<p>My name is Mike, I just graduated High School and I’m looking forward to being enrolled at OSU for the pre-engineering program in the fall. </p>
<p>Though I was a 4.0+ GPA honors students at a competitive private school, I’m a little nervous about what the future holds for me. I currently have a full tuition scholarship awarded by the University that requires an above 3.0 OSU GPA(after freshman year). </p>
<p>Since Engineering has been regarded as extremely difficult compared to other majors, I’m a little bit frightened I may not make the cut(meaning not achieving the 3.0 benchmark.) So I made this new thread to really find out what the average GPA among engineering students and just how overwhelming the curriculum is. I currently plan on majoring in Aerospace(probably the most difficult of any engineering major), but I may switch to Mechanical or Systems depending on how Freshman year plays out. </p>
<p>Also, I’m curious about how socially active the Engineering Students are. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind pouring some blood,sweat and tears into my education. However, I don’t want to turn into that guy that just spends every single minute doing homework or labs. I want to socialize, go to a few parties and not be bogged down with integrals and C++. High School for me was not really a pleasant experience, so I was kinda looking to college to being just a little more enjoyable. </p>
<p>Also, if any current engineering students at OSU could give me just some general advice about freshman year that would be greatly appreciated!! </p>
<p>I just finished my Sophomore year at OSU and am majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I had the same worries as you when I was a freshman and had to keep a 3.0 for the same scholarship. Its hard to really say what the average GPA is because there are so many students. However, after 1 1/2 or 2 years you will be actually applying to the engineering major of your choice which will have its own cutoff levels. Most of the engineering majors have a cutoff level of around a 2.5 - 2.7. Mechanical engineering is a 3.2 and biomedical engineering is a 3.4. Most of the engineering specialties take the exact same courses freshman and sophomore year and don’t change until you get accepted into the Major so whatever you decide won’t affect how hard your classes are for the first 2 years. </p>
<p>As for the socializing aspect, yeah many of the engineering students are quiet, foreign, or just really independent, but you can definitely find a good group who are alot of fun and relatively “normal.” Your first year engineering course (1181 i think) is the best place to do this. You’ll be placed in a group of 4 that you work with all year and can easily build friendships with them. You’ll more then likely see them in alot of other classes too. The difficulty level of classes is a little exagerrated in my opinion but definitely challenging and time consuming. With that said, I have found that I have more free time then I did in high school since I stopped playing sports. I’ve managed to keep a 3.8 GPA while socializing, having great friends, and even joining a fraternity. </p>
<p>In the end it comes down to how well you can manage your time and how determined you are. Most people struggle in engineering because they are distracted and not responsible enough to live on their own, not because they aren’t intelligent enough. My main advice freshman year is to focus ALOT on chem 1250 with zellmer if you take it. It will be one of the hardest and most time consuming courses you take at OSU. Also, take any help you can get. Office hours and free tutoring centers on campus helped me out a ton my first 2 years. </p>
<p>I’m Aerospace as well. I took the honors sequence of courses my freshman year. I currently have a 3.83. </p>
<p>It is possible to get through the courses with a high (3.5+) GPA, but you do have to focus. Intelligence helps, but you’ll have to put the time in. I wasn’t a hermit, but a significant part of my time was coursework. I did attend parties and I had some really close friends that I would hang out with. </p>
<p>Emphasizing what texasbuckeye7 said, use tutoring and office hours! Don’t be too proud to ask for help- that was a big obstacle for me after graduating first in my class. Manage the problem before it becomes a crisis. </p>