If I’m reading this correctly, only ~30% of Pre-Engineering students were accepted into the BioE major last year. It’s hard for me to believe that someone can pay tuition to UW for 1-3 years, have a UW GPA of ~3.5, then ultimately not be able to get a degree in their chosen field. Why would a student that has been directly accepted into several other schools take this risk at UW? Especially an out of state student paying private school prices at UW?
Why not just accept or deny them admission to UW altogether? Wouldn’t that ultimately be better for those students?
There are definitely some major problems with the system in place. I wish they spent more time communicating that to prospective students, in particular those who are out of state. Most in-state kids (like myself) are fairly aware of the competition.
You are right, it is a horrible system. My advice to students considering UW that get in as “pre” is to pick a different school. It is not worth the risk.
@WAPacker, easy to say with a DA to Computer Science in your hands.
I would advise all pre-engineering students to look at the admission rates for the specific engineering fields and other majors they are considering, estimate where they stand in relation to the academic credentials of the average admitted student, and self-assess their desire and willingness to dedicate themselves to their studies from and after the first day of classes before they simply throw in the towel. I would advise this especially for students who would be paying instate tuition, have been admitted to the Honors Program or have been awarded OOS merit scholarships (or more generally, have GPAs, SATs and/or ACTs at or above the 75th percentile of the entering class).
“WAPacker, easy to say with a DA to Computer Science in your hands.” @UWfromCA Perhaps it is easy to say but my son had made a decision to not attend UW if he was not a direct admit. He has the academic credential to compete but we personally know others that had the academic credentials to compete, did well academically at UW but failed to get admitted into there chosen major.
Perhaps I should have stated that if one has other good options with direct or defined admission criteria and/or significant merit money UW may not be worth the risk.
What I think makes the UW system a “horrible system” is the lack of defined criteria to be admitted in to a specific major.
My son feels very fortunate and grateful to be a DA.
@WAPacker, I agree. It would be helpful for students to have defined criteria for each of the engineering majors. For example, each department could publish specific minimum qualifying grades for their prerequisite classes and general UW classes so that students could know as early as possible whether they remain viable candidates for admission into (or, for DAs, continuation in) a particular major or should look at other options.
Another option for students with an interest in technology is a Bachelor of Arts in Informatics, through the University of Washington Information School. I regularly see job postings on campus for students graduating from this program. Read here for more information: https://ischool.uw.edu
Thanks everyone - you have (unfortunately) confirmed my fears for how the UW system works. It just seems unbelievable that UW expects students and parents to accept this level of risk for their investment. The message UW seems to be sending is: The student is good enough to occupy a desk in our classrooms, pass all our classes with A’s & B’s and pay us $40K+ per year, but not good enough to hang our diploma on the wall. Simply unacceptable.