<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm definitely on the lower side of the applicants for Carnegie Mellon, and I'm pretty sure I won't make it in for my 1st preference major - computer science.</p>
<p>However, I've heard that I can apply as a different major and then double major in that major as well as computer science, no permission required. This will give me a much higher chance of acceptance as well. Can anybody provide some insight into this?</p>
<p>I wouldn't mind majoring in Business and Computer Science (BS).</p>
<p>I was in the same boat as you. I got accepted as an Information Systems student, and am currently a sophomore. I can officially declare my double major at the end of this semester. According to my advisor, there is no application process for cs as an additional major, and I only need to finish 15-122, 15-150, 21-127, and be halfway through any 15-2xx course before I add it as an additional major. It took me a while to get my advisor on my side, even though I walked in the first day, and told her I was interested in perusing a double major. I also needed to construct a rigid four year plan of what courses I needed to take to get my degree on time. I got nearly no input from my advisor on that. If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a pm.</p>
<p>Hm, I see. My weighted GPA between soph/junior year is a ~3.7. Pretty good Extracurriculars, and great essays depicting my maturation as I came to perceive the world a different way while visiting a third world country. </p>
<p>Should I apply as an information systems (Sounds interesting too!) major and then double major CS? Will the CS degree be a BA or BS? I’d like a BS.</p>
<p>If you’re unsure of your grades and really want to attend Carnegie Mellon, Information Systems is easily your best bet. Of all the colleges you can apply to at Carnegie Mellon, Information Systems is definitely the easiest (unless you’re some artistic genius, in which case CFA would be easiest). I don’t know that much about the major, but its a solid combination of computer science and business that tries to give you the best of each. In addition, the major gives you a solid liberal arts background since its housed in the college of H&SS. </p>
<p>For more info on admissions, look at the admissions statistics page on the Carnegie Mellon website. You seem like the perfect candidate for information systems (given your profile and interests) so I’d recommend applying for that instead of SCS or Tepper (both of which are highly competitive).</p>
<p>Call Carnegie Mellon admissions; they will help you.</p>
<p>It’s possible to do a double major, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. The CS major is one of the best in the world, and it’s the most competitive of the CMU schools. As a result, the classes are taught to a high level, and many kids who were the best at their high schools are suddenly getting B’s or C’s in freshman CS classes.</p>
<p>I’ve heard several people want to do a double major in CS to get around the admission requirement (I’ve never had the occasion to meet any current CS student who was in that position though). However, my feeling is that it’s a bad idea for two reasons. The first is that if you’re not admitted, it probably means almost everyone in your classes will have more experience than you do, so even if you work really hard (most people do), you might end up at the bottom of your classes. The second reason is that, on top of a major that’s difficult for some of the brightest students in the country, you’d be doing a double major in a field that doesn’t overlap very much. (Math and CS would overlap a lot more.) These two reasons make the idea sound risky to me.</p>
<p>Finally, I would ask, how’s your math background? That’s the most important indicator of success early on in the CS major. I know smart students who spent 30 hours a week on the famed 251 class their freshman year, and I know students who worked as hard as they could only to get a B. If you’ve had a lot of math experience (e.g. done competitions), it shouldn’t be too bad, but if you’re not very comfortable with math, it could be ridiculously intense. Also, the newly introduced 151 class is apparently giving some first-semester freshmen a pretty hard time. If you have previous experience with systems/programming, that will help a little bit too, but it seems like math experience is probably more important.</p>
<p>With that said, I wouldn’t discourage you from looking at your options and still considering a CS major. However, I think many students just want to get into a school and don’t realize what they’ll be in for once they do. It’s good to know what you’re getting into.</p>
<p>I understand. However, I feel that my extremely rigorous school (the administration told my Gov (required senior course) teacher to hand out less A’s. They don’t want everybody to have a 4.0, and since everybody living here is above average intelligence (Parents working in the IT industry who on avg spend 900k-2million on homes because the school district is so good) the courses are more rigorous. That’s why I feel a bit more prepared for college than any other average high school student. I think I can manage it.</p>
<p>Second, I know my chances are extremely unlikely to get into the CS program, so may as well apply for Information Systems. If I double major CS, will I still get a BS degree? Also the Information Systems major itself seems quite interesting, but I want CS for sure as well. I’m willing to work my butt off in college - I messed up in HS and need to make up for it, or atleast try to (need to get into good grad school).</p>
<p>“The first is that if you’re not admitted, it probably means almost everyone in your classes will have more experience than you do, so even if you work really hard (most people do), you might end up at the bottom of your classes.”</p>
<p>Hmm, I disagree with this. With such a very low acceptance rate in CS, I think there are many, many super qualified people who don’t get accepted. It’s kind of a crapshoot getting into CS at CMU, even if you have top stats. I also have heard there are a number of people who double major IS/CS. Please also consider applying to H&SS, as I think it was considerably easier to get into H&SS than IS last year, and really once you’re in, you can easily transfer to most any major (except fine arts, CIT, and SCS, though you can double major the last two).</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is this. The CMU name rates so high in the tech industry, that even if you don’t graduate with a degree in CS, you can have plenty of opportunities. With just a CS minor and a strong interest and experience in CS, my son has had tech internships and interviews/job offers with many big companies. Having the minor, as opposed to the major, has not seemed to hurt him at all. Thank you CMU for these opportunities!</p>
<p>Wow, I’ll for sure apply as an information systems major and double major in CS.</p>
<p>Please, do yourself a favor and apply to the max amount of schools (four), including H&SS also. Why not give yourself as many chances as possible? IS and H&SS are considered two separate schools to apply into (even though IS is with the school of Humanities and Social Sciences, it’s kind of confusing, but it’s right there on the application as a separate box to check). H&SS has far more slots than IS, so if a larger number than expected apply to IS, the odds go way down.</p>