Aside from VT’s reputation for being a solid engineering school, why did you choose it for mechanical engineering? I only know what I read on the website (fairly generic) and what I’ve read in the VT thread here, which makes it sound like the your major is not guaranteed and the first semesters of engineering curriculum are weed-out (too many students). This is concerning as it can make the peer environment competitive rather than supportive. And why choose this school over another for ME? I think it’s ranked higher than Syracuse, for example, but Syracuse has multiple programs that sound very appealing. Students begin fabricating early on, have design problems every semester, have enough electives to have a minor (and only 1 required Social science class)… ?I’m not understanding what makes VT’s ME program (though I found it by googling Machine Shop so, theoretically, it’s involved in some way) unique and/or special. Thank you in advance!
It’s not that hard to get a 3.0 to get the major you want after your first 2 semesters. If you can’t maintain a B average then it’s like you a) did not use your resources and time wisely or b) were just not ready for engineering period, regardless of which college you were in. It’s a supportive environment, plus honestly every freshman engineering math/science course has lots of tutoring and office hours through the departments. The classes aren’t all turned into standardized curves like at some other schools, which is the only case where someone doing better than you would actively hurt you. If a program is ABET accredited, tbh there is not going to be a ton separating them in terms of curriculum, they all have to meet the same standards. Go wherever you feel like.
From what I’ve heard it’s not a weed out in the sense that you’d think. It’s not everyone putting in all the work possible and competing with everyone to get into the program. You get kids who don’t study and fail classes, and kids who don’t care or want to switch out. Most kids end up leaving on their own or don’t care that they didn’t get a 3.0 and are fine with another major. It’s not like a bunch of people were really really trying and then didn’t make the 3.0 cut and were devastated. I’m sure there are a few but this is not the usual.