I am an international student and applied for Computer Science.
Apparently I have to do placement test and SOAR?
Until when do I have to do it?
and my offer is General Science study. What does it mean? How do I declare my major as a computer science? Is this like a foundation year or is every student in wisconsin required to do general study before declaring a major
Please see attached info on SOAR and placement – placement testing must be completed before SOAR (which is orientation and class registration).
https://soar.wisc.edu/International-students.htm
Most students are admitted generally to the University and not to a specific College or a specific department within a College. Computer Science is a department within the College of Letters and Science, and the requirements to be admitted to the major are attached. It essentially requires the preliminary class with a minimum grade. Other departments, particularly in the College of Engineering, have more, and harder, requirements.
http://pubs.wisc.edu/ug/ls_compsci.htm
Congrats on your acceptance, UW is a wonderful school and Madison is a great college town.
There is actually an excellent page with a checklist found here: https://www.admissions.wisc.edu/admitted/checklist/fall_freshmen.php
Then how long would it take to graduate?
Is it 1 year of general study and 3 years of major
or 1 year and 4 years of major?
In the United States, an undergraduate degree is generally 4 years total.
You start your freshman year with courses that will help you with a proposed major and meet breadth requirements for a bachelor’s degree. You can change your major at any time until you graduate. Of course, if you make late changes you may need more than the four years (8 semesters) to finish degree requirements. It is possible to get either a BA or a BS in any L&S major- which one you choose depends on meeting certain breadth requirements. Don’t worry about this at all now.
SOAR for foreign students is usually just before classes begin so you do not need to make two trips or have visa hassles. Once you are on campus you will learn a lot more about how things work.
As above, you were admitted to the university as a whole, regardless of your intended major. The default school/college is L&S (Letters and Sciences) where the most students are, freshmen who get admitted to other schools/colleges for their major later usually are in L&S. This makes sense since most classes needed by all entering freshmen are in L&S.
This summer you should explore the UW website. Look at classes needed for your intended computer science major. Look at that department’s website. Look at math department courses. Look at the degree requirements in L&S for BA and BS. Think about those other courses that you may like to fulfill breadth requirements. Also look at the Res Halls website (assuming you will live in the dorms) to familiarize yourself. It is amazing how much can be done online. Use Google maps et al to get a birds eye view.
To add to @Madison85 Over the 4 years, a student continues to take a range of courses, both in the major and outside the major. A Computer Science major would have general education and breadth requirements for study, in addition to the major. I believe a current list of requirements can be found here:
https://pubs.wisc.edu/ug/images/babs2009.pdf
To read this, for a Bachelor of Science degree-- B.S., the requirements are on the right side (requirements for Bachelor of Arts – B.A. – are on the left side). B.S. requires more math and science and less foreign language etc – make sure you are reading down the correct column.