<p>I'm wondering how hard it is to maintain a high GPA in in engineering. I've been thinking about law school after my Engineering BSc., which the minimum GPA I would need is about a 3.6. People have been telling me that this is exceptionally hard to do in Engineering (I go to a fairly prestigious Engineering school). Right now I'm in science, and I'm transferring into second year engineering. I have about a 3.75 GPA in science. Is Engineering that much harder to attain a high GPA in?</p>
<p>My son is a freshman engineering student, and from what I hear, the courses are not too difficult; there are just heavy demands on students' time due to the very full schedule. I would think that the math, chem and physics classes are pretty much the same as the science students take.</p>
<p>also, you have to consider your level of classes. For example, if you are taking lower division engineering courses, your GPA will tend to be higher in these courses because these courses serve as only pre reqs for the upper division courses. Once you get into upper div courses, that is where you dive deep into your major and the competition rises substantially. And, most employers look at your GPA for upper div courses.....</p>
<p>Is that really so, mosharma? I had the impression that the further one got into one's science major, the more math/science background one had and the easier it was to do well.</p>
<p>rheasilvia, if you had a strong background in your lower division engineering courses, then surely you will have an easier time understanding the material. But, I am talking about the competitoin that arises in your upper div courses. Like I said, most employers look at your upper div courses, simply because they are the courses for your major. It is here where most decisions on job hiring is done. Therefore, the level of competition arises. Even if you do understand the material "fairly" well, it just may not make the cut to get that A or B in that class. </p>
<p>I based this on my Berkeley experience, where it is known for competition.</p>
<p>The problem is the high attrition rate of Engineering. By the time you're a junior, the bottom half of the class has dropped out, but someone still needs to fall in the bottom half of each course curve and get the B's and C's. At UIUC, a 3.5 GPA would place you in the top 15% of the graduating class (not entering), and a 3.8 was about top 5%.</p>
<p>At UVa's engineering school, the average GPA goes from 2.9 to 3.16 as you move through all four years. Interestingly, there has been significant grade inflation among engineers. First year GPA used to be around 2.7. I assume other engineering schools would publish such data as well.</p>
<p>But keep in mind that the same person is not raising his GPA from 2.9 to 3.16. A large fraction of the first-year class drops out of the major, so you would expect the average GPA to rise slightly, but it's still harder for the same person to maintain the same GPA. The average senior with a 3.16 probably had around a 3.16 or maybe even higher as a freshman.</p>
<p>At the University of Pennsylvania, I've heard that the GPA goes from 2.9-3.1 at freshman year to 3.3 by graduation. At our school, you have to have at least a 3.0 to switch out of engineering, so I think there is relative grade inflation at upper level classes.</p>