Applying CS vs Undecided

My son has a 4.0 GPA, 1450 SAT (only took it once). He has taken about 9 AP classes including AP computer science. He is not in advanced math or science but will take AP Bio next year. but thinking about taking pre-calc over the summer and calculus in senior year. He is in Robotics Club since freshman year, a CAD leader and was chosen to go to the competition for his Robotics team. He has done 2 summer internships and is volunteering now with a robotics company. He is on DECA and was on JV soccer before COVID.

He is considering ED1 for Khoury school of CS but I am not sure if he can get in. Would he be better off applying as an undecided major to increase his chances of getting in?

Thanks!

i personally don’t like the backdoor. If you want a major, I would apply for the major.

If they don’t want you, let them tell you - and if they deem you’re worthy of the school, many will offer you an alternate path.

That said, if you want to apply undecided and try and transfer in, here’s the requirements. I would check with them to ensure they are not minimums and that if you meet what is listed, you 100% will get in.

But me, I’d apply CS. There’s a zillion great schools to attend and if my student wanted to study CS, I would ensure he applied for what he wanted to do. If the school said no to your admission, then that’s their loss.

In other words, I would stop kissing a school’s a$$ - and rather love the school that kisses my students a$$.

Good luck.

Academic Procedures - Khoury College of Computer Sciences (northeastern.edu)

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I agree students should attend where they can get into CS, as it can be difficult to transfer into CS at some schools…make sure to understand the requirements, and then figure out if you meet the requirements is a transfer guaranteed, or still competitive?

Some schools, like UIUC, do not allow any internal CS transfers (can transfer from a CC with articulation agreements).

I strongly recommend your S take calculus next year to be a more competitive applicant. I heard an admissions director from UIUC last night say calculus and physics are musts for CS students and that they (profs) don’t really care if the student has taken CS classes.

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Thanks for the input!

Usually applying undecided is a poor strategy but I don’t know the specifics at NEU. Some of the issues can be not getting into the required CS courses as an undecided student, not meeting GPA thresholds, or just having the major closed entirely because of over enrollment.

Hopefully some of the NEU experts will weigh in.

Applying ED to Northeastern is a good strategy and your son’s courses and activities support his pitch as a CS major. No one can tell you the marginal difference in admissions chances between applying undecided or CS, though I think we can assume there’s a lot of contention for CS seats at Northeastern.

If he should apply undecided, I’d have to assume that an AO looking at your son’s file would have reason to question his motivation for going that route, however. AO’s have seen that back door strategy employed before.

Holistic admissions is all about applicants demonstrating who they are, what they’ll contribute to the academic community, and the difference they hope to make in the world. Your son will be on his back foot in the process if he is throttling back on his passion for robotics and CS as he makes his case for admission. He should be true to himself and ardent about his passions. That’s what turns an AO into an advocate for an applicant in the committee room.

So he should go for it. If Northeastern accepts him for who he is and what he’s passionate about, great! If not, be sure to have a balanced list of schools where he can thrive in pursuit of his interests.

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What would you do if he gets into Northeastern undecided and then is not accepted into CS down the road after he’s already there?

Best to find out now and move on if he doesn’t get in. Frankly he looks like a strong candidate.

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At northeastern, you can list a major but you are not really admitted based on major. NU has a great undecided program called Explore and they have great advisors and challenge students to try different classes while still focusing in on areas of interest. It is very easy to change majors at northeastern and is encouraged and expected within the school. Many even change majors after admission but before attending.
https://undergraduate.northeastern.edu/explore/

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changing majors is not a big deal at northeastern. Unless you change late in your course of studies, and need a lot of pre-recs, it is easy to change and they will work with you to change course. They don’t really have “impacted” majors like other schools. The only schools that I think you apply directly to might be nursing, PT, and Pharmacology.

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Changing into CS at Northeastern is described here:
https://www.khoury.northeastern.edu/information-for-overview/current-undergrad/undergraduate-advising-academic-support/academic-procedures/

It is not clear whether those give automatic admission, or if admission is competitive for those meeting those minimum requirements. Probably best to ask directly.

If it is automatic admission for those requirements (which are not that high), it is likely that there is little or no difference in frosh admission for CS versus other majors. If it is competitive admission, then there is more likely to be a difference, in which case the risk of not getting into CS after enrolling in some other major or undeclared is higher.