I am an auto-admit to UT and have applied to Computer Science and was wondering my chances to be accepted to the major. I know it is harder to get accepted to Business and Engineering, but I am not sure how competitive Computer Science would be since it is in the College of Natural Sciences.
Basic:
*White male from Texas
*Computer Science Major
*GPA: 3.7/4.2 (UW/W)
*Rank: 8/440
*ACT: 31 (E 33 M 30 R 28 S 32) - Retaking September and October
EC’S:
*Cross Country - Varsity 4 years - State Championship
*Track - Varsity 2 years
*Texas Boys State
*Black belt in Tae Kwondo
*JROTC - 1 year
*Academic Decathlon - 2 years
*Distinguished Achievement Program
*Texas Scholar Program
*Volunteered in the Houston flood relief for a month ~300 hours
Awards:
*National Honor Society
*AP Scholar
Work:
*Worked at golf course - 8 weeks and 30 hours a week
Essays:
*Won Patriots Penn Essay competition ($250 prize) so should be decent - not sure what to write about yet
I am in a gap year right now, volunteered and worked so far. Probably going to try to improve ACT. Once I finish apps I am going to backpack Europe (not using in application, doing it for experience). Responses appreciated
The computer science program at UT is a top program and is very competitive. I think your grades, scores and EC’s are solid. The lack of calculus is worrisome but if your school was not one of the large ones that offered Calc. B and BC then they may not hold it against you. I do think the math subscore will help if it is a little higher. Are there any other majors you are interested in? I know a student who is majoring in engineering and wanted to minor in CS but there are no classes they will let him take because they have so many students to accommodate. If you are set on CS then it may be difficult to get into the program if they do not allow you in right off the bat. (the student I am referring to was valedictorian with crazy good scores and has done great at UT and they still will not let him sign up for CS classes)
@woodlandsmom The only major I would be interested in at UT other than CS would be petroleum engineering (which is more difficult to get into than CS). If I can’t major in either of those then I probably would not be interested in going to UT.
Woodlandsmom asked some questions you did not answer. Did your school offer calculus and you chose not to take it or was it not offered? What is your ACT math score? Not taking calculus if it was offered could be a small problem if it makes it look like you did not challenge yourself, but you ranked very high so maybe it was not offered?
Why are you taking a gap year? I assume it is not financially related since you are going to Europe, but UT does give extra consideration for low socioeconomic status so I am asking.
Have you done any ECs related to computer science? Any work in the computer field? Definitely not required but helpful so that is why I ask.
I would say CS is as competitive as business and engineering from what I saw in last year’s results threads.
@gettingschooled Thanks for reply. The school did offer Calculus but because I did not take it since I was a year behind on my math courses. My ACT math is 30. I am taking a gap year because I did not apply to good colleges last year because I did not realize I would have the ACT, GPA, rank, and other things that put in the running for a good college. I do not qualify as low socioeconomic status. I have not done any EC’s related to Computer Science because they were not offered. I have, however, created multiple bots and programs though. I have not done any work in the computer field. What would you say my chance of getting admitted to UT CS would be? already submitted app.
I don’t really “chance” people. I just point out what data I can find that sheds light on a situation. I think your 30 in math which is a great score could be a little low for CS. Too low to get you in? I don’t know. you get extra points for going above and beyond the required curriculum so you might miss some for calculus but it may be offset by other classes that were above and beyond.
A lot of times, people who got in last year will chime in. One thing to look at is last year’s results threads. You can also go back to threads last November - February and read people’s stats etc and look at their posting history to see whether they got in or not.
@txstella YES. 100%. AS LONG as you did not take ANY college classes during it. There is a question on the app that says “Have you been enrolled in a college in that last 12 months?” I also called and they told me this. So yes, I am.
You have pinpointed your weakness in the application yourself which is the slightly low Math ACT score. You are smart to retest. Study the types of problems you tend to miss and you should raise your score. I would think you have a good shot at Comp Sci. Admissions into UT is nerve wracking.
@txstella Yeah, took ACT yesterday and again in October. And it is, but the funny part is once you get there you have to deal with barely being able to get classes and hard classes which is why I am looking into private schools… To be honest I believe your son should have little trouble getting into ivies or other elites. He would no doubt get into an ivy if he applied to them all in my opinion.
@cappex, for last year (Fall 2015 admission) the biggest batch of decision was Feb 19, around 1pm. There were a few decisions that came earlier, around Dec timeframe.
Prerequisites
Some of the university’s undergraduate colleges and schools have prerequisites or suggested preparatory coursework.
College of Natural Sciences
Freshmen
Freshman applicants considering a major in the College of Natural Sciences should take at least a beginning calculus (not pre-calculus) course during high school.
To be considered for admission to Environmental Science (Biological Sciences), you must meet the university’s calculus readiness requirement.
