I posted a similar question back in a different forum, but I figured that this is probably a better place to put it.
How bad is getting 2 C’s in an honors elective class not related to my major for mechanical engineering?
I don’t know how this will affect my chances in schools like Purdue, Ohio State and Illinois.
Also, would this affect my chances in direct admission for Ohio State? Thanks!
At the schools you list 2 Cs won’t tank your chances, especially if your test scores and other grades are high. Of course, all things being equal you’d be much better off if you could change those Cs to Bs or As…
A couple of Cs that are not in your proposed major area of study are not going to kill your chances. Rethink all of your time-management decisions and really focus in to get those up to Bs. Best of luck!
I don’t think you will be hurt too much by the C’s, but don’t let it happen again. Not only does it not look great, but it pulls down your GPA.
@atp1234 What would you define as a low un-weighted GPA? Because with my 2 C’s, I am a little under a 3.6. But my weighted is 4.2. Thank You for the response btw.
If possible, I would try to keep it around 3.6. But, your weighted is very good and admissions will see that.
It won’t set you back to no return but try to get a C+ 
I had C’s in two classes and a number of B’s on my transcript with a similar W/UW GPA as you and I was accepted to multiple top-30 universities. What I think might have helped me was a short passage in the “additional information” section of the common app where I explained that I chose to take challenging classes outside of my preferred fields out of a sense of curiosity (in my case, those courses were math/science related). As long as you demonstrate that those grades reflect your willingness to challenge yourself, I think you’ll be fine.
Also, make sure to do as well as you can in other (I’m guessing humanities?) classes to demonstrate that the school you attend won’t be bogged down by a student who is completely lacking in a subject area.
@mylesparslow what universities, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m in the exact same situation!!
I got a C- in AP Calc junior year (took four APs out of like six or seven classes) and was accepted to GW, Case Western, Pitt and Bentley for finance (but I’m switching majors lol)
@TheAwesomeNerd @mylesparslow @patriot420 Thank You guys! This is all very helpful and I appreciate your help!
@ZBlue17 Tufts and USC are my most “impressive” admits (ranked 27 and 23 respectively). Other acceptances were Boston College (also highly ranked I guess), Northeastern Honors (22k merit), UVM Honors (17k merit), Pitt Honors (11k merit), Brandeis, and SUNY Geneseo (5k merit).
I made sure that my application demonstrated a strong narrative - that I am a very strong humanities student who is empassioned about a future in social justice. It pains me to say this, but the most important things for me were my test scores; they kept me out of the “reject pile” long enough for them to read my essays and really get a sense of who I was. Make sure to crush the SAT/ACT and your essays, and also be prepared for a lot of rejections. I applied to 21 schools (which means 13 were rejections/waitlists) with a ton of reaches, but I knew I “deserved” a spot at a top-tier university and I worked toward that goal.