I am a sophomore at the University of Washington and I am about to finish my first quarter this year, and it is my fifth quarter as I took a summer quarter. I will probably be rejected from the ChemE department as the major’s average is 3.7.
I have never been depressed like this in my life. Where can I transfer with my current GPA? My sciences GPA is 2.814 and will probably get lower after this quarter, and my overall is 3.16. Also I have withdrawed from 2 classes before.
Here’s a breakdown if needed:
Aut14:
CHEM 142 GENERAL CHEMISTRY 5.0 3.3 16.50
ESRM 101 FORESTS AND SOCIETY 5.0 4.0 20.00
MATH 124 CALC ANALYT GEOM I 5.0 3.0 15.00
E E 299 INTRO TPCS E E 5.0 4.0 20.00
Win15:
CHEM 152 GENERAL CHEMISTRY 5.0 2.5 12.50
ENGL 121 COMPOSTN: SOC ISSUE 5.0 3.7 18.50
MATH 125 CALC ANALYT GEOM II 5.0 2.8 14.00
Spr15:
ARCH 150 APPREC OF ARCH I 3.0 2.9 8.70
CHEM 162 GENERAL CHEMISTRY 5.0 2.5 12.50
MATH 126 CALC ANYL GEOM III 5.0 2.6 13.00
SCAND 100 INTRO SCANDINAVIA 5.0 3.3 16.50
Is your life ruined? No. In the long run, these things do have an effect on your opportunities but if you truly underperformed relative to your abilities, you will have more than enough chances to make it right.
However, to be perfectly frank, I’m not sure that you would do well in a ChemE program given your relatively weak performance in calculus, physics, and chemistry. Those classes very strongly predict your ability to do well in the major-specific classes that follow, and you will have to be honest with yourself as to why you did poorly. Was it the fact that the material was too hard for you and that you really just couldn’t manage? Was it personal issues, or issues with starting off college that made it difficult to perform well? Is ChemE just not really your cup of tea?
If you had personal issues, you might benefit from taking a break from one quarter to sort things out; for the sophomore year, that is far from difficult. If you really don’t think ChemE is something you can or want to do, I’d recommend you look for a different major that aligns more with your interests (in a field with stable job prospects, of course).
As far as transfer options, there are plenty. You may benefit from talking to your academic advisors. But you really should figure out what you want to do right now.
I had a lot of anxiety and depression in my freshman year because I was away from home. I really do think that I can excel in ChemE, and this is the major I want to enroll in. I was also very discouraged this quarter when my adviser said I had very low chance of getting into an engineering major in UW. So If I work out my gpa a little bit in science fields, do you think I can get into a ChemE major in any school in the US?
I agree with @NeoDymium, life ruined? No way. Chance for Chem E @ UDub on the other hand is likely ruined and maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.
It looks like your worst classes are chemistry and with O Chem and P Chem it only gets harder AND is very dependent on the foundational knowledge from inorganic. So, first question, why Chem E?
Next question, do you have the drive and love of math/physics for any engineering? It’s ABSOLUTELY FINE if the answer to that is no.
Once you know those answers, then you can determine what to do next.
Regardless of what those answers are, a reassessment of your study and organizational habits is in order.
Yeah, if you could get those grades up you should have no problems. Freshman year grade troubles are easy enough to write off if you improve on them and do well in the later years. And if you’re worried that your GPA is still low by the end because the 2.8 brings you down, you can (and probably should for ChemE anyways) go for a Masters and get a higher GPA there.
Community college for 1-2 years is a decent option for saving money and still getting a very solid lower division education. Most universities are pretty good about taking transfers who did well in community college. You could also see if you could improve within UW. Would take another year, if you’re even allowed to take that option, but that’s not the worst thing that could happen.
Your life definitely isn’t ruined. I would urge you to also look into materials science and engineering (https://depts.washington.edu/mse/). I don’t know if it’s easier to get into, but it’s kind of similar to chemical engineering and might appeal to you more. I would really suggest figuring things out at UW and not transferring to an easier engineering school since UW is a good school for engineering.
Where is home? What is it that intrigued you about Chem E?
There are LOTS of options if you don’t get into UW Chem E. Ask your counselor what majors you’d be accepted into with your current stats. If none of them sing to you, look at transfer opportunities. Oregon State, Washington State and Idaho all have ABET accredited Chem E. If you expand your reach beyond the neighboring states there are quite a few options.
In the state of Washington (if that is your state of residency), there is Washington State University.
Outside of the state of Washington, there are many schools that offer chemical engineering, not all of which have high list prices (e.g. South Dakota State, South Dakota Mines, New Mexico Tech for lower cost ones). What kind of cost constraints and financial aid situation are you looking at?
@NeoDymium , @ucbalumnus , @eyemgh , @gogeorgiatech
Thank you guys soo much for your encouragement. I will try my best to fix my bad habits, which is ultimately the reason why I did bad.
If you guys could suggest me some options for transfer, money is no issue, I just need a place where I will get admitted to the ChemE department right away. Thank you soo much
@eyemgh I am not from the US. But I don’t mind going to any state, preferably not a cold state but it is fine either way. I am just looking for a decent, easy to get in school with a Chem E program that doesn’t require an application to get in into the program(direct admission).
I would recommend you start by seeing what your options are within UW; you are already admitted to the school and it’s a very high-quality school. Maybe they’ll give you some option for retaking classes or improving on your old performance.
Transfers are tough and I would recommend trying to find another way through.
I agree with @NeoDymium, see what your internal options are first. Identify what the causes of your performance were second, and correct them. Then, third, IF you can’t move forward at UW OR the weather contributed to your depression, look at transfer options. Even then, we need some further guidance. What drew you to UW in the first place?
@NeoDymium@eyemgh I liked UW because I saw that it is a great engineering school. I failed to relailze how hard it is to get into the program. So since you guys say I should stay UW. Would it be better to transfer to a university like North/South Dakota State and get into the Chem E program or stay at UW and change my major to Applied Physics?
Depends on whether your priority is graduating in chemical engineering or graduating from UW.
The answer to what should be your priority depends on your academic and professional interests. If you are an international student, you may want to consider whether employers in your country of citizenship or residency would emphasize your major or the prestige of your school when hiring.
Don’t expect to have an easier time in Physics. The curriculum is just as challenging as engineering and if your heart is not in it, that will make it even tougher…
I would get out of UW, they are one of the only schools I researched for my son where you have to apply for so many majors after you have completed 2 years. That was a real turn off for anyone who pays out of state fees. So staying there may still require you apply to that major for admission so you are no better off.
Many schools let you continue in your chosen major as long as your GPA is adequate and yours is.
A friend who lives in Oregon says Oregon State has a good engineering program. They have Chem E. You could investigate them.
Otherwise, you have to read about the admission to major process at other schools in their Eng pages. Some say the minimum GPA you need there or GPA in certain classes. Spend time over the break looking through them.
A few are directly admitted into their major at UW, but most aren’t. That’s why I never recommend it either. Being an Oregonian, I second OSU. It’s a good program with a pretty campus in a nice little town. It’s biggest drawback is the weather…just like UDub.
Washington is not the only such school. Purdue and Minnesota also require engineering students to apply to their majors after completing the frosh year prerequisites.
However, the stress level at Washington for those who were not directly admitted to their desired engineering majors as frosh is likely much higher, due to the high GPA standards and holistic admission review for at least some engineering majors. Purdue and Minnesota students are assured of admission to their desired engineering majors with a 3.2 GPA, and the less popular majors likely have space available for most students with lower GPAs. In contrast, a 3.2 GPA at Washington probably means rejection to most engineering majors other than industrial, according to https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats .
The plus side of Washington is that a small number of frosh do get direct admission to engineering majors. A student who does get such a direct admission to his/her desired engineering major and is unlikely to change majors into another highly competitive major may find Washington to be a very desirable school to attend (assuming other constraints like cost are not a problem). But a student who does not receive direct admission to a highly competitive major would be taking a big risk by attending Washington, and should make backup plans to transfer elsewhere or finish in a less competitive major in the event that s/he is not admitted to the desired major.