So the University of Washington has three campuses: UW Seattle(main), UW Bothell, and UW Tacoma. I have gotten accepted as pre computer science in UW Bothell and I am waiting for acceptance into UW Seattle(it would be awesome if I got in! :)) I was recently told that the diploma always says, “University of Washington”, and that there is no distinction between which campus you attended. Then why are the other campuses getting a bad rep, meaning, why is it better to go to UW Seattle if the classes are smaller at UWB? Do you get better job offers if you attended UW Seattle??? Please answer. I am greatly confused.
It all simmers down to student life, opportunities (i.e. clubs, research, classes) and your intended major.
My sister recently graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma and explained to me that it was a great institution, yet it lacked that “authentic” college feel; both UWT and UWB are minuscule in size compared to UWS.
UWS also offers a wider number of majors and classes compared to both UWT and UWB.
My major, public health/global health, is not offered at UWT so going to UWS was a big deal for me.
UWS also offers many more programs focused on student success including world-class research, clubs, centers, etc. (Not saying that UWT/UWB students are any less capable).
At the end of the day, the campus you choose is determined by your major and living preference.
If your major is shared throughout the three campuses but you prefer a smaller more accessible campus, choose UWB.
If you prefer living in the city with a huge campus, choose UWS.
This statement is from personal experience/knowledge
It does indicate the campus–it says “Given at Seattle” for UW Seattle. It’s also signed by the college dean and the university chancellor, so it’s going to be different depending on the campus you graduate from.
Another difference is the listed year—“One Hundred and Fifty Fourth Year of the University” for UW Seattle 2014 and probably “Twenty Third Year of the University” for Bothell 2014.
There are many differences, but I don’t know how much each one of them is important to a person. Here is something that I’ve heard from people:
UWS in general has more competitive (and not necessarily smarter) people. Getting into UWS is harder than into other campuses. Hence, you have people who work harder (or maybe are just luckier?), so the bar is probably raised higher.
One of my professors (who also teaches in UWB) said to us that we were much more active when it came to participation and in general had better ideas than UWB students. Now, my professor said it to us, so please don’t even try to argue about it with me. I didn’t say that.
UWS probably has much better networking opportunities. And networking is quite important when it comes to finding a job, so it’s an important aspect to consider.
However, if you are looking for education, I don’t see why one campus is worse than another. All of them should provide you with good education. When it comes to CS, there’s probably even less difference which campus you go to because in the end you will end up with a job.
@seatac, Thank you so much for the information. This really does make sense now. I don’t know if I can get into UWS. Is CS transfer from UWB to UWS very hard? Although CC transfers are easy, I most probably won’t go to one because of family.
Transferring from ANY 4-Year institution, whether in state or out of state is not a good idea.
UWT and UWB are considered 4-Year institutions; therefore, it will be very difficult to transfer from one of the two institutions to UW Seattle.
Your best bet is to transfer from an in state CC if you are not admitted the first time around.
