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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]From what I understand, Virginia Tech's College of Engineering doesn’t admit students directly into a specific major. Instead, students receive general admission into the College of Engineering, and after their first year, they are placed into a specific major—such as computer engineering—based on their GPA and other criteria.

So when a high school student says they’ve been admitted to Virginia Tech for computer engineering, is that a different type of admission? Does it mean they’ve received a guaranteed spot in that major?
What's the process for guaranteed major admission?
[/quote]

For most engineering majors, there is no direct admission to major at VT. VT deliberately has several mandatory "weed-out" classes (i.e., designed to force some % students out of the E School) in Freshman and Sophomore years, so the overall number of Juniors at VT in the E School is visibly lower than the number of Freshmen in the E School.

To get a popular major, such as ComputerE, one must both survive the weed-out classes AND have a high GPA afterwards.

Not all college E Schools have intentional "weed out" classes. Their existence (or not) at a particular college is one of the few meaningful differences between one E School and a different E School. ABET means all accredited E Schools have nearly identical curricula and that all are rigorous. [/quote]

The use of “E School” suggests you are a booster of another school (and I won’t say which one). Nobody at VT uses that term.

And you don’t provide any citation for your claim of “weed out classes”. As I noted, you need a 3.0 to be guaranteed your choice of engineering major.  Here is the policy: https://eng.vt.edu/academics/undergraduate-students/resources-support/change-of-major/restricted.html

3.0  is hardly a “high GPA” for the kind of student that gets admitted to VT Engineering. Particularly since that includes 6 credits of English and 3-6 credits of Easy electives (known as Pathways at VT).

To be sure, somewhere between 20-25% of freshman engineers switch to another non-Engineering major. Most of those realize they just aren’t cut out for it. Others don’t get a 2.0 (which means they partied way too hard).

By comparison, this is nothing like McIntire at UVA which has a 50% admission rate. Do your homework, go to class, turn in your labs and you will have a 3.0 and get your choice. 
[/quote]
How does the "weed out classes" work in the context where students have already gained credits using equivalent AP exam scores or post-AP courses taken in HS.  Do they have to show the 3.0 GPA using the next level of courses relevant to their targeted engineering major OR do they get confirmation of guaranteed major before hand?[/quote]

It’s a 3.0 at Tech. So let’s say you get a 5 on Calculus AB. You get 4 credits in Math 1225 and take 1226 fall semester and then differential equations spring semester.

Under this approach you have a “harder” math in your freshman GPA. But still need a 3.0 for guaranteed choice of major.  Which is why some people say take an extra general elective if you free up space in your schedule with AP credits. E.g., Take the A in “Foods of India” instead of a possible C in differential equations. [/quote]
Assuming maintaining at least 3.0 GPA isn’t a major hurdle, how do they manage demand when capacity is limited, especially for competitive majors like computer engineering? How many sophomores are admitted to this major each year?[/quote]

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