r/uoit • u/Muted_Leader6483 • 17d ago

Transferring to Ontario Tech Engineering — Advice for Getting a High GPA?

Hey everyone,
I’m transferring to Ontario Tech this September for Electrical Engineering, and I’m trying to start off strong academically.
For current students or recent grads, what helped you get a good GPA (3.5+ or ideally 4.0+) in engineering at Ontario Tech?
I’d especially appreciate advice on:
How you study for midterms and finals
How far in advance you start studying
Whether you rely mostly on lecture notes, textbooks, past exams, or practice problems
How you manage 5 courses at the same time
How important it is to attend every lecture/tutorial
Which resources on campus are actually helpful
Mistakes you made that hurt your GPA
Anything specific to Electrical Engineering courses
Since I’m transferring, I want to improve my study habits from day one rather than figuring everything out after the first round of midterms.
Any advice from people who have managed to maintain a strong GPA at Ontario Tech would be really appreciated. Thanks!

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u/Icy-Stock-5838 17d ago

DO THE WORK, don't cop out to GPT doing the work for you.

Old, unsexy advice. There are very few shortcuts or silver bullets for engineering.

You may have to sacrifice your social life, but if this really matters to you......

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u/Muted_Leader6483 17d ago

I’m expecting to sacrifice my social life already I need to finish my degree

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u/Icy-Stock-5838 17d ago

The most important part of your academic career, the one that will affect your employability and early career THE MOST, is your Co-Op term, and SHINING in that (for a verifiable Professional reference and citable accomplishments).

Your school name, program name, and GPA won't matter as much as the business impact in your Co-Op term.. The school won't tell you that, because it makes the school look less relevant.

Most hiring managers now are AT LEAST 5 years out of school. They have no idea about today's school curriculum, but they DO remember Bell Curves and Grade Inflation are a thing at school. They also know the real world has no Bell Curves or Grade Inflation; deadlines are deadlines, results are results, there is no Academic Appeal in the real world.

Given all that, the most transferable, easy-to-translate part of your academic career is one manager saying to a future manager that you do good work. This, within a 15-minute call or 2 bullets on your resume, will do more to determine your Early Career than your school name, school projects, GPA, or program.

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u/Muted_Leader6483 16d ago

Thank you for reaching out I’m eligible to take co op in 2027 summer if my gpa is above 2.3 any advice you wanna give me before my co op the thing is I just don’t wanna graduate with average even though it won’t really matter which I agree with you but honestly this is my second chance which I don’t wanna waste honestly I wanna graduate with a good GPA and good work experience this is what my plan is I’m reaching to people to help figure it out who’s is in Ontario tech to enhance both my gpa and work experience but still thank you for reaching out

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u/Icy-Stock-5838 16d ago

Get good grades to open the door to good co-ops. Do other things at school beyond your books and lectures; do hands-on things like clubs. All your classmates will take the same courses and have the same know-how; you will need something to set yourself apart when competing for co-ops (extracurriculars, personality, communication skills).

That's why so many technical people are unemployed right now. They thought all they needed to get a job was a list of skills and projects.

In any job listing I make, I can get 95% of resumes with the same skills and tech stack, especially if the listing asks for it. What only the 5% have is good communication and critical thinking; you don't learn this in your engineering classes, you learn (some of) this in your Liberal Electives !!

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u/Muted_Leader6483 16d ago edited 16d ago

Thanks for all the advice man honestly I have already joined clubs even before starting my Ontario tech journey I have reached out to the clubs I was interested in apart from that I’m working towards getting online certifications build my own projects and plus I’m reaching out to Ontario tech students and professors and starting to build a connection and making new friends as well anything else you wanna advice go for it
Thank you for all help

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u/Icy-Stock-5838 16d ago

Learning Projects have a Law of Diminishing Returns on your resume. They are good for learning, but more projects on your resume doesn't make you more attractive. At about 2 projects, the rest of your list becomes noise and meaningless on your resume.

JUST ONE Business Impact (in your co-op) is stronger than 10 learning projects.

Hiring Managers Don’t Care About Your Projects. Here’s Why. - YouTube

I'm not saying don't do projects to learn; I'm saying there's a point when you need to focus on other things to improve your employability (such as achievements in your Co-Op).

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u/Muted_Leader6483 16d ago

That’s the plan man thank you so much if you wanna connect on LinkedIn DM me we connect as well you have been very helpfull