<p>Son is a freshman in school of engineering. All engineering classes are going very well, but cannot say the same about the elective. This is a history class with a lot of engineering students in it and from what I can glean they are all in the same boat - all are finding it tough. Son felt that he did not have much of a choice when he signed up in orientation. So, the question is - do professors tend to scale on an elective or compensate in some way if say, the class average is probably about a C?</p>
<p>Doubt it, but I am sure he will do just fine. One “C” will not be the deal breaker for any employer, especially in engineering. Plus, companies look for work experience, something that NE prides itself in supplying.</p>
<p>Scaling is completely up to the professor and their department, regardless of whether it is an “elective” or not. Some classes decide that a C should be the average so they barely scale at all, and some think that it should be B so everyone’s grade gets bumped up.</p>
<p>If the average is a C though for a class that isn’t something crazy hard (ex: Organic Chemistry 2 for Chemistry Majors), the scaling usually isn’t that much. </p>
<p>Don’t stress about one C, but I disagree with above. Especially for your first co-op, very very few people have ANY experience let alone experience that would be applicable. Co-op advisors and employers use courses taken and GPA to decide who should be sent out and who gets an interview. So GPAs can really matter, but so long as it’s above 2.5 (overall- not just in one class) you should be okay. Plus some co-op advisors (not mine, but I’ve heard of it happening) allow students to put “3.4 in Engineering Courses” if their GPA is actually lower due to electives but they did really well in their major. That totally depends on the advisor though.</p>
<p>thanks neuchimie - even w/a C I think he will be well above a 3.0 - only 1st semester though - I’m sure next semester is a lot harder.</p>
<p>Not always. A LOT of people say their first semester was the hardest. There is so much change and you just finished (for many people) the best summer ever and you live on your own… My first semester was definitely my hardest until this one, but that’s only because I’m in advanced writing right now.</p>
<p>Engineering students tend to have lower GPAs anyway, and co-op employers know that. In my major, having below a 3.0 is pretty bad for co-op, but I figure it’d be less strict for engineering. Business on the other hand would probably expect higher GPAs, since I know several business students with 4.0s- something I’m not sure even exists in the engineering college.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about a C as a first-semester freshman. It’s definitely a bummer to have your GPA dragged down by an elective (been there, done that), but by the time co-op rolls around, one C won’t be dragging down the GPA that much (a few of them, sure, but 1, not really). </p>
<p>Granted I had work experience (thank you, work study biology jobs) when I applied for my first co-op, but my very average GPA didn’t seem to hurt me,. Employers cared that I had taken relevant courses, and basically told me I was hired thanks to my previous lab work. In the sciences, it seems that as long as you’re above a 3.0, it’s not going to make or break a co-op offer. I think the same is probably true for engineering–but a good GPA is a definite plus when you lack a lot of work experience.</p>