Hi. I am curious if anyone knows more about how exploratory studies works for kids who use it as a backdoor. My son knows he wants comp sci but it will be hard to get into at his top choice He listed exploratory studies as second choice. If he accepted into that program, how likely is it that he can get into comp sci? They say the goal is to help kids figure it out bla bla, but assuming he does ok, do they really do that or are you better off going straight to a comp sci program elsewhere? I don’t really know how this all works. This would be for NC State but I imagine ES programs are similar elsewhere. Again, this is for a kid who wants to do comp sci.
This is going to be very school and major dependent. If there are requirements above just good standing, make sure that there is an alternative major that is ok.
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I imagine it would be difficult to switch into a popular major such as CS. He needs to research the requirements/grades etc. to transfer into CS at the specific college.
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Ok, thx. I’m curious what they do with kids who do ES but can’t get into their desired major. Seems like a bad use of time and money.
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At Purdue, admissions will tell students to take an acceptance at a school where they have been admitted to their preferred major, rather than risk not getting in from ES. For certain majors, like CS, most schools are very aware of students trying to get in via back doors and have closed those options.
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The “back door” to a “full” major works like this: you open the back door and find that the place is so full that there it is very difficult to go through the door because there is no space behind the door.
NCSU has an estimator for chance of admission to engineering majors (including CS). It does ask if the student is in exploratory studies, engineering first year, or internal transfer.
https://www.engr.ncsu.edu/academics/undergrad/coda-calculator/
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Can you afford to pay to transfer to a school that will let him major in CS? If not, I’d encourage him to apply to CS programs directly now and choose from those acceptances.
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He has gotten into several comp sci programs directly…better ones than NCSU potentially. But the better ones haven’t given merit and he really wants NCSU…30 mins from home and the price is right. $24k to go there versus, say, $42k for Penn state. I will check out the calculator that was shared. That’s great.
Good point. I’ll check out the calculator. Thanks!
Hmmm, what do you enter for CODA GPA in that calculator? Maybe I’m just being sense but I don’t have a clue.
https://www.engr.ncsu.edu/academics/undergrad/coda/#ess
Note that GPAs are college GPAs.
You have to look at the CODA courses (see ucbalumnus’s link) and guesstimate his GPA and then also guesstimate his GPA for the non-CODA college courses.
Many kids do somewhat worse gpa-wise at college than high school so often it’s good to guesstimate down a bit.
Also keep in mind that if he has a direct admit to CS somewhere, he may be able to get higher-paying summer jobs or internships sooner than if he is undeclared/exploratory and that may help offset the cost difference.
Also, if you think it is unlikely that he will get a secondary admit to CS, starting salaries for a cs job after graduation vs salaries for his second-choice major may also help make up for a higher cost direct admit school .
I think it’s hard to guesstimate college GPA, especially for engineering. I would put in a bunch of GPAs and see where the cut off seems to be.
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Gotcha. Thx
Very good points. Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the input!
If he did not get CS as a top choice then it will be difficult later on because the kids that got into CS will likely stay in that program. Some won’t but most will.
Many here in NC think that the exploratory studies program is the backdoor strategy to get into a more selective major. But for most, it is not.
Also, there is not much difference in ranking between Penn State and NCSU based on USN. It is a pretty naive way of looking at a program anyway, especially since the COA is double. RDU is bustling and CS majors from reputable local universities are getting six figure offers before they graduate.
IMO these “back doors” do not always work out as hoped, especially for the very popular/competitive majors. If your S attends NC State in the Exploratory major he should have a few other options for majors that he would be excited about in case he doesn’t get into CS.
IMO If your son KNOWS he wants CS he should look to attend a college where he gets into that major or where any accepted student can major in CS.
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This is exactly what I was asking. Are they strong routes into a major or really just exploratory. Seems more exploratory (which is sort of obvious given the name) but I hoped the school would have a vested interest in helping the kids get to where they want to. I guess in one sense they do since they can explore before declaring, but in another it seems like there are no guarantees. Having said that, declaring a major later and getting it isn’t guaranteed either- from my understanding you have to apply to your chosen major from withing general engineering at nc state.
It will be very school dependent and I can’t speak to NC State.
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