Blinn Engineering Academy at Bryan is by co enrollment for general engineering required curriculum.
Students will enroll in Blinn College-Bryan to take the engineering math and science courses.
The required engineering class will be taken at A&M along with one other class, usually one that satisfied a core curriculum requirement.
Entry to a Major Process: The primary pathway to a degree-granting major in the College of Engineering is the entry-to-a-major process, known as ETAM. Engineering students in the Engineering Academy program are strongly encouraged to apply to a degree-granting major as early as possible upon meeting the following two eligibility requirements:
- Must be in good academic standing in the Engineering Academy program, which implies a CGPA of at least 2.0 at TAMU and 2.5 at the partner community college, and
- Complete at least two math, two science and two engineering courses, which is the engineering core curriculum.
Students who complete the required coursework and earn a 3.5 CGPA or higher at each institution are guaranteed entry to the first choice engineering major at the end of their first year.
https://engineering.tamu.edu/academics/academies/blinn-bryan/terms-and-conditions.html
Students who complete the required coursework and earn less than a 3.5 combined GPA at each institution are not guaranteed entry to the first choice engineerng major but will undergo holistic review for the majors that they have put on their ETAM application in order of preference.
It is possible for a student who earns less than a 3.5 combined GPA to get into their first or second choice major. The 2017 Spring ETAM cycle analysis gives you an idea of what GPAs needed to be for entry. https://engineering.tamu.edu/academics/entry-to-a-major/resources/analysis-spring-2017-admission-cycle/index.html
Again, these are the GPAs under 3.5 that were admitted to the specific major.
That said, the 3.5 only counts during the first ETAM cycle. If a student starts out in Calculus I and therefore is enrolled in the engineering class, the spring of freshman year will be considered the first ETAM cycle and they will apply to it whether they are eligible to be placed into a major or not.
A student will not be eligible to be placed into a major if for instance, they made a D in Calculus I and had to repeat the class in the spring semester. That student will still apply to a major (ETAM) but will not be eligible for a major because they will not have completed Calculus II, which is a general engineering requirement.
This student will then take Calculus II the following fall and Apply To A Major in November and receive their major decision in January.
If this student did not pass Calculus II in the fall, they will retake it in the following Spring semester and once again, Apply To A Major in April and receive their major decision in June.
Every cycle a student is not eligible to be placed in a major lessens the likelihood of receiving a major that is competitive to get into. Students are advised to see their advisor prior to any ETAM process so that they apply to majors that they are qualified for, based on their GPA rather than one’s they may want but not be qualified for.
When an applicant applies to a major that is not qualified for that major or any of their list of 3-5 they can list, if they are rejected from the entire list of preferred majors, they must wait a day or two to see what majors the engineering department will offer them.
If a 2.5 GPA got into Computer Science in the first ETAM cycle, a 2.6 likely won’t in the second ETAM cycle.
If a student beings in Calculus I and the Engineering course, they have 4 semesters to complete the general engineering requirements and get into a major. https://engineering.tamu.edu/academics/resources/fourth-semester-general-engineering-students.html
Program Completion: Engineering students in the Engineering Academy program who do not meet the entry-to-a-major application requirements can still secure full admission to Texas A&M by satisfying program completion requirements. In particular, students must meet the following requirements by the end of the first summer session following the second year of enrollment in the Engineering Academy program:
*******Completion of at least 45 transferable hours from Blinn College-Bryan with a minimum CGPA of 2.5
Completion of at least 15 hours of engineering coursework from Texas A&M with a minimum CGPA of 2.5
Upon successful completion, students can apply for a change of curriculum into a degree-granting major at Texas A&M. Advisors for the Engineering Academy program will help engineering students identify majors in or outside the College of Engineering that are suitable for their academic goals and CGPA competitiveness.
This means that if a student is unable to pass the core engineering requirements by exhausting their attempts to pass the general engineering requirements with a grade of C or better in the 4 semesters allowed, the engineering student can still gain admission to A&M into another major if, by the end of summer after their 4th semester (second year) by having the starred criteria directly above.
Also, if an engineering academy student elects to leave the engineering major, they can switch over to Blinn Team through an advisor who will help with that transition process and work towards a selected major.