Hello,
I am a current UMass Amherst Freshman in the Commonwealth Honors College. I am a computer science major, arguably the most competitive major on campus. Ask me anything about the admissions process or the college and I’ll try the best to answer1
What major would you say are most likely to be accepted?
Would someone with a 3.0 unweighted and 1320 SAT likely be rejected?
I applied EA for nursing with a 3.9 UW GPA, 1490 SAT, good essay, plenty of ECs, and 5 AP classes. I’m also OOS. I don’t think I’ll have a problem getting accepted to the University, but I know nursing is one of the 4 very competitive majors… Do you think my stats are good enough to be accepted for nursing and CWHC? I’ve heard that CWHC people get accepted first, and that the 4 competitive majors get accepted last. Is this true? I’m hoping to hear back in a few days, but I’ve heard the admissions process gets dragged out far too long…
Hey, I’m a sophomore here! And CS isn’t the most competitive, it’s probably the 3rd most. Both nursing and Isenberg have a lower acceptance rate than the CS major.
@Elif10 Well, applying undecided would probably be your best bet if you got low stats. I mean, I got into isenberg with a 3.4 UW, but my SATs were a decent bit higher than yours, plus I had like 10 APs and a decent amount of ECs under my belt by the time I graduated. In the end, it’s a tossup for you likely.
@ygo432 Nursing isn’t one of the 4 most competitive, it is the most competitive. If I remember correctly, it has an acceptance rate of below 20%. To be completely honest, your stats seem way above and beyond what would be considered standard for UMass (not sure how you’d stack up to just the nursing school however). I’d say you have a really good chance of getting into both. Have you considered applying to higher ranked schools though?
@BladeHunter Thanks for the confidence boost! According to the website, the nursing school has a 12% acceptance rate. I’d love to go to a highly ranked school, but unfortunately, very few schools offer nursing. It’s mostly just big state universities. There are certainly some exceptions, like Columbia, Georgetown, Duke, etc., but they’re all far from my home or in big cities, and my parents won’t allow it 
I got accepted today with the same sat score but higher gpa
Hi @saiskee! My son is hoping to hear from UMass CS soon. What other CS programs were you accepted to, and why did you choose UMass? What do you think are some pros/cons vs the other CS programs you considered? Thanks!
@Mass99 My cousin last year got CS decisions on January 14th! I think they release decisions by major and CS is the last batch to go. So sit tight and best wishes to your son!
I wasn’t accepted as: “undecided - computer science track”.
Does this mean I wasn’t directly accepted to the CS major? If so, how hard is it to get into the CS major after first year?
Hi @saiskee ! I was recently accepted into CS @ UMass Amherst. I have some questions for you:
- What’s the support like for CS courses from professors/TAs? I don’t have a lot of coding experience, so will there be a lot of support or should I expect to figure things out on my own/from fellow students only?
- Based on what you have seen on campus so far, is it easy for students to get internships in CS? How about studying abroad?
Thanks so much!
What are some of your favorite/least favorite things about the university? Also, I’m OOS and probably won’t get the chance to visit, so what is the town of Amherst like? I know you’re in another major but if you have any knowledge about the Sports Management program I would appreciate it (I was accepted into Isenberg). Thank you 
Hey @saiskee so I unfortunatly don’t have the best test scores I got a 1020 on my SAT and a 20 on my ACT (I’m not the best test taker) however, I do believe that I have strong EC’s I also took summer internships for my major and have also talked to alumni. My essays were pretty good however my GPA and rank is average at a 3.2 out of a 4.0 and I’m top 19% of my class at a competitive school. I applied EA OOS as a Public Health major but havn’t really heard back from them and I just wanted your opinion on if I should be worried. If it helps at all I know UMass is very well diverse university and well I’m hispanic. Thanks fpr your time and hope to hear back from you soon.
Hi I have twins who are seniors in a competitive high school ACT is 34 w/ CS major and 33 w/ business major. Lots of AP classes weighted GPA 104.51 and the other 102. They applied to NEU as well as some schools in Texas (SMU and TCU and Rice). They are interested in getting into the honors college. Sounds like the selection process doesn’t have a consisten formula? What made you chose UMass Amherst? I am also interested in the employment rate after graduation. My oldest son graduated in business from SMU and was hired by one of the top 3 accounting firms (selected as a sophomore) and now is in a graduate program, and they are paying for his CPA studeies and will employ him after that. Their network is amazing and I wonder about UMass Amherst - what can you tell me? Also are class sizes for entry CS classes as big as 500 plus kids?
@Elif10 to answer your question (What major would you say are most likely to be accepted?)…
Based on last fall’s enrollment report, the following schools at Umass Amherst have the highest acceptance rates:
- College of Social and Behavioral Sciences: 64.7% acceptance rate
- College of Humanities and Fine Arts: 64.0% acceptance rate
I would think that choosing a major from either of these colleges would be more likely yield an acceptance.
Hi! Do you know anything about the architecture program and its selectiveness?