Mechanical Engineering Major Application

Last week I’d heard back from my major application, and I got into Environmental Engineering. I have every intention to reapply to try for mechanical (my 1st choice) again later, but does anyone have any information on how competitive it is? The advisors I’ve spoken to since weren’t able/willing to give me a solid number or even a range to be competitive for applying to ME, so I don’t really have any point of reference or goal to shoot for the next time I apply. The only advice I got from them was that my current 2.91 was low, and I should consider grade forgiveness for a few courses. I was already aware that my current GPA was low, but I was really confident in the essays I submitted. I guess that didn’t work for the department, though. So the questions I have now are: 1) Does anyone know if there’s a GPA range/threshold for getting into ME? I know they’ve switched into the “comprehensive” application, but is there any general range? 2) Is it possible that there are specific courses that would be considered more important to get a good grade in? ie. if they saw my C in linear algebra, it wouldn’t look good for me?