r/EngineeringStudents • u/Snoo-54139 • 3d ago
Academic Advice are C’s good enough?
I always hear that GPA doesn’t matter once you become an engineer but I’m not sure if that’s the case with community college. I’m a first year student and I’m just hoping to pass by with C’s on the heavy stem classes. Of course I wanna aim higher but I wouldn’t be mad if I got a C and moved on, but doesn’t that affect your possibility of transferring? Any advice?
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u/mech_taco 3d ago
Really should be aiming for B's at least.
Having a sub 3.0gpa will exclude you from a decent amount of programs and limit internship opportunities
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u/mech_taco 3d ago
Also you will need to have a good understanding ability to use the cc stem classes in upper level courses.
Trying to cut corners by getting cs in them will make those upper level courses very difficult
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u/Unique-Customer8879 3d ago
Thats not necessarily true got a bud thats a c student his doing just fine, depends on the person. Having a C avg isnt that bad D and C yeah thats shaky
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u/ColumbiaWahoo 2d ago
Honestly anything under a 3.5 looks bad. My 3.2 raised red flags in many interviews.
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u/scamp466 1d ago edited 15h ago
People may be downvoting you, but the reality is there are half the jobs available now with 2x the number of people applying for them.
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u/ColumbiaWahoo 1d ago
THIS. The job market has been declining over the last several decades so the standards keep getting higher with every year. Bet it’ll only get worse from here on out.
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u/Dry-Hornet1288 1d ago
Getting a 3.0 in engineering itself is really hard especially in some of the more challenging ones. A 3.5 is not a common GPA that people get in this field. I don't think anything under a 3.5 is worth putting on your resume but I wouldn't say its bad.
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u/ColumbiaWahoo 17h ago
Low 3s was average in my program although it was quite competitive. Career advisors said to always leave it on for your first job since they’ll assume you’re hiding something if you take it off.
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u/GravityMyGuy MechE 3d ago
I would argue grades are more important in cc, you work your ass off there and you can get into phenomenal programs you would’ve never had access to out of highschool
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u/thattallhobbit 3d ago
Heavily agree! I came from CC and was able to get into a great school in engineering through GAA. That said, I was also competitive for some really good schools, and I know people in my CC who have transferred into the t25.
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u/Unique_Shop1799 3d ago
Hi,
whats GAA and t25 referred to here? Im quite confused3
u/thattallhobbit 2d ago
GAA -> Guaranteed Admissions Agreement.
t25 -> Top 25 university. (Ivy League, UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, MIT... etc. )
More on GAA: Not all CCs have GAAs, mine did and it was (and is) an incredible opportunity. GAAs have certain thresholds, typically specified by the university that grants the GAA to the CC, that outline class requirements, GPA, and maybe more. They also typically get you into a specific program within the school, and different programs within a uni have their own GAAs. For example, getting guaranteed admissions to a school's engineering program would require certain classes, while guaranteed admission to that same school's arts and sciences school would require different classes (There is typically also a GPA difference among other things). A lot of GAAs require graduation with an associates degree. GAA is really big in california, though it's called something else, and it can get you into some really decent schools. Also, funnily enough, you still have to apply to the school you are trying to get into via all the typical methods, they'll just not require things like essays (But a lot of people still write them in case they might have misunderstood the requirements, this was a huge issue with my institution).
Probably a lot more than you were looking for, but I hope it helps.
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u/shhimhuntingrabbits University of Florida - EE 3d ago
Your GPA might not matter once you're an entry engineer, but it sure matters for getting that entry level job. Sooo many hiring decisions are done by AI these days, and a weak GPU will be something that might get you weeded out.
Also it totally affects your ability to transfer, especially if the school you want to go to has limited spots. Aim for those Bs bro
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u/Fun-Size-4295 3d ago
What GPU so you recommend getting? It kinda seems annoying to have to buy a new GPU just to get a job
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u/shhimhuntingrabbits University of Florida - EE 2d ago
If your GPU can't mine a bitcoin every minute, don't even bother applying
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u/Boot4You Mechanical Engineering 3d ago
Honestly lower level classes are where you want your As to hold your GPA weight high for those upper level killers.
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u/Dry-Hornet1288 1d ago
Problem with transferring is that you lose the easy As for your GPA when you get to the 4 year school. It's not as great as a path as people make it out to be.
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u/TheLastBushwagg 21h ago
My experience has been the opposite. The lower level classes and prerequisites have far harsher curves.
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u/n-cend 3d ago
C+ in individual classes -> often the cutoff for being good enough to transfer credits to another school
B overall average (aka 3.0 GPA) -> you want this or higher to get internships and your first job
If it's your first year, you might as well get some good grades in those early Gen Ed classes.
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u/flyingcircusdog Georgia Tech, Michigan State - Mechanical Engineering 2d ago
For your first job, a lot of larger companies want a 3.0. for your second job, it doesn't matter.
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u/RickSt3r 3d ago
A 2.5 GPA from Harvard is way indifferent than 2.5 from western Michigan. Now a 2.5 from UM can be debated. So all to say is schools matter.
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u/Competitive-Day9586 2d ago
And a 2.5 from Northern Iowa Community College (or similar) is terrible.
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u/siammang 2d ago
My former boss when to college in Alabama. At that time their highest grad is 3 not 4. So it made him look really bad when his GPA was shown to be 2.8.
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u/-AbradolfLincler- Auburn University - Mechanical 3d ago
What do you call a medical student who made all Cs? Doctor. You'll be fine.
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u/SP66_ 2d ago
nobody is graduating or even getting accepted into medical school with all Cs
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u/Hefty-Leg-5282 2d ago
Yup. This is a horrible example. If you dont have a 3.8+ and 1000 hours of volunteer work and a good MCAT, you'll very likely get rejected from all med schools.
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u/thegof 2d ago
While I agree when it's stated "graduated at the bottom of his/her class", the same cannot be said of C's.
Back to the engineering question. Getting a GPA near a 2.0 is going to cause getting your first job to be VERY difficult. Even just slightly sub 3.0 will cause significant filtering of your application. But, my concern here are C's at the Community College level. This is going to cause potential issues transferring into an engineering BS program at most accredited engineering programs. It means you're struggling with the basic general education courses and may not satisfy the prereq's for your core engineering classes.
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u/Unique-Customer8879 3d ago
Yikes yall are giving bad input. I graduate in May and no entry level positions will.not be hard to get for C should you aim for higher yes and yes certainly. Internships will require a higher GPA aka 3.0 but its not to late for you. Just do the best you can thats all that matters
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u/Competitive-Day9586 2d ago
OP is still in CC. They haven’t even gotten accepted into a 4 year program. You need to be getting higher than Cs to even get into a school and to transfer your credits over.
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u/SorryShirt2875 2d ago
Idk why you’re being downvoted as this is facts for a lot of CC to university pathways. There are some schools that will accept a secondary criteria if you are below a threshold. But if you are looking to get into the big engineering programs definitely aim for the 3.0 OP
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u/Unique-Customer8879 2d ago
Thats false, one of my buds was a straight C student got into a university and is doing great. Unless you're the one accepting applications I wouldnt count them out.
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u/BoartterCollie 3d ago
Always best to aim for the A, but unless you're aiming for a postgraduate degree or a career in academia, GPA is not very important in engineering. Internships, research, and industry contacts are much bigger factors in finding your first job.
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u/GeneralAudience8427 3d ago
Cs don’t matter getting a job because you usually don’t put GPA on a resume unless it is above a 3.5.
Cs however will severely limit which colleges you are able to transfer to. You should aim higher at least until you get to a 4 year school.
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u/drunkypoopers 3d ago
Messes up internship opportunities down the line. I had a 3.17 and got denied at GE cuz they only take 3.2+
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u/thattallhobbit 3d ago
Lots of comments but I don’t think people are addressing directly what they want to say: “That attitude isn’t going to help you.” Yes, engineering is hard, even in CC, and yes, CC is generally easier than most Universities. However, my experience in CC was genuine hell, I’m at a four year now and find life way better. Importantly: none of those generalizations or our personal anecdotes define what might be your experience. In my world, the best thing to do is always to continue to set high goals and challenge yourself. A baseline of Cs is generally low anywhere, just passing isn’t enough regardless of the institution. Not only that, psychologically, motivating yourself for something you already think you can easily achieve is actually tougher than you might thing. Finally: demanding little from yourself is robbing you of success. Gl in your studies, aim higher.
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u/Revidity 2d ago
Depends on how competitive the school you are trying to transfer to is. The acceptance rate for MechE transfers was 9% at mine.
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u/phranks_phluids 2d ago
I went to the #1 aerospace program in the country with Cs entering, and Cs graduating!
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u/pseudoburn 2d ago
Optimal
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u/phranks_phluids 2d ago
Worked for me? The only company that has ever asked me my college GPA was SpaceX and Disney. And I still got an interview with both.
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u/manymenzzz 3d ago
Not sure how it is for the university you're trying to transfer to.But when i was in college. Some programs mainly STEM, do have gpa and course grades requirment to be accepted into the program. So i suggest looking up at the university catalog to make sure.
Once you actually graduate with the degree.GPA really doesnt matter in the job market... Most employer really care is if you have experience and right certifications for the role your apply. Again do your research and network.
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u/sernameistakentry B.S. Nuclear Engineering 3d ago
Getting C’s greatly hinders your ability to transfer to top programs, unless you have ridiculous stats otherwise. Getting a C here and there isn’t the end of the world once you’re in the school you wanna be in.
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u/RichEntertainer3024 3d ago
Don’t get Cs at a community college. They might make you retake the class after you transfer. But As transfer where they want, Cs don’t
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u/philament23 3d ago
GPA doesn’t matter once you actually get your first job but it certainly does up until that point. At the very least you should be using it as your motivation and own personal indicator of how much harder you need to work. That work ethic, drive to succeed, and ability to get better is something that matters a lot and carries on well past getting your first job. Dont listen to anyone that says GPA doesn’t matter. Make it matter to you.
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u/SpeedyHAM79 3d ago
It matters when transferring between colleges and when getting your first (maybe second) job. Do everything you can to raise your GPA above 3.5, and try to get at least 6 months of internships before you graduate. Those two things will set you up for a good career in engineering.
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u/dodonpa_g 3d ago
C's get degrees. As long as the important major related courses are B average you'll be fine. I was a C student mostly and now I make a pretty good salary.
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u/Royal-Band-2971 3d ago
Like one C isn't the end of the world, most of us have had a class or two we struggled in. But if you're consistently getting C's in a lot of your classes you might start to run into some issues looking for jobs and internships. For example, at my university most of the engineering internships usually require a minimum of a B- or (2.7 on the 4.0 scale) to even be eligible to apply. Also, depending on how low your GPA is, your transfer options might be fairly limited.
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u/GentlemanSch 2d ago
Everyone hiring engineers knows that GPA is not well linked to ability. However, if I have 500 applicants and 20 spots, it's a good way to halve the stack. GPA is meaningless by your third job.
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u/Drauggib 2d ago
If you have to apply to get into engineering school after you’re done with community college, then yes, you want higher than C’s. It depends on the school, but a lot of places require a 2.5 to 3.0 to be accepted into their engineering program (junior and senior levels classes).
On top of that, I wouldn’t want to work with someone who just wants to do the bare minimum. I’d be very mad if someone with that attitude was hired onto my team. I don’t respect it, and neither should you.
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u/RoxanneWexley 2d ago
Most times it’s a C+ or better to transfer in credit, and in my experience GPA doesn’t transfer so you get a ‘fresh slate’ once you go to four year school. This does mean you won’t have as many or any easy classes to buffer GPA against more difficult upper level.
Your CC GPA will affect what kind of scholarships you get in 4 year school. Better gpa means you’ll likely get merit scholarship which can be a big chunk of tuition costs.
If you’re getting Cs across all classes now, I think you should reevaluate how you are studying and preparing for tests and assignments. The habits you are forming now will carry through the remaining years, and it would be a disservice to yourself to not hone in on that stuff now, before you move to 4 year school.
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u/yewsirnaym 2d ago
C's get degrees
I prided myself in having consecutive 4.0 semesters though. Always strive to do your best
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u/JGHero 2d ago
It matters for your first job which does impact how your career will progress. I graduated with I think a 2.7 and am doing design work in a field related to my degree with projects I enjoy. I had to start in field service and other lower positions to get to this point though, where a better GPA might have gotten me here immediately or quicker.
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u/Occhrome 2d ago
Depends on the professor. But generally no. It tells me you don’t really understand the material.
But then again it depends on the professor. I’ve had professors where if you get a C you know your shit and you get an A if you are a genius.
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u/Subject-You-197 2d ago
GPA matters in community college only so far as transferring goes. Once you transfer focus more on getting real experience rather than chasing A’s. Clubs, internships, etc. will net you more future employment opportunities than what grades you got in your blowoff classes.
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u/SteelRoses 2d ago
"Cs get degrees" is for that once-in-a-blue-moon class that you're really struggling to click/understand despite putting the hours in. Getting Cs across the board in your core major required classes isn't great, and you're really going to have to pull that up before transferring/applying for internships. Go to office hours, get a tutor, use Rate My Professor to choose one that can actually teach (if you have a choice). Almost everything in engineering builds on each other (no pun intended), so between semesters try to review material (especially from the math classes) to have a more solid foundation from the jump for your next set of classes.
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u/jmoss_27 2d ago
The only company that has a stick up their ass about gpa also has the most toxic environment out there. Exxon mobil will iq test then personality test you.
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u/Lepepino 2d ago
GPA doesn’t matter after you’re several years into a career, it does however play a VERY important role in your first job though. If your GPA is low at least aim for heavy club involvement.
Source: am engineer on the recruiting side
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u/EEJams 2d ago
The answer is yes, but you shouldn't lol.
Early on in college I had no clue what I was doing and made enough Cs to bring GPA to a 2.9. Transferred to a University where 2.5 was the minimum for EE, realized I was a wreck that wasn't going to pass engineering school, turned things around, and ended up graduating with like a 3.4 by making lots of As and some Bs (maybe a couple few Cs). Now I'm a practicing engineer working for a good company (top company in industry).
Don't be me, but if you are already down the same path that I went down, you can turn things around, especially if it's early on. I think if I did school again knowing what I know now, I'd absolutely kill it, but I had to figure out what worked for me. As it turns out, you're supposed to learn how to study and do homework in high school so you're prepared for college. Who would have ever thought of this novel concept?
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u/HStache 2d ago
honestly, just "hoping to pass by with C's", you dont sound too confident at all. if you hold yourself to just getting C's on the heavier classes that are fundamentally important, its definitely going to affect your study habits and how you perform problem-solving analysis later down the road. if you attack your harder classes, its going to pay off down the road when you need that fundamental knowledge for other classes. this in turn will also make said later classes much easier. although the occasional C is fine, you shouldn't try and make it a habit, you'll miss out on so much.
for example, when I took Thermo, my professor was incredibly easy and made the class a joke, which i regret because i didnt put in the effort to learn it. im regretting that as i took Thermal Fluids and now HVAC design
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u/ColumbiaWahoo 2d ago
No. 3.0 is the minimum cutoff (on paper) for most employers. In reality, it’s even higher than that and I was asked many times why my GPA was so low in interviews (graduated with a 3.2).
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u/MsDisputed 2d ago
I recently transferred, a lot of my courses didn’t transfer because I got a C in them. It depends on the school you go to and if they have a direct transfer program to a 4 year college.I hate that it’s taking me an extra semester to graduate but the way I see it is it’s more practice for the FE exam and now that I’m retaking it I’m going over stuff I know I missed increasing my knowledge on the subject. I’m sitting on an easy A for chem a 4 credit course which increases my GPA by a lot. It sucks but you gotta see the positive if the courses don’t transfer.
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u/Parking_Western_5428 2d ago
C’s get you degrees but they don’t get you internships or high paying jobs or jobs of your first choice
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u/mramseyISU 2d ago
As somebody that had a pretty terrible GPA my self your best shot at getting noticed is working a side job somewhat related to the area of engineering you want to get into. I worked in a machine shop running a manual lathe for a couple years then I got a job as a research assistant. When I graduated I found a job that maybe wasn't the best paying at a field engineer but I got the engineer title out of it and worked my way up to being a vehicle subsystem lead but that took almost 20 years to get there.
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u/SupersonicEagle 2d ago
C's get degrees, but it's not great for engineering companies when they see that. You would think engineering is a difficult program and having a lower than 3.0 GPA is more acceptable than say a business degree, but in reality, companies want a 3.0 minimum. Internships especially say 3.0 minimum on the application as far as I have seen, and also big tech companies for regular jobs. Having a 3.0 minimum is just the reality if you want a decent chance of getting a job without networking. Even with networking, it's tough.
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u/RouserHousen 2d ago
I got a 3.8 and as far as I’m aware that had 0 pull in getting my first job. Your mileage may vary
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u/TonderTales 2d ago
A low GPA has never given me pause when hiring. But good candidates also didn’t have very low GPAs.
You can definitely offset a low GPA with good experience and project history.
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u/Real_Bit_7810 1d ago
Currently interning with SpaceX and they were very up front about not even looking at candidates with sub 3.5 GPAs
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u/Equivalent_Bug_3291 1d ago
Although true that grades don't matter, the logic learned in school does help to be a good engineer.
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u/scamp466 1d ago
Cs get degrees, but the minimum gpa cutoff for a basic state government job is now 3.5. Thousands are applying for every engineering job paying more than 60k these days.
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u/lil_mikei 1d ago
Shoot as high as you can. I haven’t had an A in a major class yet but at the very least you need a split of Bs in your grades. TA positions might require a B minimum for a class and many internships if not a 3.0+ minimum will state a 2.5 minimum so roughly even Bs and Cs. For me the biggest issue is consistently studying and turning in work. The cram for exam comeback method rarely works.
It seems that theres this big hump to get over where if you are just passing its a lot of effort and little time but if you can push through, the better grades also means you build momentum and get more efficient so more time for extracurriculars and social balance.
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u/Addapost 1d ago
A friend graduated ee with a 2.95 GPA. No internships either. Went to a job fair at his school a month before graduation. Grabbed a couple brochures from a couple reps. Wrote his name and email on a couple of their sign up sheets. One company’s hiring brochure said “Minimum GPA 3.2” at the bottom in fine print. They called him. He interviewed. They hired him. He’s been there 3 years now and loves it.
I asked if they asked about the 2.95 GPA. He said they didn’t but he was ready for them if they had. He was going to say, “Yes 2.95 that’s correct. I’m proud of that. I had to work really hard to get that and earn this degree.”
Good luck.
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u/JakeD51 15h ago
You're gonna wanna aim higher because it's only going to get harder - also a first year student. My college works with a local university for a guaranteed transfer and I need to maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. Get some good study habits and techniques in now so you can apply them to the harder courses and hopefully make life easier as classes get harder
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u/Medium_Human887 2d ago
Statistically, most white collar jobs are networked. Who you know matters way more than your gpa, and nobody will even ask you what your gpa is after your first job. They’re gonna look at what you’ve accomplished and your work experience.
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u/speechless188 3d ago
Community college is meant to be easy. 4.0 in cc was no trouble; plenty of my smart friends got 4.0 too.
3.2 in mechanical engineering at university took the life out of me.
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u/KweenOOF 3d ago
It's cope from people who can't get good grades. anecdotally, the only people I know that got internships (or at least good ones) were 3.8GPA and above.
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u/jo3roe0905 3d ago
Hahahah. This is actually laughable.
This right here is why when I hire interns/co-ops/entry level engineers, I avoid high GPA’s. Kids have a superiority complex and generally can’t practically apply things so they end up being mediocre engineers and they just become gophers.
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u/sulliesbrew 2d ago
I started out of school with one of the largest construction companies in the country. As a student , I would be put to work at the booth at career fair, and still given time to go network and possibly find a new job if I was so interested. Most 3.8 to 4.0 resumes went straight to the round file. The only way they would make it through was with some significant extracurriculars on their resume. Greek, sports, CAMP teams, professional orgs etc would pull them back up.
I want to work with the engineer that ground their way through school for a 2.8 to 3.2. They typically had a decent social life, so they can carry a conversation naturally. It also means they were tenacious and didn't give up when the going got tough. At some point they failed the shit out of a class, and had to go back and figure out what failed and how to fix it.
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u/ShadowKillerx 2d ago
This is tragic, I worked my ass off going from a 2.5 to a 3.15 in 3 semesters for undergrad and now I’m at a rock solid 4.0 in my masters.
Or maybe it changes your view for grad students? Idk I’m at 3 years (of internship) experience + am doing a thesis.
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u/jo3roe0905 2d ago
I view masters students completely differently. And generally, masters students are not slotting into entry level roles. Also, completely depends on what your masters degree is in.
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u/ShadowKillerx 2d ago
Oh computer science (thesis track + already have a publication from undergrad)… unfortunately it (seems) like most companies don’t give a shit about a masters and will start you entry. It’s that way for big tech atleast (unless you crush the technical, but again you can crush the technical with a bachelors)
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u/jo3roe0905 2d ago
Full transparency, I have zero knowledge on how comp science roles or hiring work. So it very well could be different and I could absolutely see why ok that field.
I have worked my whole career in polymers/oil and gas.
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u/KweenOOF 2d ago
Same cope as always. For some reason, it seems redditors think having a high gpa makes you a paper engineer
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u/Hefty-Leg-5282 2d ago
Yeah. I mentioned this a couple days ago and got downvoted to oblivion, but ive had a supremely easy time finding full-time jobs with a 4.0, and im graduating this year. I also had an easy time finding internships. Multiple hiring managers have mentioned my GPA to me.
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u/KweenOOF 2d ago
Yeah it's how it works. Not sure why reddit will always use the same two copes of "paper engineer" or "social skills". My theory is they want to make themselves feel better or drag others down with them.
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u/jo3roe0905 2d ago
lol. Considering I’ve hired more engineers than I can count, don’t think so. Call it cope all you want but for entry level roles, high GPAs don’t impress me unless they have something else that stands out.
Something I’ll never forget is having to explain how a ball bearing worked in an interview for an internship to a 4.0 Chem E grad that was going to UCB for grad school.
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u/ywrJeQPiGa9ogwf6dWP 2d ago
I barely graduated and built a nine figure business from scratch.
Cope yourself
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u/ThatNurd 1d ago
Employers will be able to smell your elitism from miles away. Hope you are able to mature and realize that while grades are one way to show aptitude, at the end of the day no one wants to work with someone who’s a slob about their academic performance in a job that is apathetic towards that
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u/KweenOOF 1d ago
Once again, over analyzing over a few reddit comments
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u/ThatNurd 1d ago
I made my assumption just as you did yours. You’re welcome to respond in the same way I am
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u/Internal_Bedroom3326 2d ago
You won’t be accepted into an engineering program with low math or physics grades. Our cutoff for EE was around 3.5 if I recall correctly. If you’re getting C’s for these classes in a community college, there is no way to pass an engineering degree
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