Help me please! (especially if you go to BC or Big schools) (CS major)

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I am prospective engineering student who is in major dilemma.
I recently got into couple schools and could not decide which college should I enroll…
I narrowed it down to UCSD, BC, and UW…

For UCSD, I got into Structural engineering which was my alternative options.
I am not sure how easy it is to transfer within Collge of Engineering, but I know that San Diego’s engineering school is really great. I haven’t visited the school, but heard that its weather is beautiful

For BC, I got into Computer Science major in A&S. I heard that its department is small and not famous nationwide but their faculty is great from my friend who goes there. I live near Boston, and I loved the campus.

For UW, I got into Pre-CS major. I really don’t know much about UW, but I heard that it is really good for CS… However, I heard that it is extremely difficult to get accepted for CS major, especially for international student… (yes I’m international student)

If I just consider the undergrad, I would probably choose UCSD. However, the problem is that I really want to go to graduate school right after undergrad. Many people I know said that it is hard to go to good school in UCSD unless you are one of the brightest students because you have probably no chance to meet and know your college professors. I mean it sounds quite convincing… I go to small private school from very young age, so big school might overwhelm me. (but I don’t know until I go there…haha)

My options are:

UCSD : Transfer to CS major

BC : Double Major in CS + Physics (or minor in Physics)

UW : enter as pre-cs and apply for CS.

I will go to grad school for sure after undergrad.

Thank you for reading…!

2

bump!

3

bumppp

4

Both Washington and UCSD require competitive admission to change into the CS major:
https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats
http://cse.ucsd.edu/ImpactedMajor

5

UW CS is ranked on the same level as Berkeley and CMU - only topped by MIT and Stanford. For undergrad and future successes [salary esp] though, they are all ranked on the same tier (highest - right below is Cornell, UIUC, and a few others).

However, the major is super competitive (the most competitive - DA acceptance rate is ~3.8%, regular acceptance rate is ~27%. You’ll have to try super hard to make it).

I’d say pick UCSD - although idk how competitive the CS is there.

I haven’t heard much about BC before, other than it’s super expensive.

6

UCSD could be even harder to switch into CS, since it may fill most of the space with direct admit students. Contact the department to find out.

7

The big school feel of UCSD isn’t that intimidating. Professors and advisers are generally friendly and approachable, even the brilliant ones. That said, transferring to CS (from any major) is seriously challenging. The required GPA varies but last quarter you needed a 3.98 or above in the required courses to get in.