<p>With the large number of questions about the direct admit program for CS at U Dub and the number that decides to go to another school instead where they did get in directly to cs and not to u dub, it seems that u dub is loosing a lot of good talent. Maybe it is not a big deal for them but doesn't it seem like they would get some good students if they took more from the start?</p>
<p>We’re actually increasing from 160 to 250 graduating students every year. The department was stuck at a 160 student freeze for several years, but got this approved a few years ago. </p>
<p>It’s more complicated than just ‘taking more’ students. You have to take into account the quality of the courses, student:teacher ratio, research, etc. We can’t just hire random teachers; we’re actually competing with schools like MIT, Stanford, Waterloo, and Cal for professors. Each of these professors has competitive salaries and families that would have to relocate. We’ve already outgrown our building and are trying to raise private money (note: private, not public) to build another building that can actually house classrooms and more faculty/grads.</p>
<p>So yes, you’re right. We’re losing talent, but we’re also trying to expand. We know it’s a problem, but we can’t solve it overnight. </p>
<p>For direct admits, I imagine more may be admitted from the start once the graduating years stabilize to 250. For example, we’re still only producing 160 CS and CE majors this year since the departmental expansion was just approved recently. </p>
<p>I feel the admission process is really bad and unfair to candidates. Very disappointing. My son applied for Computer Science as first choice and Computer Engineering. UW was one of our top choice. Snail mail came first mentioning the admission. Two weeks later he got another snail mentioning he got admitted to pre science arts major. After digging through this forum and web site, came to know about direct admit in CS. I called the CS dept and found around 150 students were admitted and they expect around 40 students to accept. This 40 is 20% of total students expected to enroll by third year through internal freshmen/sophomore applications based on GPA etc. Those admitted direct admits are privileged by way of access to faculty and CS courses right from first semester.</p>
<p>I was totally surprised by this direct admit after the decision time way late in March. Luckily my son had 3 other options with same and better ranking etc as UW with 50% more scholarship amount.</p>
<p>It is fine to have direct admit program but this admit process is very unfair and kind of feel cheated. In the application form there must have been a mention about direct admit program. A check box mentioning whether candidate is willing to accept non direct admit if not selected for direct admit. If I had applied for CS and CE, why would they send admit for arts and science. Candidates can make better decisions whether to apply.</p>
<p>I hope the university does something next year. They need to honest and be very clear.</p>
<p>Though he wouldn’t even consider since DA is not offered, but with DA it is definitely worth it.</p>
<p>Cuckoo - Did you and your son attend a CS info session? They discussed the direct admit situation. In addition, it’s on their web site. My daughter is currently at another university directly in her major and it’s less expensive for us because of the financial aid she received. She is very happy. I’m glad your son has other choices. The UW is a good school but it’s risky if you aren’t a direct admit.</p>