Anyone from Vanderbilt’s school of engineering, if you don’t mind, post your statistics in the following format:
Current GPA at Vanderbilt
SAT/ACT at High School
General impression of how hard it is
Thanks!
BME- 4.0
36 (you can read the rest of my stats from my chance me page from 2 years ago, tbh, I don’t think SAT/ACT scores correlate that well with college success)
Tbh, the material in engineering isn’t as hard as people complain if you’re willing to work hard for your grades. That being said, the vast majority of my friends doing well agree that things like AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, AP CS from high school was/should be ridiculously easy for them.
GPAs are basically in the low 3s. The poster above me is a really big anomaly. ChemE is considered the hardest, CS/Civil is considered the easiest.
I’m a low 3 (working towards a mid 3) with a 35 ACT
EE - 3.5
ACT - 35
Average GPA is in the low 3s I’ve heard. If you put in the work and study outside of the homework problems, you’ll be successful. All my classes have provided a path to success if you work for it, but putting in the work takes a lot more motivation and commitment than it did in high school. Also, the difficulty depends on how many credit hours you’re taking, your extracurriculars, and your time management skills. Everyone here is intelligent, so it’s more about the effort than it is about the smarts.
@Alundari : That makes sense as Chemistry courses and those in chemical engineering at most schools seem to be the most stringent and consistent in terms of grading. Seems that almost everywhere except very inflated places, Chemistry and chemistry related departments are still on the scheme where all the core courses and larger classes achieve a B- or C+/B- average. Even at an inflated school, you are maybe talking like a B. ACT and SAT do not/should not matter as much in STEM at elite universities (or anywhere really…Even a decent score should say: "Well, in theory I am prepared to receive a challenge and perform at a reasonable level in college) because many instructors are designing exams and assignments with less “softball” items. You have to complete more difficult items often under a time crunch. Also, engineering instructors just seem less likely to pitch the course below or on par with the students’ ability (there is a big thing about maintaining standards of a program and challenging students in the “correct” way in engineering curricula that is often absent in say, life sciences curricula). They instead aim at least a little (if not a lot) above and curve the course or provide plenty of HW opps to even out the effect of harder exams. There is no incentive to say, pander to pre-professionals that really just need an “ok” foundation but a high GPA.
I think AnnieBot said they were pre-health, so even more of a reason to keep a super high GPA. Hard work and more careful course selection should make this doable…but mainly hard work (engineering often demands heavier per semester course loads than other STEM majors).
@coffeeconsumer : I am glad you got the picture as many STEM majors just don’t. A way to deal with more rigorous than normal STEM instruction is be more independent and not expect spoonfeeding of the thinking skills or even the content. They often write problems that reward those who take it a step higher to learn material. There is a tendency to put the more “interesting” (usually ones that are quite different or a bit more nuanced than HW problems) problems on assignments and tests that less rigorous instructors cop out on.
My son is a sophomore EE major at Vanderbilt and currently has a 3.153 GPA.
4.3 High Scool GPA
32 ACT
5s on Calulus AB and BC AP tests
He decided to use AP credit to skip 1st two calculus classes at VU and jumped into MV Calculus first semester freshman year… bit him in the butt. Made a C. Also made a low B in Chemistry, leaving him with a 2.9 his first semester. Has spent the last 3 semesters trying to recover.
Rushing and pledging a frat has been so great for him, but also has made time management a challenge. He’s always been one of those kids who just “got it” without putting forth much effort. He’s learned that at VU, everyone’s “got it” and the only way to succeed is to work - HARD.
He loves the school and Nashville. Very full social life, very challenging academic life. No regrets.
IIRC, average GPA in Engineering runs around 3.2-3.3. It might also help to look at the Latin Honors lists: in 2015, out of 297 Eng grads (BE & BS), 60 were Cum Laude or better (3.724+). That’s about 20%. The total was 27.7% for the Univ as a whole, so clearly Eng grades are a bit lower than Univ average,
I don’t have 2016 stats, I’d guess they were similar, with the GPA cutoffs being about 0.01 higher (grade inflation).
3.85 overall but 4.0 in my EE courses
My SAT was in the 2200s
The work gets harder as you go on. I probably should have a 4.0 overall but I’m lazy when it comes to school
@Lelzlol : Did you just find the courses easier than expected? Even if you are not lazy, you should not have a 4.0. It kind of means that you aren’t/haven’t taking(taken) any particularly uncomfortable or very challenging courses yet. You could indeed be very gifted, but often even those meet their matches (and often are not straight A students because they are not as obedient. They have their own ideas of how things should work when creativity is allowed and may do things like half-a** homework if they do not find it valuable). A 4.0 would be nice to aim for, but also enjoy the moments where you are challenged enough to come up short (as in, especially if it is not just from you not doing due diligence. Some of the best college courses are the ones where you either a) are surrounded by a significant chunk of peers brighter than you/better in an area but class is still super challenging and stimulating or where everyone, including top students are so challenged that not remotely all will make A/A-).
@bernie12 Here’s what I’d say: gen chem was kind of hard and I got a B+ in that. Maybe complex analysis goes up there too, but even then I think the only reason I got an A- was because I bombed the first midterm because I didn’t study.
The hardest, most rigorous classes I have taken were math 2500/1, the honors combined multi/lin alg. That being said, I made an A both semesters because I was intimidated by them and therefore studied really hard. That’s why I think I should have a better gpa: when I actually tried in my most difficult class, I made an A.
@Lelzlol : Fair enough…did you not have an AP credit in gen. chem? Also, don’t beat yourself up. You were a freshman? Performing well/pushing yourself in courses that challenge/stimulate you is a good trait.
Gen. chem is…gen. chem. Even many students who have AP credit in gen. chem at most schools (especially at elites) fall into 2 camps. Those who are really in it for the A even though they can take a higher level course (they may be pre-health) and just motivate themselves for that reasonor b) those in it for the A, but take the class and get so bored/not stimulated/complacent that they underperform. The course is usually boring and of medium rigor at the best (most stuff is a repeat of AP with some MO theory and basic quantum concepts) schools but with harder exams (as in an exam will have math problems similar to those at the level of AP FR and usually the MC is harder and you are under a substantial time pressure). Point is, unless really drive by getting a grade in the course, it isn’t very exciting and I can see many mathematically inclined students underperforming/getting caught off guard by simple boredom. Like G.chem at VU is honestly on the more laid back side compared to other schools I know of, but it is certainly tough enough to surprise some folks and generate a standard distribution of grades for a lower division science course.
Also, kudos to you for taking math courses on par with your experience/talent level! You are doing well and likely learning a bit.
@bernie12 cheers for the encouragement. Honestly, frustrating as getting a B+ or A- might be, I’m okay with it because I’ve aced almost every final save cs 2201, and that indicates to me that I generally understand the material by the end. That being the case, if I settle for magna cum laude I’ll be okay. I’m more concerned with learning what I care about to work on projects. The only annoying thing about having a low gpa is that I couldn’t find a single internship that offered me an interview, so that’s my only regret about not having a 4.0. Like it wasn’t like i didn’t pass interviews, i literally didn’t get an offer for an interview from anyone. So instead I’m just taking online courses in ML and CV over the summer. Hopefully I’ll be able to score something for next summer. Internships are super stressful. Or maybe just do research.
@Lelzlol If a 3.85 at Vandy doing engineering isn’t good enough to even get an interview then we’re all screwed lol.
@Lelzlol : (Sleep schedule is off lol) That wasn’t because of your GPA…who knows? Some positions fill quickly or are biased towards those with previous experience in the field/area of interest. A 4.0 is over-rated especially when compared to 3.85. Not even medical schools usually discriminate within that range. It could also be your experience level (I do not know your year, they may want to see more coursework/higher class year)
Also, please please do not aim for a certain level of GPA BASED HONORS (this should not be a goal of your education. It is a nice reward…but keep in mind some schools do not grant honors on the basis of GPA and I do not blame them for that decision. You can get on Dean’s List a couple of times (or most), but they are not going to reward students Latin honors, of all things for earning grades). A real accomplishment would be if do an honors/senior thesis or project and earn honors from your department. That is a worthy goal. Getting a high GPA demonstrates a variety of things for different people (for some people it will suggest some mixture of effort and super careful course selection for example) and employers know what a high GPA is whether it has a Cum Laude label or not. A label for your high GPA will add very little benefit over someone at a similar or higher level school with a competitive/similar GPA without such a label. What major projects and intellectual challenges you embark on within the field related to whatever career you want will go a lot further. You should push yourself to go deeper than your coursework and not even worry about what level of GPA based honors you will “settle” for (it is college, an only decent GPA from an engineering school that wouldn’t even be label worthy makes you compelling for future employment, grad. school, etc.). I trust that you will successfully land a co-op or internship eventually. Apply broadly and if not that, aim to get involved in research or more intellectually engaging opportunities to hone your craft at VU ASAP, even if the opp is unstipended. You can do it!
You have the right idea overall, but I want to point out another thing. If you do not currently have some very strong faculty connections, begin to make them. It will pay much more dividends than any cum laude labelling you may earn and may open up many doors to internships or things you would never have considered otherwise. Do much more than perform well in courses and ask those instructors for rec. letters (some assume because they did well that the rec. letter will be very strong when in reality it could be fine, but be fairly generic and come off as lukewarm if they have not cultivated a relationship or have gotten to know you beyond your interest in performing well in the course). If you can establish a strong relationship/show a special level of interest in one of your courses and then develop a relationship, I promise they will mentor you, help you develop, and write far more compelling rec. letters for you even if you do not score the highest in the course. In STEM, this is super important no matter your career path (grad. school or industry).
@bernie12 Fwiw I have a lot of project experience, I’ve been approached to do research by profs, I am an eng mentor, I’m an eng club president.
@Lelzlol : Yep, accept those offers ASAP and maybe join the engineering honor society (I think they exist for every discipline) and try to connect through those. That is the important stuff. I don’t know what eng. club president or mentor does, but get on a research team and be sure to sell the projects experience (especially if non-course based) you have to whoever. With the internships, you could have just applied for ultra-competitive ones, but I guaranteed your GPA wasn’t a factor in the result.
If you are a rising sophomore, also consider the Goldwater Scholarship if you get into research the upcoming years. Physical Sciences, Math, and Engineering majors have solid shots especially if not from super competitive congressional districts. To qualify you will need to have research experience and a mentor however and a portion of the application is the proposal. She if you can get through internal rounds (admittedly, below a 3.9 may hurt without substantial research experience, so if you do research for a couple of years or summers (maybe consider REUs, then consider applying and you may become one of the 4 nominees). If super strong at math, do the Putnam competitions if you haven’t already. Many things to do. Also, do not be too afraid to do research in a related major (like math), you may come up with some way to connect the two interests through it. You never know.
@bernie12 completely agree with you on the genchem part. I literally got so bored of the class. I had like a 95 average and didnt study for final got an F and finished 1st sem with a B. 2nd Sem more or less the same but barely squeaked an A. I’m premed but what can i do
and for Op: Math and CS (premed) GPA: 3.9
SAT:2400
just work hard and ull do alright
D is incoming freshman who wants to take 17 credit hours. See my post. Can you please help comment? She has 1550 on SAT one sitting. Her GPA at high school is 4.0 unweighted.
@XAtlas: Oh, yeah I think I remember talking to you Have heard that story over and over again at top privates. Don’t worry, Medical schools appear to pay attention to key scores in certain biology courses especially biochem for example. You are obviously a good test taker so hopefully the MCAT will go well. Just make sure build some critical thinking skills in biology. It is something that is rarely taught well. Join a lab or read primary lit in a field of interest to help you.
*Also no need to highlight that you are pre-med lol.