<p>So I've heard often that many with an engineering major have low GPA's. Is this because of the lower division classes like Chem 20/30 and Math31/32/33? Or do the major classes tend to be the ones that lower the GPA?</p>
<p>stop asking so many questions</p>
<p>That’s not very nice =/ I would like to know the answer of this question too, since I am a upcoming engineering student =]</p>
<p>It is both upper and lower division classes combined with the fact that some engineering students don’t feel motivated to keep their grades up because they don’t really need to unless they are pre-med or something. (Not saying that a low GPA is good, since a higher GPA is obv. better for the resume.) I think engineering upper division classes are a lot harder though…</p>
<p>If you work hard, turn in assignments on time, and have a solid understanding on the concepts discussed in class, you should have no problem getting an “above average” GPA.</p>
<p>From what I know, students usually trend up or remain constant in their GPAs. One reason in trending up is that they get more motivated (studying courses within their major, fear that a low GPA may result in no internship, incentives such as TBP, HKN, etc.) For those who stay constant, it is usually because they would focus their time on student projects/extracurricular activities (as opposed to doing problem sets and reading the text) and don’t see a point in aiming for a 4.0 since they just want to work in industry (usually 3.0 minimum). Hardly anyone I know drops significantly in GPA over time, because by this time, he or she would have switched majors.</p>
<p>I found grading in lower division courses to be more competitive than upper division courses, although the material and workload was lighter. There seemed to be a greater proportion of “elite students” in my lower division courses than upper division. The average final grade in my Chem/Physics courses was around B- (2.7 GPA) and B-/C+ in math (2.3/2.7 GPA). Average for my major was around B-/B.</p>
<p>In upper division courses, there is a ton of work (design projects, weekly problem sets, programming assignments) but grading is generally more lenient. Plus there seem to be more people who you can “get ahead of” (people who don’t turn in homework, people who go into exams not knowing anything). Your grade is usually a product of the effort you put in the class.</p>
<p>you can find the lower-division and final GPA for many majors at [UCLA</a> Office of Analysis and Information Management | AIM](<a href=“http://www.aim.ucla.edu/aprs/apbaprs.asp]UCLA”>http://www.aim.ucla.edu/aprs/apbaprs.asp)</p>