Engineering major, lower GPA

[prehealthandengineering]

If I am an engineering major, will adcoms be a bit more considerate about the difficulty of achieving the 3.8+ GPA in my major? I did the best I can, and due to the inability to have a balanced schedule in order to graduate on time, a 3.6 is roughly what I expect to graduate with. I know it is often said that a 3.6 GPA should not prevent me from getting in somewhere, but the GPA averages for those who matriculate at the schools I am interested in usually rest around 3.8.

At my engineering school, a 3.5 gets you the magna cum laude distinction. My university seems to aim for roughly 10% of students from each school to graduate with such distinction. By each school, I mean that engineering students are ranked against only engineering school students, liberal arts students are ranked against only liberal arts school students, etc. Because the engineering school draws the magna cum laude line there, whereas the liberal arts school typically draws it somewhere in the 3.8 range, this demonstrates the difference in ability to achieve a high GPA in engineering.

I know that in the initial screening, a filter is likely used to narrow down the applicant pool solely by numbers. Thus, as long as I am able to make it past that cut, will adcoms take this into consideration?

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[Goro]

Not at my school.

But look, a 3.8 is great for any major. Yet no one is going to say "Wow! Engineering major with a 3.8? He'd be a 4.0 with a Biology degree!"

And it's not just GPA! You have to take MCAT into acconut (the great equalizer) and stats just get you to the door. ECs get you through the door.

If I am an engineering major, will adcoms be a bit more considerate about the difficulty of achieving the 3.8+ GPA in my major? I did the best I can, and due to the inability to have a balanced schedule in order to graduate on time, a 3.6 is roughly what I expect to graduate with. I know it is often said that a 3.6 GPA should not prevent me from getting in somewhere, but the GPA averages for those who matriculate at the schools I am interested in usually rest around 3.8.

At my engineering school, a 3.5 gets you the magna cum laude distinction. My university seems to aim for roughly 10% of students from each school to graduate with such distinction. By each school, I mean that engineering students are ranked against only engineering school students, liberal arts students are ranked against only liberal arts school students, etc. Because the engineering school draws the magna cum laude line there, whereas the liberal arts school typically draws it somewhere in the 3.8 range, this demonstrates the difference in ability to achieve a high GPA in engineering.

I know that in the initial screening, a filter is likely used to narrow down the applicant pool solely by numbers. Thus, as long as I am able to make it past that cut, will adcoms take this into consideration?

 

[OGLoc23]

If I am an engineering major, will adcoms be a bit more considerate about the difficulty of achieving the 3.8+ GPA in my major?

No. A 3.6/3.8 won't filter you out.

 

[prehealthandengineering]

I'm looking at graduating with a 3.6. That won't be risky, right? I did very well freshman year, and then as people in my major were being weeded out, my GPA has been declining.

 

[OGLoc23]

I'm looking at graduating with a 3.6. That won't be risky, right? I did very well freshman year, and then as people in my major were being weeded out, my GPA has been declining.

How steeply do your grades decline?

A 3.6 is great, but a downward trend could be killer.

 

[Goro]

The median GPA for MD acceptees is 3.7. Your numbers are highly competitive....but a declining grade trend is not good. IF your school is a known feeder for med schools, the Admissions deans will take this into account, and not be so ruthless.

I'm looking at graduating with a 3.6. That won't be risky, right? I did very well freshman year, and then as people in my major were being weeded out, my GPA has been declining.

 

[Lucca]

How steeply do your grades decline?

A 3.6 is great, but a downward trend could be killer.

No 3.6 is going to have a catastrophic downward trend. It's basically all As and Bs with more A-s / B+s than As. A semester of Fs or Cs and B-s might be concerning but then the cGPA would be like 3.2 not 3.6.


3.6 is a fine GPA but don't expect your difficult major to convince anyone. Do well on your MCAT and no one will doubt your ability to succeed. It's ok if you don't go to "one of those schools" with a 3.8 average.

 

[prehealthandengineering]

How steeply do your grades decline?

At the end of my freshman year, I was slightly above a 3.8. Now I am slightly above a 3.6, and my upcoming [last] semester as an undergrad probably won't help make a huge difference in the GPA I graduate with. Most semesters after my freshman year have been at roughly a 3.6, with a semester at 3.4 and this most recent one at 3.3. The lowest grade I have on my transcript is a B, and my transcript has mostly A-/B+ grades on it. I do have one W, but retook the course and got an A.

 

[candbgirl]

Like with all things in the application game plan to apply broadly. Don't focus only on the top schools. Cast a wide net and realize with a good MCAT you should be successful someplace. Do you have a MCAT score yet?

 

[prehealthandengineering]

Do you have a MCAT score yet?

Yeah and unfortunately the CARS section didn't go so well. While my overall was above the 50th percentile, that section was below.

 

[Germanicus89]

Yeah and unfortunately the CARS section didn't go so well. While my overall was above the 50th percentile, that section was below.

Can you be more specific?

 

[prehealthandengineering]

Can you be more specific?

My CARS section score was below the 50th percentile. Everything else was above the 50th percentile, with chem/physics being above the 90th percentile.

 

[candbgirl]

What was your total score? Like 500 ? 522? We can't help unless you tell us more than what you've shared!

 

[moisne]

I don't get why all these engineering pre Med students think they deserve a lead way. Such entitlement

If you pick engineering and you plan on medicine and are aware of the GPA/MCaT filter... Then go kick some ass. If you, instead, get kicked, the responsible thing is to switch majors (or find a way to study).

Let's face it - engineering isn't for everyone. Engineering is heavily math based - and if you suck at math and you still go into it, that's just stupid (esp- if you need a high GPA and engineering isn't your end goal).

Anyways - for op - it's too late to do anything about it. Take or retake mcat, and good luck.

 

[prehealthandengineering]

What was your total score? Like 500 ? 522? We can't help unless you tell us more than what you've shared!

Only 502. I took it in May. The semester before I took the MCAT I had no choice but to take 16 credits of all hard classes if I wanted to graduate on time.

 

[deleted393595]

I don't get why all these engineering pre Med students think they deserve a lead way. Such entitlement

I don't know why all these Bio majors think they're so special. They'll end up get out-thought by all these engineering pre med kids. Such entitlement. 😉

Let's face it - engineering isn't for everyone. Engineering is heavily math based - and if you suck at math and you still go into it, that's just stupid (esp- if you need a high GPA and engineering isn't your end goal).

Congrats. You just exposed how little you know about actual engineering classes. It's not the math that gets you, it's just how hard the concepts are. For example, even the best students struggle with developing the intuition to understand and quickly apply Helmholtz equations for antenna design and beamwidth pattern. On top of that, you have to digest the torrent of info being thrown at you, and build equipment for lab projects. On my worst day, I could study for bio tests 4 hours before and pull A's even with having skipped a month or two of class. On the other hand, I could study for a week for engineering and barely get a B.

 

[idkididk]

I was a BME major who graduated with a 3.6. I was accepted this cycle. As long as your MCAT/EC are solid you'll be fine

But honestly, who cares? It's one of those factors that are outside of your control now. Some people who read your app might not care about your major, while others might give you a slight leniency. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. Just keep working hard and do the best you can

 

[candbgirl]

Frankly, with a 502 MCAT you should stop worrying about getting an engineering bump and worry about a below average MCAT. A 502= about 26-27(closer to a 26). You would be fine for DO but you are well bellow MD standards. So while your GPA won't get you weeded out at MD schools your MCAT most likely will.

 

[moisne]

I don't know why all these Bio majors think they're so special. They'll end up get out-thought by all these engineering pre med kids. Such entitlement. 😉



Congrats. You just exposed how little you know about actual engineering classes. It's not the math that gets you, it's just how hard the concepts are. For example, even the best students struggle with developing the intuition to understand and quickly apply Helmholtz equations for antenna design and beamwidth pattern. On top of that, you have to digest the torrent of info being thrown at you, and build equipment for lab projects. On my worst day, I could study for bio tests 4 hours before and pull A's even with having skipped a month or two of class. On the other hand, I could study for a week for engineering and barely get a B.

Dude
I'm engineering. BS Duo major in ChemE and petE, minor in bioeningeering and MS ChemE. Don't even.

Edit: I've personally never met anyone who was great at math and struggled in engineering... And I don't mean "oh I got an A in calc" - I'm taking about people who complete the entire math requirements prior to matriculating to undergrad.

I personally spent more time on my one anatomy elective class than all my engineering classes combined. Seems like you are in a field that isn't your strength :/

 

[deleted393595]

Dude
I'm engineering. BS Duo major in ChemE and petE, minor in bioeningeering and MS ChemE. Don't even.

Edit: I've personally never met anyone who was great at math and struggled in engineering... And I don't mean "oh I got an A in calc" - I'm taking about people who complete the entire math requirements prior to matriculating to undergrad.

I personally spent more time on my one anatomy elective class than all my engineering classes combined. Seems like you are in a field that isn't your strength :/

Lol. You know nothing about my field so stop. Also, ChemE isn't that hard. The guys who couldn't make it in my discipline dropped into ChemE. Being good at math means nothing in my discipline. Sure, you can crunch all those numbers, but unless you have analytic and practical intuition, you can't design a product that works well within a short timeframe (emulating what industry is like) considering how much of my field is "black magic". I pretty much ended up with all A's in my engineering classes without attending class - which was the reason why I had to study so long for engineering haha. So I'm fairly certain I don't have issues with the material.

 

[tibnick]

.

 

[Demosthenes1]

I don't know why all these Bio majors think they're so special. They'll end up get out-thought by all these engineering pre med kids. Such entitlement. 😉



Congrats. You just exposed how little you know about actual engineering classes. It's not the math that gets you, it's just how hard the concepts are. For example, even the best students struggle with developing the intuition to understand and quickly apply Helmholtz equations for antenna design and beamwidth pattern. On top of that, you have to digest the torrent of info being thrown at you, and build equipment for lab projects. On my worst day, I could study for bio tests 4 hours before and pull A's even with having skipped a month or two of class. On the other hand, I could study for a week for engineering and barely get a B.

There are more than enough 4.0s in Engineering every year to prove that the major is difficult, but not impossible.
OP isn't a special snowflake, but their GPA certainly isn't poor.
I'd recommend an MCAT retake, barring excellent ECs.

 

[NicMouse64]

Don't do engineering if you think it will give you a leg up in admissions. Do engineering because you value the thought process and difficulty involved. Engineering with a decent gpa (3.5) but high mcat means you learned critical thinking that is so necessary for standardized testing and medicine in general. My gpa is around a 3.48, but on practice tests for the MCAT I am scoring around a 515. This is in no way guaranteed for the actual test but it does validate my choice to pick a major that values critical thinking and problem solving rather than rote memorization.

 

[Goro]

Close to lethal for MD schools.

Only 502. I took it in May. The semester before I took the MCAT I had no choice but to take 16 credits of all hard classes if I wanted to graduate on time.

I surmise that ElCapo was joking, but lemme share a story with you. One of my students was an Engineering major, and he struggled in his classes. he kept saying to us faculty "But as an engineer, I was trained to think this way..."

He finally knocked it off when my Pathologist colleague pointed out "Your days an an engineer ended when you put on that white coat."





I don't know why all these Bio majors think they're so special. They'll end up get out-thought by all these engineering pre med kids. Such entitlement.

 

[jaxon]

On my worst day, I could study for bio tests 4 hours before and pull A's even with having skipped a month or two of class.

What?? What kind of biology department are they running at your school?

 

[deleted393595]

Close to lethal for MD schools.



I surmise that ElCapo was joking, but lemme share a story with you. One of my students was an Engineering major, and he struggled in his classes. he kept saying to us faculty "But as an engineer, I was trained to think this way..."

He finally knocked it off when my Pathologist colleague pointed out "Your days an an engineer ended when you put on that white coat."

I don't know why all these Bio majors think they're so special. They'll end up get out-thought by all these engineering pre med kids. Such entitlement.

That's interesting. Was he trying to think of the reason behind everything vs outright memorizing it?

What?? What kind of biology department are they running at your school?

Tbh, I'm not so sure that it's my bio dept rather than the actual coursework. Once you take enough upper level bio, the rest of upper level bio (at least my classes) becomes fairly repetitive since the same motifs (DNA, RNA, structures etc) are present in some form in at least every course. In the grand scheme of things, stuff like CRISPR is only a "slightly" bit more complicated version of everything you learned in Bio 101 and 102 and a few other classes. Not that I'm negging the field: While it's relatively easier to pick up theory in bio, doing bio research is incredibly hard and tedious. Engineering is the other way around respectively.

 

[moisne]

Lol. You know nothing about my field so stop. Also, ChemE isn't that hard. The guys who couldn't make it in my discipline dropped into ChemE. Being good at math means nothing in my discipline. Sure, you can crunch all those numbers, but unless you have analytic and practical intuition, you can't design a product that works well within a short timeframe (emulating what industry is like) considering how much of my field is "black magic". I pretty much ended up with all A's in my engineering classes without attending class - which was the reason why I had to study so long for engineering haha. So I'm fairly certain I don't have issues with the material.

I don't know what your field is... So can't say much there. I'm not going to get into the "oh which engineering is the hardest" - that's just stupid. Civil from one school is harder than ChemE in another. At my school- everyone dropped out of ChemE for civil, environmental, petE, bioE. It just varies from school to school - as an engineer or engineering student, that much should be obvious.

You are the one who said you only need 4 hours before a bio exam - seems like you aren't in your field of your best talents.

And you saying you can get As without going to class and need to spend so much time studying for engineering - that doesn't mean anything. It probably means you should maybe go to class and not have to study... Seems more efficient to me. I don't know why you think A's will impress me.

Since you are doing so well, I think you should support my views on engineering premed whining about a lower GPA.

My only point is - if you're (as the pre Med group in general) gonna be engineering - don't whine when ur GPA is lower. Rather than expecting more of a lead way - play to your talents. If you can't think the way an engineer should think - then switch.

 

[TBV]

So many kids on here who think they're special snowflakes. All my stats are low but it's ok 'cause I'm me and I go to an expensive undergrad/ "hard major"/ "B-hole smells like orange sherbet"

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

A 502 isn't going to get you into any school with a 3.8 average.

 

[deleted393595]

Since you are doing so well, I think you should support my views on engineering premed whining about a lower GPA.

My only point is - if you're (as the pre Med group in general) gonna be engineering - don't whine when ur GPA is lower. Rather than expecting more of a lead way - play to your talents. If you can't think the way an engineer should think - then switch.

So for the purpose of this thread, as someone having gotten a bachelors and masters in engineering, what is your advice for others on keeping a high GPA w/ engineering and finding time to do other Pre-Med stuff?

 

[moisne]

So for the purpose of this thread, as someone having gotten a bachelors and masters in engineering, what is your advice for others on keeping a high GPA w/ engineering and finding time to do other Pre-Med stuff?

1. You switch out of you can't handle engineering. Most engineering programs have a 2.8-low 3.0's avg GPA. Not worth f you are dead set on Med school can can't keep at least a 3.5.

2. Study more if you need. My study habits are super different. I obtained the answer key to every textbook that was required. I didn't spend that much time doing my homework (obv) - I spent it reading through the answer key. Just see how they came up with the answer (assuming you are good enough at math to not need the practice - skimming through 100 problems and looking at different ways to solve a problem is way better than doing the 5-15 assigned problems - takes about 1-2 hrs a night for an my engineering classes).

3. Because I went to every class - took notes, gave my 100% attention,... I didn't study more than 1-2 hr out of class (obv didn't do homework if it wasn't required or if it was from a textbook).

4. This left me about 20-30 hours a week to work and about 5 -10 hrs a week to volunteer

5. Squeezed in about 8-10 hrs a week for research (found a PI who paid for my tuition remaining undergrad and masters)

6. Don't get kicked in the butt by the mcat (verbal = 6) like me --- and apply to med school.

Personally my first time mcat had verbal of a 4 or 5... So I had to take some time off and I worked in oil and renewable energy (the irony), taught for 3 years... And matriculated after I got VR to a 6 lol.

Moral of the story: play to ur strength, don't get kicked by mcat.