My son put down CS as his first choice for a major and computer engineering for his second choice. He was admitted into the exploratory track for engineering, not CS. Does this mean he can’t take CS courses?? I understand he must get B+'s in a few CS classes before he can apply for the major; but can he take these if he’s not in the exploratory track for CS??
He can take them; however, he does not have priority enrollment into Comp Sci classes. This shouldn’t be a problem though. I would check out their website, where specific requirements are listed: https://www.cics.umass.edu/ugrad-education/major-change-cs
Thanks @ReqCollatz. I’ve been reading everything I can find about applying to the major. One stat I read is that only 25% of CS majors are there by application, meaning 75% are admitted upon application to UMass. This is concerning. Sounds like my son would be a small fish in a big pond, if he even ends up getting into the pond.
@MomToGabe You’re not wrong; however, this is expected for any top 30 program. If I were your son and I wanted to go to UMass, I would take the introductory classes for computer science and computer engineering, and, if I could handle the computer science classes, switch into the major.
To say more, I would have to know the specific strengths and weaknesses of your son.
I wish you luck 
Thanks again @ReqCollatz. My son’s strengths are math, CS, chemistry, physics. His weaknesses are in writing and organization/study habits. His weighted GPA is just above 4 and could have been higher if he’d worked a bit harder. On the SAT he got 700 English, 780 Math. He also got 710 on both the Chem Subj SAT and the Math 2 Subj Test. He has taken 2 CS classes in high school and is currently taking a third one: AP CS. He’s also taking one of the AP Calc classes (I can never remember if it’s AB or BC or something else!) and AP Chemistry. Would you say CS is a harder major than computer engineering at UMass?
Which subject is harder is up to the person. The major itself is not harder objectively (average grades are higher in CS then in CSE); however, I would say the average person in cs is better then the average person in CSE.
With your sons SAT scores and if he really is better at math then English, he should be more then fine. If you really want to see how rigorous Amherst CS is, I would take this online class offered through CPE in the summer (https://www.umass.edu/cpe/class/summer-2018/61009/programming-data-structures). Its the intro class all CS majors take either second semester or if they’re coming in with AP credit from AP CS A.
@ReqCollatz Thanks for the link! Great idea!
- CS is not an objectively hard major at all, as a current student. All of the classes through the 200-level classes should be relatively easy. CS 311 isn't hard, but is time consuming, and students get to choose most of their 300+ electives. A lot of CS majors double major (the most common is math, which is a topic for another day) as well.
- Since your child is taking AP CS, he will get out of 121 and the department will override him into CS187 even if they go way over the registration cap. Once he is in 187, he can apply to the CS major, and the department will tell him he needs to get certain grades (B+) in 187 and his math class along with a 3.0 GPA, and he will become a CS major. It's a very straightforward process that only involves filling out a form, attending an info session, and doing schoolwork.
@scrubm8 Thanks for the information and reassurance.