The scariest thing about that post is this:
There are a lot of highly qualified applicants that don’t make the cut for CS,
[/QUOTE]
“It’s worse than you think. Hundreds of highly qualified applicants are not even offered admission into DGS.”
http://www.reddit.com/r/UIUC/comments/2v2pmz/dgs_trying_to_transfer_to_eng_cs/coem70b
replace the ****s with ‘reddit’.
That thread was informative…
My S is a CS applicant with 6 CS courses, including one at CMU and the legendary CS50 at Harvard. It is a good reality check to know what the incoming class brings with it. Impressive to say the least.
@YZamyatin Given the past yield around 35% for Engineering, is it safe to assume that they would give out 1200 admissions to reach the enrollment of 400+? What do you think?
You know what’s interesting about that reddit thread is that everyone is killing themselves to transfer in to CS in Engineering at UIUC yet the automatic transfer threshold GPA in to any of the CS+X majors is significantly lower. Do they not know that those majors exist?
College of Engineering has two different major for computers, one is Computer Science and other is Computer Engineering. Any insight into which one is more popular among applicants?
@longwait20, I believe CS receives many more apps.
Did anyone receive an email re FAFSA from UIUC in January? I thought this was sort of odd because my son only received this from schools where he’s already been accepted and UIUC and I wonder if everyone got this, and/or if this perhaps means he’s at least admitted to some program there? He did apply for CS-Eng as first choice, and then CS+Math second choice. Although his grades are not stellar, he earned a 5 on the AP Comp Sci, and took Data Structures at IIT and has a perfect Math ACT, Math II SAT Subject Test, and Physics SAT Subject test, While I know UIUC doesn’t require the SAT subject tests, he did report them on his app. His CS abilities and experiences are very strong, including already earning scholarship money from their Eng school. The caveat - he has to get in to use the money. Also, does anyone know how big the CS+Math program is? Is it inclusive of the 300 in straight CS?
@PurpleTitan
Seems like the University finally accepted that popularity in CS wasn’t going back down and now they are looking to leverage (after blowing off department requests for more resources for several years through 2012/13). I think your analysis is dead on, although to be fair some of those +X’s are natural fits that you do see offered elsewhere.
The problem though is not really space and faculty for upper level electives, but for those core classes. 125, 173, and 225 have waiting lists every semester, and the new 374 will be tight moving forward. Every major, every hopeful transfer, and every student hoping to satisfy the CS minor requirement must take these classes (not to mention almost every math major chooses 125 to satisfy the CS requirement, CE majors need 173 and 225, and so on) The completion of the ECE building and new faculty have helped. 173 got a new room this semester and 125 will be up to 800 seats next semester supposedly. I’m sure they will handle it, but there is no way the CS department wants 400+ new students (not including the transfers). According to the same professor on an older thread, the department only wanted 250 new students as recently as last year (and got 330).
Admissions is kinda running them over, which is fine with me if it helps my son get into the program… Next year I hope to be complaining about crowded classrooms and registration headaches 
PS in the end all of this is a bigger problem for potential transfers and those seeking a CS minor than for students inside the department, who have priority. There is almost endless appetite for those first 3 CS classes, regardless of how many new students enter the major.
I should add that he earned an A in every CS course he has taken, including 2 at his High school, one at IIT, plus independent study courses in CS both JR and SR year.
@PurpleTitan
Re the next CS+X majors.
I was told last year that more were coming very soon. I actually expected another four for this current admission cycle, but for whatever reason they held off. I like your theory as it appeals to my suspicious nature
I think there will be compromise, as some popular departments are interested as well. I think at least one of the next +X’s will be from the College of Business. But I will be looking out for that CS+Russian Lang & Lit major as well!
CS+ BUS Major would be fantastic. Probably too late for my kid, but the knowledge obtained in Business along with a CS degree would help these students achieve diverse backgrounds and really be able to move up the chain into management positions fast.
@PurpleTitan
Re: why students don’t transfer into CS+X
I think a lot of these students are a little obsessed with being in ENG, despite evidence that no recruiters seem to care. Some of them just don’t have any interest in the +X (the new four especially did not get a lot of interest, and admissions could have but didn’t guide applicants into those majors who didn’t specifically show interest).
It is a moot point anyhow as the transfer requirements are not static. Next semester they will be the same as transferring to CS in ENG.
@longwait20
CS gets more apps, and profile of accepted students show higher test scores and class rank. It’s been that way for at least three years.
@srparent15
No idea on FAFSA email. I highly doubt it is a tip off of any kind, but who knows.
CS+Math is by far the most popular CS+X, with 200+ students enrolled. Even if you knew the number of applicants, it wouldn’t really tell you much as my guess is a LOT of students pick it as 2nd choice to CS in ENG.
Good luck, only a few days left.
Thanks YZamytin.
My friend who’s son applied to Engineering and did not pick a 2nd choice, does not think they got the Financial Aid email. My son only has one other school besides UIUC that he hasn’t heard from and was deferred at one other school. Neither of those have sent the Financial Aid email, so maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part? As far as school’s he’s been accepted to, we’ve been bombarded with financial aid email reminders, so that is why the UIUC one stood out to me.
We’re also Illinois residents and I’m thinking with all the OOS and Foreigners willing to pay higher tuition, we are at a disadvantage in that regard as well. 
@srparent15, Math&CS will take in about 75 (vs. about 250 in CS in Engineering). It’s almost certainly easier to get in to, and unlike CS in Engineering and the other CS+X programs, it has a fair amount of attrition as some kids realize that they can’t handle higher-level math.
I think your kid is a shoo-in for Math&CS and a strong candidate for CS in Engineering.
@YZamyatin, yes a big crunch in the 125-173-225 sequence. The worse affected would be those DGS students and minors without advanced standing. They probably should offer big sections of those courses over the summer for those kids. It’s possible to AP out of 125, but if a kid does so, they really should do advanced studying of the material in 225 when taking 173.
@srparent15
My son did receive the FAFSA email - I think it is automatically sent to all applicants - for some it might end up in their spam folder.
Illinois residents make up only a small percentage of applicants accepted to CS, but their profiles are essentially the same.
This makes sense as this increase in apps comes largely from non residents (as so many of the top resident students have always applied).
Perhaps I am being naive here, but I believe it is a disadvantage only in that a higher pool of qualified applicants will drive up the profile of accepted students, which makes it harder for everyone.
@srparent15, I agree with YZamyatin.
I very much doubt that he’s at a disadvantage as an IL resident. IL residents make up slightly less than half the student body in CS in Engineering. Granted, some of them are CC transfers, but even if IL residents are 40% of the freshmen class, considering the draw of UIUC CS, I doubt that IL residents make up close to half of the most competitive candidates.
@purpletitan I think the AP Computer Science test only gives you credit for CS 101, not 125 so not sure how anyone can earn that credit
If a student is in DGS with hopes to transfer to one of the CS+ majors or CS Eng and comes in as a second semester freshman due to their AP coursework, does that help at all? Also, someone once told me that her son earned a C in CS at our high school and when he enrolled at UIUC (in BUS) they gave him the credit for the CS course but also wound up putting a C on his transcript for it. They were ultimately trying to get that grade off his transcript. If my son is admitted only to DGS but gets the CS grades on there, does that count in terms of the ability to transfer to a CS major. As a separate question, would his 2nd semester status ( 24 semester hours in AP + 3 of Data Structures & Algorithms from IIT - CS225 at UIUC) put him in the position to take higher level CS classes if he wanted and better his chances of transferring?