I would also pay attention to whether the college admits by major. Computer science in particular is a heavily impacted major with far more students who want to major in it than there are spots available. So:
- See if students have to apply to the major (and then get direct entry into the major from high school)
- If it’s a secondary admission (meaning that a student is accepted to the college, but then once in college needs to apply to be a CS or engineering major), what are the secondary requirements? If your son meets the requirements is he automatically in, or is there some kind of selection process that happens? If the latter, what percentage of students are accepted to their major?
- Check and see how easy it is to change majors, especially among the higher-demand majors (i.e. CS and engineering).
Some colleges admit students and allow them to change majors into any major. Other colleges, students may not get the major they want or need to transfer to a different college to get the desired major. Pay attention to the various options as you look at your college list.