<p>My son was accepted into computer engineering, whereas computer science was his first choice. This doesn't make sense to me as it seems like the engineering would be the more rigorous program. Does anyone know how difficult it is to transfer later on?</p>
<p>Hey!
First of all, this is exactly what happened to me when I applied (filled out CS, got into Computer Engineering), and I was planning on transferring, but first semester just convinced me that I would want to stay in Computer Engineering. A lot of the things we learn over lap with CS, after all, CE is a hybrid between EE and CS. The main difference is probably between the actual execution of what we learned. For example-CS students use a emulator to run a theoretical circuit, while CE would most likely have to use the same theory, and build the actual circuit. So it depends on your sons’ interest.</p>
<p>According to my CS roommate, recent years, the CS classes have been large, and all the classes has been short on room. So maybe that’s the reason for the transfer.
So, congratulations on your sons’ acceptance, I apologize for not being able to give detailed statistics on the transfer rates (my roommate has no idea either; I would assume transfers inside the college of Engineering shouldn’t be too hard, but it seems like the CS department is really crowded), good luck on the rest of his college decisions.</p>
<p>These things go in cycles. Right now your somewhat impacted engineering majors are aerospace, civil, mechanical and CS, meaning that in the last few years or so they have seen not just a rise in number of applicants but, more important, an unexpected rise in the percentage of those admitted to those majors who actually accept with the result that those majors are now somewhat overcrowded and to correct that they have started offering admission to a lower number of applicants (even that is slowly done over a few years). It also means that transfer to CS once you are there has also become more difficult because they already have more upperclassmen in those majors than they believe sustainable with the effect that fewer openings become available to transfer into. CE is not in that situation right now (at different times in the past it has been at the top of the leader board in that cycle). Thus, in making the decision you may assume he will have a decent chance of transferring to the CS major if grades are high but it is by no means a certainty. I otherwise agree with your assessment that the CE major is somewhat more rigorous (although both require large amounts of out of class time) and with CarrotRoll’s assessment that the CE major is a really good one that also provides a significant CS background…</p>
<p>Wow. thank you both. That is the kind of information I was seeking. </p>
<p>CarrotRoll, it is helpful to hear about your personal experience. My son has some interest in CE, but programming seems to be more his thing. The coursework in CE looks so intense to me that it gave me pause. The problem is that we will be paying full freight out of state. Consequently, it is not a risk I would have wanted to take- ie hoping that he could transfer later. (The back story here is that admission to CS at our flagship is so competitive that many kids never get in-even with a great GPA. That’s why we are seeking oos options.)</p>
<p>drusba, thank you for your take on this. We are happy that my son got into such a great school, but, like you say, we know that transferring later is not a certainty…</p>
<p>After my son gets his actual admission packet, we will contact the school to try to get a better feel for the internal transfer prospects. </p>
<p>Thanks for your input! Oh, one more question:
Do you think it would be hard to transfer out of engineering into liberal arts and sciences for the math and computer sci degree? I was thinking that might be less competitive to get into than the degrees in the engineering school.</p>