Honestly, how hard is it to get into an engineering major at UW?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Washington
1

UW is definitely my top choice but I’m a bit anxious after hearing how competitive UW’s engineering and CS programs are. My GPA and test scores are good but probably not good enough to be directly admitted. So my questions are:

How difficult is it for pre-engineers to get into their desired major?
What are the general stats for engineering admissions?
Is it easy to change majors in the engineering department or to a major outside engineering (such as business)?
Any advice on improving my chances of getting into a major?

I’m applying to Mechanical Engineering with Aeronautics as my second choice. Are those majors easier or more difficult to get into compared to the other engineering majors?

I would appreciate any responses!

2

I don’t remember where I got the data at the moment but people here say generally 1/3rd get admitted to the CS major if you don’t get the direct admit. However I think they are trying to make more room, not sure when that is going to happen. It is easy to change out of engineering into a non-impacted major but Foster is also impacted. Sorry I can’t address ME specifically.

3

Here is some information on admission to various engineering majors at UW:

https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats

4

Aeronautics is easier to get into than ME, not because it’s non-selective, but because the weed-out essentially occurs before the admission process. AA requires Thermodynamics and its recommended to have Calc 4 and/or scientific computing completed before admission as well. As a result, people who aren’t as dedicated/interested in the major tend not to want to bother with the additional courses, taking them out of the running for admission.

ME on the other hand is very competitive because it is one of if not the most general engineering majors at the university. It also has the fewest prerequisites required, so it brings in more applications as a result.

To be a strong candidate for AA or ME, I would recommend having a 3.5 GPA over all. I had slightly less than this but was accepted to aeronautics (my first choice). However, I was rejected from mechanical engineering. If you want more info on the aeronautics program let me know.