College of Engineering vs. LSA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

Hello,
My son will be applying for admission this year. He is interested in computer science. Does he need to specify engineering vs LSA? I apologize if this is a question that has been asked already, but is it easier to get into LSA? Thank you.

2

Yes, and yes. Your S can either apply to LSA or CoE for CS. There’s small difference in curriculum, but you can obtain a CS degree either through LSA or CoE. CoE will be a bit more difficult to gain acceptance than LSA, since there are fewer spots available in the CoE (4,200-ish vs. 1,200-ish):

http://www.eecs.umich.edu/eecs/undergraduate/cs_lsa_vs_engr.html

3

So they are virtually the same stats to get into Lsa vs engineering at Michigan these days. It’s almost a wash. Lsa is 3.9 GPA with 32-35 Act and engineering is 3.93 GPA with a 34 Act avg. So yes, an Lsa student at Michigan can be accepted just about anywhere for engineering including Michigan, stat wise.
It’s easy to cross campus transfer from Lsa into Engineering https://www.engin.umich.edu/admissions/undergrad/cross-campus-students/

But if you want engineering then just apply there. Also talk to your high school counselor and look at Naviance to see if going one way vs the other makes a difference. At my son’s school it did.

4

My post is probably coming too late to be if use to you.

But, for future UM applicants in your position, here is my Class of 2023 daughter’s experience:

Her SAT was low, so she applied to LSA. She then applied for a cross-college transfer to engineering in September of her sophomore year. The deadline was Nov 1, and she heard in mid-November that her application was accepted. She applied with Calc 1, Calc 2, Orgo (she took the AP credit in Chem), Physics 1, and the required Comp Sci course. Her other courses were standard distribution requirements. She had all A’s except for an A- in the required writing course and a B in Physics, which she had not taken in high school.

Please consider this data, rather than information! We have no idea whether she cleared the admissions hurdle by a lot or a little.