What the title says.
Well, in most engineering departments 3.0 is pretty close to the 50th percentile, so about half the students manage to do it. There are a few departments where it might be down to 35-40% making 3.0, but those are the exception, not the rule.
In practice, it comes down to a lot of separate issues, but the biggest one by far is how hard and how diligently you are willing to work at it. If you put in the hours each week and make use of the tools provided you then you should be fine. If you don’t, then you will quickly find that last-minute, late-night cram sessions won’t do you much good in engineering.
At Georgia Tech the top entering students from Georgia have a scholarship that requires a 3.0 to keep and renew, and only 40 percent are able to keep it – 60 percent cannot maintain a 3.0.
^ might that be an indication of the quality or readiness of Georgia high school students? Does GT’s entire student body have 60% under 3.0?
As for the original question, engineering is typically the most difficult major at any school. Despite this, there are many engineering students with very high GPA My son is a junior in electrical engineering, captain of sports team, officer of IEEE, and has 4.0 GPA. He no freak genius or workaholic, there are plenty of students like him. You need to be smart (which you are if you’re admitted in the first place) and disciplined. Time management is very important. Don’t fall behind in studies, seek help at first sign of difficulty.
I have to hold a 3.5 in engineering to keep my scholarship.
Do you mean something like the HOPE scholarship, which is offered to a large range of Georgia high school students, or a highly selective scholarship like Georgia Tech’s President’s scholarship?
I would be surprised if that many students who got full rides or other top-end scholarships had trouble maintaining a 3.0 GPA. However, it is true that frosh year is the highest risk year in terms of GPA, since it involves an adjustment to college that some students do poorly at, even if they did well in high school.
The GPA you maintain is largely dependent on the grade inflation at your school and the quality of the students the take (or are required to take). @Chardo says 4.0 at his son’s school is not rare. At Harvey Mudd 4.0s happen less frequently than one per decade. It’s all relative.
I didn’t say 4.0 is not rare. It certainly is. I said there are plenty of students with very high GPA.
When I was in ECE at PSU, I remember that about 1 in 4 had a GPA of 3.5+, while about 1 in 16 had 3.85+. I don’t think anyone had a 4.00 in my entire graduation class, but there were 3.98’s and 3.99’s.
Regardless, the focus is on how hard 3.00 is to maintain, and while you can argue about grade inflation and quality of competition, for the most part whether or not you get a 3.00+ is largely a function of how and how hard you work to get it. Those 3.50+ students aren’t really any smarter than the 2.80 crowd, they have just figured out how to learn… and then do it. If you were smart enough to get in, then you are smart enough to be in the top 50%, you just have to put in the work.
And no, I am not suggesting some monk-like existence where all you do is study. I am just saying study first, and use the resources (like the TA’s and professor) available to you in a way that actually helps you*. If you manage your time and take college seriously you can still go to football games and parties - mostly what you sacrifice are those hours when you shut your brain off and stare at a TV screen or play web Sudoku.
*: And by this I mean, in advance and with preparation. Showing up the day before the exam or the day the homework is due, armed only with the kinds of questions that clearly indicate you are just now looking at the material, well that is neither advanced NOR prepared.
"there are many engineering students with very high GPA " - And far more who don’t. The split depends on the school / program.
Obviously at any school/program 3.0 is far easier than a 3.5. Frankly I’d be leery of an engineering scholarship that depends upon 3.5 GPA.
The comments above from cosmicfish are probably valid for the students that are a good fit to engineering. But sometimes judging non-fit is not easy until after exposure to freshman engineering academics. Check the rules ahead of time - some students get in a bind where they don’t like engineering but can’t transfer to another major due to low GPA.
When I was in ChE program at PSU, we had over 60% of students drop our of introductory ChE301 class and at the end of semester we had less than 40% of students left in the class. I believe it was done intentionally to weed out poor performing students. I was so happy to pass the class with C+, but I don’t feel too bad now as my buddy who got a C in that class is now a associate professor in top 25 engineering school. If I recall, not too many graduating seniors in my class had over 3.5 GPA.
I think it’s pretty difficult to keep 3.0 GPA if you overload your schedule with engineering classes and plan to graduate in less than 4 years. If you spread out classes over 4.5 years, it would be easier to keep 3.0 GPA. Also, there are certain schools that allow you to retake the class and boost your GPA, which is totally unfair.
Yes, it all depends on the school / program.
Although I’m still in the beginnings of engineering, I think that it shouldn’t be too difficult to keep above a 3.0 GPA. It depends on the difficulty of the school and the teacher however. But from my experiences (with good teachers), it’s effortless to get straight A’s in college. I know that’s not normal though, in an engineering program at least, so remember I’m still beginning and I’ve had some really great teachers.
TT … But from my experiences (with good teachers), it’s effortless to get straight A’s in college … Let’s see if this holds true two years from now. I hope it does
^^ I know that it won’t always be the case. I sure hope it is though. But as of now, I lucked out!
My daughter did very well her first semester, but it was the English class that kept her from getting a 4.0, not the math or science. Even engineers need to take some core classes, and not everyone who is smart is smart in everything. She also works incredibly hard every day as it doesn’t come easy to her. She has a bunch of different scholarships with different requirements. Her school’s requirement is 2.8 for the merit scholarship (about 50% engineering students, so the school knows it is tough to get even a 3.0). The state’s scholarship is a 3.0 requirement, but it doesn’t matter which school you attend or what your major is.
It does add to the pressure to have to maintain a certain gpa to keep the scholarships, but it is good pressure. My other daughter has a 3.0 requirement, and that is actually more pressure for a small scholarship because she’s not as dedicated a student and her grades aren’t as easy to estimate as her courses are all subjective, not objective.
“but it is good pressure.” - It can be. But it’s not always the case.
It really depends on the school, and more so, which classes you are taking. My D started engineering freshmen with mostly classes in the 200 level due to advanced placements. She also has a GPA 3.0 requirement to keep her scholarships (which is around or slightly above average). So the first semester was quite stressful for her. I am glad that I did suggest to her to take only 14 credits in the first semester for an easier transition to college. She did make it above 3.4 at the end and she is now doing much better in the second semester with 18 credits. Anyway, no one ever plan/think to get straight A in her engineering school.