[BaldElephant]

surftheiop, My thoughts are:

1) Engineering school gets harder with each year, but you will get better at studying and the average grade will go up with each year.

2) It sounds to me (based on one post you made above) that you didn't learn how to study effectively in High School. I had this same problem. My marks in first year engineering were actually below average. But, after about a year or so, I "figured out" how to study effectively and my marks went up DRAMATICALLY. I graduated with distinction. If this is your problem, you will just need to work harder and learn smarter. There's no easy way, it's a lot of work.

3) Marks don't matter much towards getting a job beyond a certain point. Yes, you will want to graduate with probably a 3.0 or above, but that should not be a problem for you. As I mentioned, grades go up with each year of study. However, if you were considering grad school in engineering (MSc/PhD) , you will need at least a 3.2 and preferably much higher than that. For an MBA, you won't need super high marks if you have enough work experience, but you would definitely want > 3.0.

4) I also don't believe that your friends have it easier now than they did in High School. If what they said was true (which it isn't) then they won't be learning much and will could be ineffective engineers in the future.

5) I would stick with the name brand of Cornell if you can. I don't believe that Clemson would be that much tougher. The bell curve at Cornell might be slightly tougher on you, but make no mistake, there will be plenty of smart engineers at Clemson too.