Reply to Virginia Tech Engineering: Hard for First-Years to Hit a 3.0?

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[quote=Anonymous]My son graduated from the engineering school in 2020 with a CS degree.  The 3.0 is doable.  The student should use AP credit if possible to avoid courses like chemistry which is often a tough freshman course.  Read professor ratings to try to get the better professors freshman year.  Try not to bite off too much freshman year.  Don’t take the hardest courses possible.  Don’t try to accelerate the timeline to graduate.  Take non-engineering courses to help the GPA.  If a course will kill the GPA drop it and retake it over the summer.  Form study groups.  Use office hours.

Thanks! You said "Try not to bite off too much freshman year. Don’t take the hardest courses possible." - but aren't there courses that have to be taken freshman year to even be able to pick your major?

You also said "If a course will kill the GPA drop it and retake it over the summer." But if you don't have chemistry until the summer can you even pick your major? And why would chemistry in the summer be easier just because it's your only class? Or are you suggesting taking it somewhere other than VT?

This was all great advice. Just trying to understand.
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I wrote the post above.  What I mean by saying "try not to bite off too much" and "don't take the hardest courses possible" ... Sometimes, students have the option, for example, to start in calculus 3 versus calculus 1 or 2 because of what they took in high school.  They may sign-up for calc 3 (multivariable) thinking they should accelerate the time to graduation.  But it is often better for the GPA to start in the lower level course.  I can't remember what the options are at Virginia Tech.  My point is - if the student has options - think about what course selection will maximize GPA first year.  On summer courses ... if the student is struggling, it is easier to get through 4 courses with good grades than 5 courses.  That 5th course taken in the summer is easier if it is the student's only course.  As I recall, you can still declare the major after the summer, but you would need to confirm that. [/quote]

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