<p>Last quarter, the CSE department gave me a "soft denial" (basically: close but no cigar), primarily because although my grades were very good all around, it'd been a year since I took CSE 143 (and I only got a 3.5). They let me petition into a majors course, and I went with CSE 341 (Programming Languages) with Alan Borning, which was a pretty great class.</p>
<p>Long story short, I got a 4.0 in that class and I'm looking to re-apply for Spring. Anybody know of petition students who were/weren't admitted if they did well? I feel fairly confident, but after so many rejections you never can tell.</p>
<p>If I understand correctly, you were denied from CSE because you applied to the department a year after you took CSE 143? And they explicitly said that? If that’s the case, then that’s completely absurd.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s fair to say that’s the whole reason, though it was part of it. In the past year I had brought my average math & science grades up from 3.3-ish to 3.7-4.0s and I think they wanted to make sure I could do the same thing with a CSE course.</p>
<p>Now that I think about it, I think it’s been closer to 2 years since I took CSE 143. It’s still a little silly they’d care about how long it’s been since I took a class at the same university though.</p>
<p>Thanks! If I don’t get in, I think the best option would be transferring to Bothell and going through the CSS program there. I got accepted to Bothell last time when I wasn’t sure whether my petition would be successful, so I’m not concerned about my chances up there.</p>
<p>I did talk to a few CSE advisors recently though, and they’re telling me I have a good shot at getting in this time around, so we’ll see how it goes!</p>
<p>It’s hard to imagine how you could be in a better position. A 4.0 in 341 will look very good, and I think you will likely get in.</p>
<p>I think the point of having you take 341 was to affirm that you are actually capable. A 3.5 in 143 from over a year ago isn’t that strong of a recommendation for your current capabilities. Doing really well in a majors level course shows that you are up to snuff.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to hijack this thread but I’m considering petitioning in major courses as a non-major if I don’t get accepted.</p>
<p>How does the difficulty of 300 level CSE classes compare to CSE 143? Also, as a non-major, is it recommended to take the CSE 311-312 series, take another course like you did, such as CSE 341, or does it just not matter? I do plan on speaking to an adviser but I’m interested in what others have done in a similar position.</p>
<p>Firstly, I think you really only have a shot at petitioning if they explicitly tell you this is the case. For reference, this is what part of my last denial letter looked like:</p>
<p>"I am very sorry to inform you that the department of Computer Science & Engineering will not be able to offer you admission for Autumn 2012. As you know, admission to CSE is very competitive. The amount of space in the CSE undergraduate program is limited by funding; despite our recent increase in funding, we still have far more students interested in our program than we can accommodate. </p>
<p>You were a particularly strong candidate, and we would like to talk with you about your future options, including possibly re-applying to the CSE department."</p>
<p>The advisor told me it’s called a “soft denial” which means I wasn’t admitted only due to space constraints and not due to being unqualified.</p>
<p>Obviously since I’m not in the department, I can’t speak about the difficulty of the 300-level classes as an aggregate. However, from my (sample size n=1) experience of taking 341, it’s definitely more challenging than the intro classes. You should absolutely go to the office hours of the professor (and TA as well, but mine wasn’t very helpful as often as possible, even with the most insignificant questions. It’s basically a free grade booster because the prof will be more than happy to divulge tips or help that he couldn’t offer due to time constraints during the normal lecture.</p>
<p>Word to the wise: If given the opportunity, do not take 311 as a petition course. From what I’ve heard, that class is graded on a strict curve and it’s totally bonkers due to the course content being so easy that like a 95% is like a 3.0 or something equally absurd. On the other hand, the offering of 341 I took was graded linearly (not on a Gaussian curve) and the average grade was a 3.5.</p>
<p>Congrats, MasterKuni! See you around next quarter! :)</p>
<p>A friend of mine was a ‘soft denial’, took 351(?), got about a 3.7, and was admitted shortly afterwards. He also almost immediately got an internship offer for that summer, which worked out nicely for him. The petition course is a great way to show the advisors how you can do in the department.</p>
<p>I was thinking about petitioning for CSE 341 for Spring, but I’ve heard negative things about the way Tanimoto runs things. So I thought about taking CSE 311 instead, but apparently the curve is ridiculous. Not sure which I should petition for.</p>
<p>Also, Grossman is the best teacher in CSE. He’s just beyond awesome. 341 is also the class he likes teaching the most. So if you have the opportunity to take 341 from Grossman, you’d better do it.</p>
<p>Bumping this thread for a quick question. Unfortunately, I cannot petition for CSE 341 as it doesn’t fit in my schedule. I either have to fall back on CSE 351 or CSE 311. Since 311 is a last resort option for me, could anyone who has taken 351 or know someone who has, share their experience about the course? I hear it is fairly low level and it might be more challenging than 311, although the curve is 311 worries me more.</p>
as often as possible, even with the most insignificant questions. It’s basically a free grade booster because the prof will be more than happy to divulge tips or help that he couldn’t offer due to time constraints during the normal lecture.</p>