<p>I am currently going to be a sophomore at chem E in UCSB and I just wanted answers to some questions. </p>
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<li><p>I heard that upper division classes are the more interesting ones than the lower divisions ones. Is this true ? </p></li>
<li><p>This might be a dumb question : but are upper division classes "easier" than the lower division ones ? My friend in Comp Sci/Informatics at UC Irvine tells me this. </p></li>
<li><p>The age old question : what is a good engineering GPA to be able to get into the masters program at a T-20 program ? </p></li>
<li><p>I currently have a 3.12 overall, is this a decent place to be in or should I step up ? </p></li>
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<p>Thanks for answering.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Typically yes because if you do like your major, then you’ll enjoy the courses specific to your major. The calculus, physics, chemistry that you take in the beginning are general courses and are just a foundation. </p></li>
<li><p>It all depends. The material is tougher, but again if you like the material, then you’ll like studying for it and it won’t be as hard, right?</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t know, sorry. Not into the masters thing. </p></li>
<li><p>Your gpa isn’t bad, but it could be better. Anything above a 3.0 is usually good for internships/employment. Aim for higher though! </p></li>
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<p>Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>I think the 3.0 rule also applies to grad school. Don’t know about Top 20 though.</p>
<p>I always thought that the GPA needs to be at least higher than 3.5 for grad school. The application process also involves several other components though. If you can get good letters of recommendations from some prestigious faculty then that helps. I mean is someone really high up on the totem pole is willing to stick their neck out for you then that says a lot</p>
<p>^ The advice about recommendations is a good point. You have to remember that a highly regarded professor is recommending you only if he knows that you have what it takes to succeed. They would not be recommending someone that they know would negatively affect their reputation. Recommendations of this kind will not be ignored.</p>
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<li><p>Hopefully this is true for you! Otherwise, maybe you made the wrong decision in majors? Seriously, not trying to poke fun or be a jerk, just saying…hopefully the core fundamental courses of your major you find interesting. All those fresh/soph courses prepare you to really apply fundamental math, physics, and chemistry concepts to engineering. For me, I found my upper level MechEng courses to be very interesting.</p></li>
<li><p>Easier is obviously a difficult way to analyze the courses. Perhaps they are thought of as “easier” because one is more interested in the actual material. From my experience, the upper level courses take basic concepts and fundamentals and makes you apply them to advanced concepts. I don’t think my upper level ME courses were easier, but they were for sure a lot more interesting. Spending 5 hrs on a HW assignment wasn’t as big a deal because I was interested in the material.</p></li>
<li><p>I guess I haven’t done much research on this topic. However, I’d say shoot for the stars and get as high a GPA as you possibly can. As others have said, GPA is NOT everything: you need to have good letters of rec, GRE, and outstanding personal statement. I got into Michigan’s Masters of Engineering program (I believe top 10) with not a crazy stellar GPA but also had good letters of rec, GRE, lots of internship/co-op experience (I submitted a resume w. my app), lots of involvement on campus, and what I thought was a very good personal statement.</p></li>
<li><p>3.12 is for sure a decent and respectable GPA. However, try and shoot for the sky and achieve as high a GPA as you possibly can. It is personally, professionally, and academically gratifying to know that you gave it your all. And, as always, the higher GPA you have the better chances you get professionally and in your academic future (*note - this is a generalization but I feel a safe one to make.).</p></li>
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<p>You need above a 3.0 for grad school. If you want top 20, you can scrape by on a 3.0 if you have stellar recommendations and research experience and GRE scores, but it would still be a huge long shot once you start approaching top 10 range. 3.5 is generally considered safe as long as everything else is in order for most of the top 20.</p>
<p>Still, for grad school, maybe the most important thing a person can do is get undergraduate research experience. Grad schools like seeing the experience, and it usually leads to great letters or recommendation from professors who have personally worked with you in a research setting. That is two birds with one stone.</p>
<p>The other thing is that in grad school, having a highly regarded advisor is more important than a highly regarded school. You can go to a top school and make up for having a newer or less known advisor, but you can have a top advisor at a less known school and pretty much be just as well off as a lot of people at the better known schools, so don’t be afraid to look around.</p>
<p>I was just wondering what are the T-20 program for chem eng ? I checked US News week college rankings but thats a year old. Any one have the 2010 version ? if so can you please provide the link ?
thanks</p>