<p>Hey everyone, I'm an incoming senior in high school with a big interest in UT Austin. I know practically all of the school's departments and programs are very highly ranked, but I'm relatively certain I want to major in Computer Science. Looking online, I see that the Computer Science department is ranked 8th in the nation for undergraduates. Although the title may seem like only one question, I really have two main questions for anyone that can answer:</p>
<p>1) Is getting into the college of natural sciences much tougher than, say, the liberal arts college. I have been told that for most of UT's 18 colleges I would be a slightly above-average candidate (2190 SAT, 4.1 GPA, 8 AP's with a couple 5's, captain of baseball and football team, started my own club, etc etc). Would this above-average standing carry over to the college of natural sciences (which I will most likely be applying to)? Would I be an average student there? Would it be more of a reach? </p>
<p>2) This is question is more specifically aimed at current CS majors (most likely upperclassmen) and UT alumni that have majored in CS. Although nearly all of UT's departments are very highly ranked, the computer science department rank seems to be a good bit higher than the ranks of most other departments (#8 in the US). Now, hopefully this question won't sound conceited as I have no intention of smack-talking any other departments or majors, I'm just being a bit self-centered and focusing on the department I want to major in. I know the CS department is incredibly good, the rest of UT knows the CS department is incredibly good, but do employers know that UT's CS department is incredibly good? Although the CS department isn't as prestigious as say Berkeley or Stanford, it is definitely in the same category. Do employers in the computer science field realize this and recognize that a major in CS from UT is perhaps more prestigious than a different major from UT, therefore increasing the chance of employment at a great place to work? Again, I'm not intending to talk smack to any other departments out there, it is ultimately just the facts that the CS department ranks higher than most other departments in the school.</p>
<p>If this offended anyone I apologize, I'm just trying to gather as much information I can to determine whether the 4-hour flight I would have to take semi-regularly from NJ to get here would be worth it (if I even get in, that is). Thanks in advance!! </p>