DS17 is in state. However he knows that the odds of getting into GT are slim. His stats are:
ACT 35
GPA Unweighted 3.91 Weighted 4.19 (B’s were in French…)
AP World 5
AP Stat 5
AP Lang 5
AP Physics 1 5
APUSH 5
Senior schedule
AP Calc BC
AP Physics C
AP Govt/Econ
AP Computer Principles ( Due to scheduling unable to get AP CS.)
English
Band
Legacy.
Has normal EC’s with leadership in marching band but he hasn’t done anything super special.
While he has been coding and building things for years on his own he is unsure whether to major in CS or Computer Engineering. Is there any disadvantage to applying as undecided or should he apply for CS or Computer Engineering?
He is planning on applying EA.
There was a post about this on reddit r/gatech recently, search by “computer engineering” to see recent student insight.
Edit: corrected subreddit
I don’t think your son’s odds are slim. Tech is very competitive now, even for in-state students, but with his academic profile and with some leadership in his ECs, he stands a strong chance if he can write respectable essays.
Your son should apply for the major he is most interested. If he truly does not know, he can apply as for undecided engineering, but there is no overall undecided option outside of engineering. All Tech students get one free major change after the drop day of their first semester, so if he changes his mind later, Tech will allow the change. For some applicants, the major they select is an integral part of the story they are telling with their application. If this is the case for your son, he would be better served by picking and selling the choice, but if his application is not particularly focused on major, then I don;t see any harm in applying as undecided engineering.
It does not appear as though undecided is an option on the common application for GT this year unless my child missed something.
GT’s policy on changing major after enrolling is shown at http://admission.gatech.edu/change-major .