I have 2 questions:
- Does the choice of major and/or program affect admission difficulty at the University of Minnesota?
- If so, what are the admission rates and test scores needed for Engineering?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
To a large measure, yes, because many specific majors (such as any Engineering) are often only offered by 1 college. Each college has their own criteria.
I don’t have admission rates for CSE (the college that oversees all the Engineering majors), and admissions are ‘holistic’- meaning there aren’t set test scores that will guarantee admission. But for a good idea of expectations, you can look at the profile of admissions for last year: http://www.admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/profile.html
- Not necessarily. On your application you will most likely put an intended engineering/science major, but you won't be taking classes within that major until sophomore year. Freshman year you will be taking classes such as chemistry, physics, and calculus along with everyone else in CSE. The school wants you to explore different majors and make sure you know what you really want to study which is why you have to take a required class called CSE First Year Experience.
- I had orientation a few weeks ago, and one of the presentations at an engineering meeting said 13,344 people applied to CSE for fall 2015 and 1,080 were accepted. That's an 8.1% admission rate, so having high test scores and a good GPA is pretty important.
Just to qualify @hwdl1497 's comment on #1- If your primary and secondary major options are both in the College of Science and Engineering, then no, which major you pick isn’t likely to affect your chances.
But if you had a secondary major that was offered by another college (for example, History, which is taught out of CLA)- then yes. It’s easier to get into CLA than into CSE, so the choice of major can make a difference.
FWIW- if your numbers aren’t the best for CSE, but you like Minnesota, you can make this work for you. Once you’re a student at Minnesota, it’s not difficult to switch colleges and majors, provided your grades while a student are solid.
Thanks for the replies!
@hwdl1497 , does that mean that Freshman can’t be admitted into the major? For an example, if a student has almost all freshman class requirements fulfilled through AP credits and such, can they look to graduate in 3 years instead of 4?
That’s a pretty ominously low acceptance rate - thanks for the info!
@khidhala , my test scores are well above their admission average, so hopefully that’s a good sign. Does being an out of state applicant put me at any disadvantage compared to in state applicants?
Thanks!
To my knowledge… (and I have none being anecdotal), IS vs OOS is not that big of a factor. If your numbers are good, you should be good- we love out of staters.
Also… don’t read too much into the admission numbers. I could be wrong, but they often don’t take into account the students who were accepted, but who’ve chosen to go elsewhere.
@khidhala I think you’re right about them not taking into account everyone who is accepted. I’m pretty sure 1,080 students are actually coming to CSE, so i’m not sure about an actual acceptance rate.
@wynlyfe I’m not completely sure, but I still think you have to apply to your major sophomore year. With more AP credits you wouldn’t be taking, for example, Chem I, Calc I, or Phys I, so you could start taking the upper level courses right away. You’ll have to ask an admissions counselor, but I think it would be possible to graduate sooner with those credits.
wynlyfe - here is an example of what may be needed prior to being accepted into your major. But ALWAYS double check with your advisor. My son was EE and he also needed some Chem courses that do not show on this list. http://www.advising.cse.umn.edu/cgi-bin/courses/noauth/ud-requirements