I applied CS but only got into pre-science. I’m also interested in ME and ECE, but I don’t know how competitive it is for a non-engineering undeclared student to get in. Does anyone have an idea? Thanks!
If you did not get “Direct to College of Engineering” with your freshman admissions offer, it is much harder to get into any engineering major than it used to be. Undergraduate advising will strongly encourage you to explore other majors.
The most competitive majors at the UDub are CS, Engineering and Business all offer direct to major admits to Freshman and then a few more spots for Juniors. If you don’t get one of these majors as a Freshman and you have been offered this major at another university, you should seriously consider going elsewhere (the UW even advise this) because of how competitive they are.
^ From UW websites:
CS:
“Students who are admitted to the University of Washington but not offered Direct Admission to the Computer Science major need to weigh their options. Because the University of Washington is outstanding across-the-board, we encourage such students to consider choosing UW and pursuing a variety of relevant majors: Informatics, Applied & Computational Mathematical Sciences, Geographical Information Systems nd others. Students who are 100% certain that they want to major in Computer Science and who are guaranteed a position in the major at a program elsewhere should consider whether that might be a better option for them.”
Direct to College of Engineering:
“Some applicants who select an engineering major on their UW application will be admitted to the UW but not admitted Direct to College. Students who are not admitted Direct to College, but are admitted to the UW, will be admitted as pre-science or pre-major in the College of Arts & Sciences. If your objective is to study engineering and you did not receive Direct to College admission, it would be wise to consider other engineering schools. Admission to engineering departments is highly competitive for students not admitted directly to the College of Engineering.
“If you choose to attend the UW -
“While you will have an opportunity to apply for admission to an engineering department at the end of your sophomore year, demand for engineering degrees far exceeds available space in classes and admission is not guaranteed. Therefore, your primary goal should be a major outside of the College of Engineering. Other majors that students interested in engineering commonly pursue at the UW include math, physics, informatics, and majors in the College of the Environment. The UW offers more than 180 majors in 68 different departments.”
Foster School of Business (much smaller percentage of freshmen direct admits):
“Being admitted directly to the Foster School of Business is not the only path to becoming a business major. If you choose UW, academic advisers will be at New Student Advising and Orientation and will be happy to meet with you to discuss strategies to maximize your chances of admission as a sophomore or junior once you are on campus. [Each year, approximately 30-50% of applicants—between 550 and 650—are admitted.]”
Thank you guys, but getting an OOS DA seems equally hard, though…