Applying to college with low major ranking

[Test_Account]

Hi everyone, is it easier to apply to colleges with a low major ranking but a high school ranking than a school with a high major ranking but a low school ranking? For example, is it easier to get into UPenn CS than UC Berkeley CS? Does it work that way?

[MWolf]

First, ignore rankings for the most part. They are more or less useless, for reasons that have been discussed here ad nauseum.

Second, many smaller private colleges do not accept by major, so it doesn’t matter to what you apply at UPenn. At large public or private universities, where you often apply directly to major, admission rates to popular majors can be far lower than the ones advertised for the college.

So acceptance rates to UIUC are around 56%, but to CS at UIUC they are in the single digits.

As a rule, admission rates to public universities are higher than to private universities with similar or even lower USNews rankings. So USNews ranks UIUC higher than Northeastern but, as I wrote, acceptance rate to UIUC is 56% while to NEU it’s 18%.

Admissions rates are determined by the number of applicants, and these are determined by popularity and perceived prestige. As a rule, private universities are more expensive, resulting in them being more exclusive, and and because of this are perceived as being more prestigious, at least by people who equate exclusivity with prestige, no matter how that exclusivity is achieved.

CS is a very popular major, so at any college which has direct admissions to CS, admission rates to to CS will be lower than to less popular colleges or programs.

So the only general rule is that admissions to popular programs is difficult everywhere and applying to a college for which the admission rates are higher is usually not helpful.

Also, why would you want to apply to a college with low acceptance rates if they’re not that good at your major?

[thumper1]

@Test_Account

is it easier to get into UPenn CS than UC Berkeley CS?

The acceptance rates at both of these colleges is VERY low. It’s not easier to get accepted to one over the other. They are both hard admits.

ETA…you are an international student. Acceptance rates at these schools for international students is in the single digits.

Also, your other thread says you are a junior at a top private school here. These schools usually have excellent college counselors. I would strongly suggest you speak to them as you craft your college application possibilities.