<p>Hey, I'm an incoming freshman, currently undeclared in the College of Letters & Sciences. I'm absolutely sure I want to transfer to an engineering major(EE or biomed, to be specific). I heard a couple of things:</p>
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<li><p>I can't transfer at orientation: My parents insist that I start out as an engineering major, and I'm currently panicking. I had no clue about what I wanted to study, and picked Undeclared L&S just to be safe(!?).</p></li>
<li><p>I can transfer after one term: I'm alright about this, but I am worried about the GPA requirement! I heard GPAs tend to go down in the beginning, and I don't want this to be a hindrance. </p></li>
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<p>My parents say that they don't want to pay a huge tuition for something that isn't guaranteed. I'm pretty much losing peace over this, because I don't have a backup plan that I want to follow.
For the record, I'm OOS, living abroad, and we pretty much study physics/math/chem courses that are first year level(from what I've heard). But I don't want to take a chance...</p>
<p>It'd be great if I could have a few opinions on this! Thank you!</p>
<p>Switching into HSSEAS requires a completion of two quarters. Read the following from the website:
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<p>As far as GPA, 3.5 is the minimum requirement. However, some of the engineering majors, like Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering, are impacted and a 3.5 is certainly not good enough. That’s being said, only a near 4.0 GPA with a completion of course requirement can give you a high chance of transferring in (it is possible that you still get rejected for not having enough seats). </p>
<p>Regardless the GPA trend, it tends to go down over time, as one starts to take engineering classes. The intro physics/math/chem/cs classes tends to be easier at the beginning.</p>
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<p>It is really difficult to transfer into an engineering major outside of HSSEAS, and you should really have a backup plan if you fail. Still, don’t be discouraged. There are successful cases. One of my friends was a physics major and he became an EE major after two quarters (with a straight 4.0) in his first year.</p>
<p>My advice would be, don’t overload yourself with classes (engineering students tend to take heavier courseload) and try to keep your GPA high before submitting your petition. Good luck~</p>