Hi, upcoming Senior looking to major in CE. My current short list (researched at visited) is UT Austin, Carnegie Mellon, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Washington, Purdue, and Cal Poly. Currently taking a look at some other schools and my list from there, with a little research is:
Georgia Tech
Ohio State
Penn State
University of Michigan
UC San Diego
Now obviously these schools range from safety to reach, though I feel a bit lacking of safeties that I would be happy at.
The short version of my current credentials is 3.91 UW GPA, 1410 SAT (new), 750 Math, 660 Reading/Writing. Subject Tests (only sending to those who require because I really bombed these): 750 Math II, 610 Physics. Retaking regular SAT and taking ACT in October. Extracurriculars are a bit lacking, 4 year high school swimming (variety every year so far+captain for this year), about 7-8 years club swimming by the end of this year, 1 year cross country, 1 year robotics (last two are Senior year). Vietnamese-French, first gen immigrant (very young age).
Can anyone recommend some extra schools, mostly in the match and safety area? I can sort through based on tuition, location, etc. i just want to see some more options.
Also is someone could help classify some of the current listed schools as Reach/Match/Safety that would be really helpful.
Washington state. Family has money, but $40k per year w/o scholarship is pushing it. I’d prefer to leave the state as I’d like to explore the country a bit more, but UW is a really good school so I will always consider it.
California UC’s are around $55K+/year and offer few scholarships so you might want to cross UCSD off the list. I would run the Net price calculator just to make sure. Definitely apply to 1-2 in-state options as safety/match schools. You could also look at the WUE schools which would be financially reasonable as possible safeties/match schools.
Yep I’ve heard of Western and know tons of people there. Thanks for the reminder, it should makes a good safety. Other than that are there any quality match schools that I should consider that aren’t list?
Cal Poly is CSU and is cheaper than the UCs. It will be about $36k per year for everything. It’s a tough admit though and you’ll get little if any merit aid.
You’ll have to see if they offer CE, but my son chose Colorado State and Utah for safeties in ME and liked Utah enough that he almost picked it over Cal Poly.
UW is good, but I’d be wary unless you are directly admitted to your major.
Yeah I have a friend who is at UW who didn’t get into his preferred major after his first year and is pretty unhappy, so I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve heard decent things about Colorado State, and by Utah do you mean University of Utah? I haven’t really heard too much about the latter but I will do some research.
UCSD and UIUC are similar to Washington in terms of the possibility of getting undeclared or alternate major admission instead of direct admission to CS, and then finding it to be very competitive to get into the CS major after enrolling. Indeed, the competition to get into CS after enrolling may be even more intense at UCSD and UIUC than at Washington.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19262574/#Comment_19262574 describes entry to the CS major after enrolling, if one is not directly admitted to the CS major. Note that some schools do not directly admit to the CS major at all (for example, they may admit all engineering applicants to a pre-engineering program and require them to meet college GPA requirements or compete to enter their majors).
UW is very high risk for not getting your desired major. This sounds pretty dogmatic, but I would not recommend UW for engineering UNLESS you get a direct admit.
In 2015, about 12% of engineering students at UW were enrolled in engineering majors as freshmen. Some majors, like CS/CE, enroll about 20% of their annual cohort via direct freshman admission. Most enroll with “pre-engineering” status and will apply to their majors at the end of their freshman or sophomore year. Each major has its own requirements for admission, as outlined here: https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats
Whether this situation is “high risk” depends on the individual student (and is another example of why you should always question what is presented as “dogma”). If you are not directly admitted as a freshman, your risk of not getting into your desired major will largely depend on (1) your academic ability relative to the entering class (in your case, your GPA and SAT should put you around the top quarter of the class, so those are positive indicators) and (2) your willingness to work hard and stay focused on your studies.
@UWfromCA, it really is a matter of simple math, not dogma. There are less positions available than the demand for those spots. The top students are expected to perform well at UW so they are granted automatic slots to entice them to attend. The rest have to compete. They all believe they will get slots, but the reality is not all will. There is far more than previous record and intent possibly standing in the way, including, but not limited to illness, depression, homesickness, and simply getting behind the curve learning to study at the collegiate level. It’s a risk that simply isn’t a risk at schools that don’t force students to compete after they are admitted.
The competition for CSE at UCSD is now so great that students trying to get into the major needed a 4.0 in spring 2016 and 3.9 in summer 2016: http://cse.ucsd.edu/CappedMajor
Because ECE is probably seen as a desirable alternate major for CSE rejects, it would not be surprising if the competition level for that major were high. Note that the math major is another major that CSE rejects seem to be flocking to, so it has experienced rapid enrollment growth and become a restricted major.
