<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I was just wondering how difficult the engineering program at Northeastern is compared to the engineering programs at other universities. If one was devoted and willing to put in the work, would they be able to maintain a high GPA (3.7ish)?</p>
<p>Also... are co-ops paid and do students have the option of taking summer classes rather than going on vacation?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure engineers are required to take summer classes with the 5-year program. Freshman year is normal, classes in fall and spring and then vacation for both summer I and II. And then you’d either do co-op in the fall or spring and would basically alternate between 6 months of classes and 6 months of co-op for the rest of your time at NU.</p>
<p>Would it be difficult to get around a 3.7 GPA if time and effort was put in?</p>
<p>You’ll be putting in a lot of time and effort to get a 3.7. It’s definitely possible, I know a few engineers with high GPAs, but they’re smart and they really work hard. Seems like a lot of engineering students are serious about doing well, so there are a lot of study groups, tutoring, other resources available. If you take advantage of those it’s really doable, but you’ll be working a lot harder than your non-engineering friends.</p>
<p>How many hours a day would you say they put in outside of class?</p>
<p>I’d say engineers do somewhere around 20-40 hours of study/schoolwork per week, but that’s a pretty rough estimate based on a few friends and the 2 engineering courses I’ve taken. </p>
<p>Per day just depends on how you split your study time (some do 3-4hrs each day, some will have long library sessions 2 or so days a week and do minimal work other days), and also depends on if you have a big exam coming up. A typical, non-exam week for me (though I’m science, not engineering) would be around 20 hours of writing labs, doing some reading, or staying caught up with practice problems. An exam week is more like 40 hours per week, studying every day more and more as the exam gets closer.</p>
<p>Wow… I feel like such a slacker now. I do 10 hours on a really good week…</p>
<p>neuchimie are you an engineering major?</p>
<p>Others, does anyone know what the average GPA is at NEU’s college of engineering or even what any of your engineering friends have?</p>
<p>Also, do you see a lot of kids drop engineering and go into other majors? At orientation they said fresh-soph retention in COE was 89% but I was wondering about other years.</p>
<p>haha No way, I hate physics. I’m an economics and mathematics dual. But I’m also really lazy, so you shouldn’t judge the major based on my pathetic work schedule.</p>
<p>I’ve had a couple of engineering friends drop into different majors, but it was more about finding things they cared more about rather than the workload. For example two friends switched from computer engineering to computer science because they realized they like coding more than building. But I also have many more engineering friends who are passionately determined about what they do. I’d guess around 3.2?.. but that’s just for my friends.</p>
<p>I’m also curious about the average GPA of the COE. I would assume it would be around the low 3.0s. Still, is it hard to achieve above average stats such as a 3.7ish? I’m sure if one were to put in the work, they would be able to achieve it.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about COE, but 3.7 is quite high even for traditionally less difficult majors. 3.7 is considered magna cum laude (3.75 is summa cum laude), so it’s not easy to get for most students. Being in honors, I’ve met a lot of smart people in ‘easy’ majors who dropped out of honors because they couldn’t keep a 3.4. It is achievable obviously, but you’ll have to work a lot no matter your field in order to get absolute top grades.</p>
<p>For example, A is a 4.0 but an A- is a 3.66 and a B+ is a 3.33. A- is a really good grade and for the most part B+ is a great grade as well. I’ve had countless professors rant at students because they (the profs) think a B- is a really good grade. But getting anything other than an A will lower your grade if you are shooting for a 3.7. I don’t mean to discourage you and obviously if you’re trying for a top grade you must be very smart and willing to work, but I don’t want you to think that being in the COE is the only reason a 3.7 is hard.</p>