I am planning on applying for Emory’s Math and CompSci program, and I was wondering if it is a hard program to catch on with (compared to the average CompSci program). I hope to spend my time in Emory to explore as well as finish my degree, instead of spending time studying and doing research only.
Thank you very much.
@NghiaTrinh : I don’t know many, even very renowned undergraduate programs in this area that fit the bill of what you worry about. Emory is a fairly standard program and you will have some challenging coursework at times, but it (nor most CS programs) is not structured to make you struggle to merely complete the degree without being 100% committed to it or academics. You’ll be fine and many CS people at Emory and elsewhere are double majors. Also, you can’t apply to that program. Applicant readers won’t care what you check off as a potential major unless you want to specifically discuss that interest in writing prompts. Don’t worry about this right now.
At Emory you’ll wait 2 years doing non CS studies before getting into the CS classes your final 2 years.
@Greymeer : Huh? I am pretty sure that is not how undergraduate studies work. They can do whatever they want (throughout the 4 years, you mix gen. eds with major requirements). Most first years majoring or interested in CS do AT LEAST take introductory CS courses, and then will continue to take intermediate or advanced courses in their sophomore year that build upon 170/171. Some more advanced freshmen will enter intermediates /advanced as second semester freshmen. You are thinking of the business or nursing program I believe. ECAS majors don’t work as you described and even with business, they make them take financial accounting and DSci which are hosted in GBS.
@Greymeer that is not true. My S is a rising soph and took CS courses as a freshman.
@bernie12 Business majors also start out from day 1 working in their major. They get business advising as well from day 1. They don’t just take a FA and DSci.
^ you should tell Emory presenter that. The admin that gave the presentation literally said you would spend the first 2 years doing other requirements before getting into your major reqs. I was there only a month and a half ago. Then again the admin didn’t even know where (building) CS was taught.
@eastcoast101 so how many courses? One? Some colleges you do 4 to 6 CS courses the first year.
@collegemom9 : I essentially said that and the advising thing is hair splitting. The idea is that it is a program/entity that needs applying and admissions to in order to make it official that you are majoring in a business concentration. ECAS majors don’t have that. pre-BBA people, despite having that advising, are not officially committed to or enrolled in the BBA program until they complete a certain amount of credit hours and gain admissions. So lectures the Emory police…
@Greymeer : They were wrong if they said and meant what you relayed but there are also videos online for advising that only specify that structure for BBA and nursing. I think you may have misinterpreted them, as I doubt they would say that about any ECAS majors. The idea is simple: You don’t have to declare ECAS majors until sohomore year so most will do a mix of gen. eds and course requirements that help them progress towards a major for about two years, so if they said something like that it is not inaccurate. However, it doesn’t mean that they can’t take courses specifically towards the major. Plus at the end of the day, the CS departmental website strongly suggests otherwise: http://www.cs.emory.edu/undergraduate/degrees/cs/
They even have an accelerated course specifically targeting freshmen with AP credit.
@bernie12 you actually didn’t. You said pre business majors take 2 business classes. And I was elaborating on what you said to prove your point.
You know what I meant. The point was that BBA and nursing differ substantially in process from ALL ECAS majors. The advising is a minor difference. Most ECAS folks, by time they declare will be further into their majors course work wise than pre-BBAs is what I was pointing out. Basically, CS isn’t a special ECAS major analogous to the other two which get special attention when addressed in advising presentations and the like.
@Greymeer The nice thing about Emory is that you have the luxury to take what you want especially those first couple of years. They encourage exploration while allowing you to choose your path. If you want to jump in and take a bunch of classes in your major you can. Even though you aren’t officially accepted until sophomore year you are treated as though you’re in the major and almost all classes are open to you. Yes there are GenEds but even for those the selection is vast. You aren’t limited to taking a history or a math or a social science. The “buckets” these courses are in have upwards of 60-70 choices.
Emory is very proud of its liberal arts philosophy and wants students to try many different things but that doesn’t mean you can’t start taking classes in your desired major before junior year.
@bernie12 I actually didn’t know what you meant as you mentioned 2 classes and to apply to Goizueta you need more than that. The business school is very big in stressing to the students about how you jump into the major before applying. They’ve had webinars for the parents and students about this this summer. Moving on.
https://youtu.be/gbLb05bygaw
@Greymeer as a freshman he took CS 170 and 171. He also took QTM 120 and 150. He placed out of Calc 1 and 2 via AP tests. He’s deciding between a straight CS major and a QTM major with an informatics concentration so he took the QTM courses as well.
I don’t think you ever mentioned applying to Goizueta; so much of what was discussed above shouldn’t concern you.
We found that the admissions counselors really seemed to emphasize the pre-med and business school in their presentations, and glossed over many of the other majors, including CS (which only became a separate major within the past year; before that it was bundled into the math department). It wasn’t until we dug a bit deeper that we learned about all the opportunities. My S is interested in data science, and the school is currently ramping up that area of study in a big way. He plans to get involved in some research in the coming year. I think the admissions counselors need to refocus, or at least expand, what they discuss in the admissions sessions. They do a disservice to the other departments. But they didn’t ask me…
@collegemom9 : I am confused. My points are simple: Comp. sci ain’t like a BBA. BBA program which is more similar to what the poster who made the mistake described. Coursework wise, it is those two courses and some other ECAS courses/progression through key gen. eds. That is all I meant. A CS major is more likely to have taken more CS department hosted courses by end of sophomore year than a pre-BBA, GBS hosted courses due to the structure of the majors, requirements, admissions, etc. My goal was not to elaborate on the intricacies of the BBA program. It was mainly to highlight what @eastcoast101 did, where often general advising webinars and presentations specifically focus on the nursing, pre-health tracks, and BBA a decent amount, so if one hears “in ECAS you don’t need to declare a major until end of sophomore year” and the presenter emphasizes “exploration” when covering the college content, someone mentions CS in between, and then they go on to the BBA and nursing program specifics, it can get confusing.
I was mainly figuring out what information they may have misconstrued or jumbled up, because I doubt an adviser said exactly what they claimed. It is even possible a double major came up or something. Who knows? Either way, hopefully they understand that they can indeed do whatever they want with respect to the CS department. There are no specific restrictions that on how many CS courses they can take before declaring and when they can take them.