Please help me find schools where I could try for direct admission to my major-- Computer Science. So far, I have found two colleges which will admit to the major-- University Of Washington and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne. I am a CA resident.
As CS is an impacted major in many colleges, it will be such a relief to be sure of acceptance to my major.
Thanks in advance.
Some colleges don’t limit the number is a major, especially private schools. Example: Harvey Mudd. Can you provide more info? Stats, financial situation, geographic & size preference.
Both Washington and UIUC may admit students to the school, but not the CS major. If that happens to you, and you enroll, you will have to face a highly competitive secondary admission process to enter the major. Direct admission to the CS major at either school should generally be considered a reach for everyone. Do not use the general admission stats to assess reach/match/safety for direct admission to the CS major at these schools.
According to http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/freshman-admission-matrix.pdf , all UCs except UCSC may give direct admission to the CS major (for UCB, this only applies to EECS; direct admission to L&S CS is not possible). CSUs also admit by major.
Examples of students applying to UIUC CS who did not get into the major (one rejected entirely, one admitted to the school but not the CS major):
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1858820-rejected-from-my-low-match-saftey-wondering-whether-it-is-time-to-throw-in-the-towel-p1.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1858898-over-qualified-but-rejected-from-desired-major-at-university-of-illinois.html
intparent; here goes… I am a junior in a highly competitive HS in the SF Bay Area. I am a girl, 4.2 weighted GPA, ACT 35 (first attempt, without prep course). Unweighted GPA 3.8. SAT Math 2-800. By the time I graduate, will have 10 AP’s, including Calculus BC. Lots of strong, unusual EC’s and awards.Also received a Presidential Service Award for 400 plus hours of community service. Started an organization which has had a very positive impact on my town and will continue after I go away to college.
Received 1480 out of 1520 with the new PSAT (223). I think I might qualify for National Merit.
Not looking for financial aid. Open to going to school anywhere in the US as long as I am admitted directly to my major. No hooks.
You should consider schools which do not have direct admission to the CS major, but where declaring the CS major is open (i.e. required grades no higher than C, required GPA no higher than 2.0), or where the GPA threshold is low enough that you probably will want to do a different major if you get a lower GPA.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19262574/#Comment_19262574 is a list of secondary admission requirements (obviously does not include every possible school). You may want to add the schools where the CS major is open to declare (of course, there could be many others not listed here). Many of the others do have direct admission to the CS major, although many of these may also admit to the school but not the major if the applicant does not make the cut for direct admission to the CS major.