people here are incoming freshman and their parents.</p>

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<p>Many engineers have high GPAs. Some people have to get the As, after all. So yes, it's certainly possible to get high GPAs. I wouldn't sacrifice the quality of your education to get a slightly higher GPA.</p>

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<p>"with my hard work and motivation"</p>

<p>what hard work and motivation? if you had any of those you wouldn't have made this thread.</p>

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<p>^^ He kind of has a point.</p>

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<p>and i dunno about you guys, but competition is a GOOD thing. if i graduated my engineering program with zero effort, i'd feel like it was a waste of money. there's nothing else quite as motivating to get working than to be pitted against other people wanting the exact same thing. </p>

<p>that's how it works in the real world, anyway.</p>

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<p>well i do have motivation and hardwork =p i just wonder whether it would be rendered useless. </p>

<p>Like i said, a lot of people regret going to prestigious universities for engineering because you get a lower gpa than you would at a state university..thereby loss of jobs.</p>

<p>I don't want to be like those kind of people. I mean, ive read review where this one ucsd electrical engineer major couldnt even find a job so he had to be a math teacher. Low gpa was the cause of this. And he said how his friends at a much easier university were able to receive a much higher gpa and get an actual job </p>

<p>but it's okay i'll just go to ucsd anyway..already submitted my sir anyway. hopefully i don't come back ranting and regretting at how i could've had better job prospects at a less prestigious university vs. a prestigious one. (like many have on the engineering forums >_>)</p>

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<p>How is the bioengineering (biotech) competition?</p>

<p>Are there a lot of weed out classes first two years. (cause you don't choose the major until your 3rd year, right? )</p>

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<p>Kiego:</p>

<p>More than half of the CS (I assume CE is similar regarding GPA) students at UCSD have less than a 3.0 so your concern about 'easily' attaining a 3.0 in the field is legitimate since the students getting < 3.0 are also smart students and not slackers. OTOH, I think the vast majority of these grads end up with decent job offers upon graduation. There are some companies who will value a 2.6@UCSD over a 3.2@podunk U. There are also companies who recruit at a place like UCSD that won't recruit at Podunk. Of course, there are a lot of colleges in between these examples. </p>

<p>However, there are some companies who pay a lot of attention to the 3.0 threshold and there can be a loss of some opportunity to have below a 3.0. It can affect both internship and employment opportunities. But, I don't think choosing a college based on how easy it is to attain a high GPA at is the most sound plan.</p>

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<p>Although I'm just an upcoming freshman at UCSD, I have a similar situation to what your fearing.
I went to Guam for 3 years of my high school life. It was relatively easy to maintain straight A's. I had a couple of sucky teachers that basically handed them over without much effort on my part. Then, I moved to California on my senior year. I enrolled into an extremely competitive IB school. Now, Im currently struggling for the A's. I have still maintained a couple of A's with some B's slipped in, but it took lot of "hard work and motivation." Trust me the end product was worth it. I've learned math that I didn't even know existed. In the end I got into the school of my dreams and everything was worthwhile.</p>

<p>I hope this is somewhat of a good analogy for your situation. I too am going to enter UCSD as a Electrical Engineer(which I hear is the toughest). Even if I'm not prepared enough, I still will choose UCSD. From my experience, nothing rules out higher education. Sure you can get those easy A's at CSU's, but you probably won't get the enlightenment from the Engineering professors at UCSD ;)</p>

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<p>OP, that is somewhat true. Our company recently rejected someone graduated from UCB EECS with 3.3 uw GPA. He did not shine in the interview. I've also rejected candidate from UCLA engineering with 3.8 uw GPA. He brought an attitude with him to the interview. So high GPA can also be rejected too.</p>

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<p>one of my suitemates is in bioengineering: premedical. he just announced he is going to switch to a non-engineering science major</p>

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<p>"Our company recently rejected someone graduated from UCB EECS with 3.3 uw GPA"
how do you have a weighted/unweighted gpa at a UC, let alone college for that matter? I didn't know they weighed grades in college.</p>

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<p>I think somehave A+ for 4.33 like Columbia University for example. It's for accuracy in case some high school students think it could be differently.</p>

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<p>i'm a 3rd year student in UCSD's bioengineering program (not biotech, just bioeng) and i can tell you that the competition is there... but it's not as much as you might believe. You just have to work for it... even if you feel like all your friends are just screwing around when you work... haha.</p>

<p>You actually declare your major when you apply (for bioeng and biotech because they are impacted). if you don't get into the major when you apply, chances are you won't be able to get in later on. First 1.5 years are basic science and math classes.... these include math, chem, physics, bio, ochem. so weeder classes actually start in the middle of the 2nd year (and this is when a lot of people dropped out of the major). This is not to say that the rest of the program is a cakewalk because it isn't. If anything, the last two years are the hardest from what i've seen and heard.</p>