<p>ZacalMom, you must be mistaken. There is no way that UIUC expects a student to maintain a 3.8 GPA to major in Mechanical Engineering. That seems way too excessive. Most universities have a 2.7-3.3 requirement for most Engineering majors. 3.8 would mean that Mechanical Engineering is only open to the top 5% of the Engineering majors and yet according to the UIUC, 15% of Engineers are in Mechanical while 25% are in Electrical/Computer Engineering. I would check again to make sure, but like I said, it is unlikely that your son would have to maintain a 3.8 GPA for two years at UIUC to qualify for Mechanical Engineering.</p>
<p>And yes, it is better to be a middle-of-the-pack student (3.3 GPA) at UIUC than a top student at Iowa. Don’t get me wrong, Iowa is an excellent university, but in Engineering, UIUC has a serious advantage.</p>