Hello everyone!
I am applying to the University of Washington Seattle Mechanical Engineering major as a transfer student for the fall of 2019 and am pretty nervous.
Currently, my GPA is not the best. While I was in high school, I didn’t perform too well; however, I was always enrolled in high level classes (CHS, AP, Honor). While the majority of my high school classes are not affecting my GPA currently, three courses that I took back during my sophomore year are still affecting my college GPA.
At the CC I am attending currently, I am receiving a GPA of 3.75, which I believe is pretty good. When those three classes are added on it drops to a 3.4. That is my concern.
Considering that Mechanical Engineering is perhaps the second toughest major, just behind CS, I am scared that I will be rejected for that reason, especially since my current GPA isn’t as good as others that are also applying. I find it hard to believe that the admissions team will weigh the Pre-Calculus grades I received (and Calculus 1, but that one isn’t as bad) from high school against me that harshly, but it is a fear that I can’t shake off me.
When reading on UW’s ME transfer worksheet it says that 13 out of the 96 accepted transfers from 2017 had a GPA in my range and when I reached out to the ME admissions they stated that those 13 individuals had some previous struggle, but showed promise in math, engineering, physics, and chemistry courses. Currently, I believe I am showing high promise in those areas.
Another thing I think makes me stand out compared to other applicants, which I am unsure if they will strongly take into consideration or not, is that I have completed all the prerequisites all within a year compared to the average two years. On top of that, I have been working a job with hours anywhere from 15-30 hours a week. Which I think when adding a 3.75 current GPA on top of that shows “high promise”.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this! What do you think? Do I still have a chance at all? I also want to apply to the math major and admissions said that if I get rejected from ME I would be considered for a Pre-math major (since math does not take any transfer applicants). Would I have a chance at that?
Thank you!