can i still get into a top 10 engineering school?

[Char123]

I'm only an incoming sophomore at a 60-70th ranked Mechanical engineering university. I didn't do too well my freshman year with only a 3.45 gpa. My goal is to have a 3.8 by the time I graduate. I didn't do any research my freshman year and only volunteered for habitat for humanity. I will start doing research this year and in the summer. Do prestigious engineering universities only except prestigious students for their summer research opportunities? The summer after my junior year I think I'll try to get an internship instead of research because I have to take some summer courses. Do internships hire full time/ part time? What's more beneficial on an application: research or internships? I'm confident with my quantitative gre score. I'll join a few clubs and continue to volunteer. By the time I graduate I think i'll have 3 years of research experience w/ 1 summer research experience and a summer internship. Are my chances good?

[HassE]

Your fine and still young. if you can complete all that you've said, your odds of a top-10 engineering school is still high. Remember, a 3.45 freshman year is darn good for an engineering student. Don't downplay that.

As a professor once told me, for graduate school there's two different categories. a 3.0-3.49 is one category. and a 3.5 to 3.9 is a second category. A 4.0 is still in the second category, but obviously sticks out much more, but is pretty rare anyways in engineering.

Just focus one step at a time. The semester's get much harder, trust me.

[Char123]

Your fine and still young. if you can complete all that you've said, your odds of a top-10 engineering school is still high. Remember, a 3.45 freshman year is darn good for an engineering student. Don't downplay that.

As a professor once told me, for graduate school there's two different categories. a 3.0-3.49 is one category. and a 3.5 to 3.9 is a second category. A 4.0 is still in the second category, but obviously sticks out much more, but is pretty rare anyways in engineering.

Just focus one step at a time. The semester's get much harder, trust me.

a 3.45 for me is like failing because I know I could've gotten a 4.0, which could have potentially relieved some stress for later semesters and allowed some B's in harder topics. I was just too lazy and procrastinated on everything. They were classes where I could've easily, well not easily, but definitely could've gotten A's.

[HassE]

Well welcome to college then my friend. During the road of college your going to have to learn a lot outside of the books, like time management and how to overcome the stress factor, along many other emotions and entities you might come across.

Don't worry to much about it, there's nothing you can do now. Just take it one step at a time. Remember, you still have 3 years to go which will easily average that 3.45 out into possibly something else.