<p>I would be hesitant to call 3.0 to 3.2 a good GPA, even in engineering.</p>
<p>IMO in CoE, the general consensus is…
3.25-3.45 is acceptable.
3.45-3.65 is good.
3.65-3.85 is great.
3.85+ means you are one of the best.</p>
<p>Think about it this way.
In all of the intro engineering math classes, the median is usually a B (3.0).
For other classes, B and B+ are typical medians. A few have A-. Even fewer have B-.
So if you are exactly 50%-tile in all of your classes, you should have a 3.1-3.2 -ish GPA.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think being in the 50%-tile at Cornell is good or even acceptable, (though, some would disagree depending on your personal standards)</p>