<p>Hi
I applied to the College of Engineering in UIUC, but was rejected :/
I have been accepted into DGS, and since I can't imagine myself studying anything other than Computer Science, I was wondering how hard it is to transfer. </p>
<p>I understand that the College of Engineering is very selective, so is it advisable to matriculate in UIUC in the hope that I will get transferred to CS? Also, how long does this process take generally? And is there any way to speed it up?</p>
<p>My congratulations to all those who got accepted =)</p>
<p>You can seek a transfer into second or third year. To transfer, you must take those courses that engineering students usually take in first and second year, particularly the math, science, and comp sci courses. </p>
<p>To be able to transfer to engineering you will need a minimum GPA of 3.0 both overall and in those math, science, and comp sci courses. However, what you will actually need will depend on slots available and number that seek transfer, and for comp sci you often need significantly higher. Getting the grades needed is not necessarily easy since some of those frehsman math and science courses can be difficult. Also, if you apply for transfer into second year, which you do about midway through second semester freshman year, your high school grades and test scores will be considered and they favor those who would have been admitted to engineering if they had applied as freshman. If you apply for transfer into third year, only college grades are considered and there is no preference exercised for those who would have been admitted as freshman.</p>
<p>^No. You would apply for a change in latter part of second semester for beginning of second year. The change must be approved by the ECE department and thus good grades will be needed but it is much easier to change majors if you are already in the engineering college than it is to transfer from one of the other colleges.</p>
<p>My friend is in DGS hoping to transfer into engineering, and he said that the college of engineering only accepts about 10 or 15 students from DGS every year, out of the hundreds that apply for the transfer…</p>
<p>Honestly, you’re better off doing CompSci at another school and transferring to U of I from there . UIUCs engineering is EXTREMELY competitive and though you can take the same classes in DGS and try to transfer, 1000 other people are trying to do the same thing. Very few people are admitted to Engineering from DGS. I just think it’s safer to study CompSci at another school instead of being in DGS for 2 years and finding out that you can’t transfer into the major you want.
I have a friend at UIUC in the same predicament, so I am solely speaking from his experience. It might not be that way for you.</p>
<p>how about the difficulty if you wish to transfer from computer engineering to computer science? I am also wondering which is harder to get in for freshman in the first place?</p>
<p>Computer engineering and electrical engineering are in the same department and difficulty to move to CS would be no different for one from the other. It is usually not that difficult for someone already in the engineering college to move to another major/department (except bioengineering currently accepts no transfers) as long as they have decent grades (it won’t be allowed if you are on probabation). Ultimately, how difficult it is depends on open spaces available in the major to which you are switching and that can vary from year to year and you won’t know the answer until the time comes to transfer. </p>
<p>As to entry as freshman, difficulty to get into CE/EE or CS(engineering) is not usually much different; several years back CE and EE were the hardest to get into because the number of applicants was very high but that has mellowed somewhat in the last 6 years or so. Mechanical and Aero are right now the hardest because demand is very high. It is anyone’s guess what it will be next year or the years after.</p>
<p>Now that is interesting Drusba. Do you have any idea why demand for AE and ME would be higher now, or is it just one of those unknowns from year to year that just are?</p>
<p>For aerospace engineering (and mechanical engineering) you currently need a minimum 3.8 college GPA to transfer. As to why those are so popular these days, I do not know except that it may have to do partly with number who accepted the offers of admission rather than just higher popularity. They use past yield experience to determine the approximate number they are going to admit to get a desired yield and not overload (or underlaod) the department. The yield percentage for freshman engineering overall went up somewhat 0ver the last five years but kept increasing at a higher rate than overall for mechanical and aero and thus they kept admitting a somewhat lower percentage in those majors but it still presented annual 'surprises" leaving each new class for those majors overloaded and thus lowering the chances of a transfer later being admitted. </p>
<p>Currently, you have one and only one oppurtunity to transfer to the business college from DGS or any other UIUC college – at the end of first year to begin in sophomore year. (Transfer into other colleges can be be attempted after first or second year and for a number of majors mid second year or even later than after second year.) The business college decides whether you can transfer after second semester freshman grades come out. Usual transfer acceptance rate into business college from the other colleges is about 50%. High grades are needed but they are no guarantee because the business college is truly a full file review college for which essays and ECs actually are important with the result that some with very high grades get rejected and others with seemingly low grades (but still in the 3s GPA) are accepted.</p>
<p>Ok. So has the policy changed. Because on the website it says that only a 3.0 is needed to transfer into the college of engineering. So I am confused with all the different responses. Here is the link. </p>
<p>The minimum GPA is 3.0, but there is almost no way you would be admitted into the program with that GPA. It is too competitive and even people with the highest GPAs are turned away.</p>
<p>Umm…I was accepted for Chemical Engineering…how hard would it be for me to transfer to another engineering course like electrical engineering?..also, would it be considered transfering to a different college since chemical angineering is actually in LAS not in eng?</p>
<p>Chem Eng is in LAS for traditional reasons only. It is administered by College of Engineering and its professors are in the College of Engineering. For you, it is a intracollege transfer, and is much easier than an intercollege transfer.</p>