The very high GPA thresholds are definitely worrisome. A 3.6 GPA in engineering is a very high bar, especially freshman year, even more so if courses are being graded on a curve. I know TAMU has a new initiative to get their engineering retention up to 75% by 2025 but that still seems awfully low to me.
As to the comment about freshman year grades - I hear what you are saying but on the flip side, math and physics are the foundations for the upper level engineering classes. A student really needs to have a solid understanding of calculus and physics before moving on.
Some schools are now offering summer start to students who had less rigorous preparation to close the gap so they can graduate on time but those programs cost money too.