Is DGS good way to explore majors in LAS / Gies? Is it mainly for instate students? Read few discouraging views about PREP.
DGS at UIUC appears to be where those admitted to the UIUC but not their first or second choice major are placed.
Students expecting to explore majors should be aware that admission to some majors is very difficult and competitive, so that they should have at least some non or less competitive majors that are acceptable to them. All majors in the business and engineering divisions, and all LAS majors with computer science, are among those “majors that require an application and do not guarantee admission”.
https://dgs.illinois.edu/major-selection/declaring-your-major
Here is some info on where DGS students transfer too, see visual at bottom of page: Admissions | Division of General Studies
UIUC assesses applicants for the first choice major and if not accepted, they move to second choice major (not all majors are available as second choice majors).
If an applicant wants DGS, they should choose it as either first or second choice major…students who aren’t accepted to either of their two choice majors are not routinely placed in DGS AFAIK…because that major has plenty of students selecting it as their first and second choices.
Prep is a pre-engineering program that I don’t know much about (but like any direct major, if you get in direct somewhere, take it over something like PREP). In-state students have preference for second choice majors, so if you are OOS and want DGS, you should make that your first choice major.
See these resources:
Thanks a lot