<p>I think I applied to the College of Engineering as a CS major, but I ended up with a pre-science major at the College of Arts and Science? Does this mean I'm still doing computer science, but from the College of Arts and Science? What's the difference? Is the College of Arts and Sciences less prestigious? Will this affect job placement later? And am I supposed to be a pre-science major or pre-computer science major at the Colelge of Arts and Science, or do I get to choose after two years? If after two years I do well, can I switch to College of Engineering? I'm confused!</p>
<p>Also, how "hard" is UW? What's the average undergrad gpa? Do lots of students fail or drop out? What's the courseload like?</p>
<p>Did you want to study computer science or computer engineering?</p>
<p>UW CSE has two undergraduate programs:[ul]
[<em>] a Computer Science degree program in the College of Arts and Sciences graduating approximately 80 students per year, and
[</em>] an ABET-accredited Computer Engineering degree program in the College of Engineering graduating approximately 80 students per year.[/ul]</p>
<p>Computer science. Is it less prestigious or valuable? Isn't the College of Arts and Science "easy" to get into or is it the comptuer science program in that College specifically selective?</p>
<p>And am I supposed to be a pre-science major or pre-computer science major at the Colelge of Arts and Science, or do I get to choose after two years? Also, how "hard" is UW? What's the average undergrad gpa? Do lots of students fail or drop out? What's the courseload like?</p>
<p>You need to stop worrying about prestige and value, and you need to ask yourself what you really want to do.</p>
<p>I don't even go to UW, and I barely know anything about the school--but I was able to figure out information about the two ugrad programs, where they were offered, the pre-requirements, and whatever else -- by browsing the CSE site. I think you should take a look at the CSE</a> site and figure out what you MIGHT want to do.</p>
<p>You are a freshmen, you DO have time to actually figure out what you want to do... who knows--you may go to UW and find out you like political science or accounting--because it is obvious you don't really know what you want.</p>
<p>Stop worrying about "easy" - "prestige" - "hard" - "value" -- it is only going to mess with your mind. Something you should realize is that a program that IS prestigious and IS valuable--should NOT be easy, and will most-likely be challenging. Make sense?</p>
<p>As for as the rigor at UW... you may be able to find the answer to that by searching the UW forum, or by starting a new thread... the title of this one doesn't really ask that type of info.</p>
<p>One thing is for certain, you should not be basing a decision like: the rest of your life--from a single thread on a website. I know, I know... you never said you were... but still, it seems like you are looking for answers to some pretty big questions. I think you should try out the school and see what it is like. Being pre-science or pre-engineering is exactly that: pre. Yes, computer science, is a science so there is no need to worry about being pre-science and not "pre-computer-science." If you are set on either CS or CE, take a look at their pre-requirements and be sure to take the classes that cover both options: <a href="http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/ugrad/forms/programapply.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/ugrad/forms/programapply.html</a></p>
<p>Even though you declared computer science as your major, you will still need to complete the prerequisites to the department before you can get admitted to the CS department... wait, make that: before you can even apply to the department. And no, there is no such thing as "pre computer science major". There is, however, 'pre-engineering' major for those not yet in the departments but have declared any of the engineering as their majors. </p>
<p>As far courseload goes, well... what do you expect? I would assume that Computer Science will have about the same amount of workload with, if not moreso than, any engineering majors. Expect the workload to kick the crap out of you... real hard. I'm an AA major myself at the UW, and I'd consider it a good week when I have an average of about 6.5 hours of sleep a day (after including weekend).</p>