Should I attend? (OOS admitted pre-science with intention to pursue CSE)

Basically, I applied to UW as a safety but after getting rejected from all the UCs I actually cared about UW is starting to look like my best option (with an acceptance to Whitman or the choice of CC being my only current fallback). After foraging around several forums, I’ve found many people advising against trying to get admitted to CSE through the regular admission pathway due to its selectivity, yet there is very little information citing the statistics and courseloads for those who had such difficulty getting admitted.
My math background is extensive, I’m taking multivariable calculus this year (which basically covers math 126 and actually expands a little past), I’ve taken and currently tutor AP Chem (which covers all the material in chem 142 and 152), and am also very comfortable with english (taking AP Literature rn and am expecting a 4 or 5). However, my main concern is the CSE 142 and 143 requirement as I have no experience with cs so far, but I do intend to take a basic intro cs course at my cc this summer to gain some sort of background.
In essence, I’m looking for any advice and input on whether I should attend UW.

Sorry, should have specified. This is specifically for UW Seattle.

Odds are very low you’ll be able to go from general science to CSE.
Would you do cs at Whitman? (Which is an excellent option BTW)

Last year, an article in the Seattle Times about Paul Allen’s $40 million gift to the establish the new Allen School for Computer Science & Engineering reported:

"Students are usually admitted at the end of their freshman year or the start of their sophomore year. But the school also admits some students directly, at the same time they are admitted to the university as freshmen. This year, direct admission will be offered to 150 students. All but five of them are Washington residents. [UW CSE website at that time stated, “These admits have an average unweighted gpa of 3.97 and are mostly Washington state residents. Average test scores are: ACT 34, SAT math 764, SAT verbal 758.”]


"Although computer science and engineering is a tough program to get into, the picture is getting better. In 2016, 43 percent of bachelor’s applicants were admitted to the program. In previous years, the admission rate was lower.


“[The CSE Department] is now enrolling about 370 new undergraduate students each year, double the number it was able to accommodate in 2012… This year, it is asking for $6 million from the Legislature to increase the number of students it graduates by 120 degrees per year. Most of that increase would be in bachelors degrees, [Professor] Lazowska said.”

The following page from the UW website has some helpful information and guidance about regular admission to CS (which is how most students enter the major):

https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/ugrad/admissions/freshmen

Also note that the UW enrolls a broader range of students in keeping with its mission as Washington’s flagship university (2017 engineering and CS enrolled student (direct and pre-major) stats per ASEE profile: middle 50% range SAT 1250-1430; ACT 28-33). Knowing that you will want to be somewhere in the top 35-45% of the class of regular admission applicants when you apply to the CS major, try to determine where you stand academically in relation to the entering class. Are you closer to the 75th percentile or the 25th percentile of these stats? Is your high school unweighted GPA above 3.85? Your advanced math and science background will definitely help. However, if you have doubts about your prospects for admission after reviewing the information on the UW website referenced above and performing this self-assessment, you probably should enroll elsewhere.

Congratulations on your admissions and good luck!

Key guidance from that UW webpage:

“Students who are admitted to the University of Washington but not offered Direct Admission to the Computer Science major need to weigh their options. Because the University of Washington is outstanding across-the-board, we encourage such students to consider choosing UW and pursuing a variety of relevant majors: Computer Science, but also Informatics, Human Centered Design and Engineering, Applied & Computational Mathematical Sciences, Electrical Engineering, and others. Students who are 100% certain that they want to major in Computer Science and who are guaranteed a position in the major at a program elsewhere may decide that the risk of competing for a slot in Computer Science at UW is too great.”

I think the CS program is already expanding this year. Previous years it says “150 direct admissions”; this year it was “250 direct admissions.” When the second CS building competes, the regular admission will increase as well. So if you are a competitive student, the picture is not that bleak.

Thank you so much for all your responses!! I have considered Whitman a lot recently, but their computer science degree was just introduced 2 years ago so it’s very hard to judge both how good the program is and how good the job prospects are. Also, if it helps to clarify, my both my SAT and GPA are above the 75th percentile and I have looked at the final for math 126 and could probably pass it rn with a little review. If anyone has any further insight, advice, or personal experiences for either school I would very much appreciate it!

The issue is that you should be able to pass that test ranking in the top 10% of college test takers.

What about costs?

Sorry, I should’ve specified more. Rn, if I were to prep for that test, I’m 99% confident that I could get a 95%. I don’t know where that would rank me on the overall class curve and that’s why I’m asking for advice. Also, cost isn’t a concern, I can afford either school and they would both be around 50K a year (17k annual scholarship at whitman and 3k annual at uw). It’s more about which school is the better financial decision: large public with (possibly) good job outlook or small lac with unknown job outlook.

BTW, if you go to Whitman, they have a 3/2 arrangement with UW (and other highly selective colleges, such as Columbia, Caltech, Duke, etc.) so that you can get both a Liberal Arts degree and an Engineering degree. Best of both world … just have to pay 5 years of tuition.

I would totally do that if they still had it for cs…they removed it for cs when they introduced their cs major and now currently only have it for engineering majors which means I would have to pursue ee which I don’t find too appealing.

The two most important grades for admittance to CSE are your CS142/143 grades. A 4.0 winter quarter in 143 was something like a 97% or higher. These are very competitive classes, and honestly a math and science background isn’t going to hurt, but it won’t really be of that much help either. You should take the time to learn java, get the building java programs back to basic, and use “practice it.” Start seeing if you can do the homework from 142 and 143, and follow UW’s style guidelines closely.

Given your background, getting 3.8+ in those classes will be the deciding factor, as the rest of your grades will likely already be up there.

If you can’t prep for those classes, consider taking them at your CC before you go to UW, the credit will transfer, and as long as you 4.0 them at CC, it shouldn’t get held against you, although you’re still better off with a 3.8+ at UW.

If you did not get direct-to-college, you probably cannot get CSE – which is in the school of engineering. They will not accept any additional engineering majors until all those accepted direct-to-college get matched, and CSE is popular enough that you should assume it will be full. (Cannot say this with absolute certainty since direct-to-college is brand new, but this is how it is supposed to work.)

You can do well in the prerequisite classes and apply to major in CS (without the E!) and the associated majors listed above, but as others have noted, CS is going to be highly competitive.

I would practice your programming over the summer on sites like EdX or Coursera rather than creating a community college transcript. You’ll have the same benefit of being well-prepared for CS142 without the risk to your GPA and academic record. An easy community college class will not serve you well if you get transfer credit but don’t have the same fundamentals that the UW CS students got. You’ll be behind the curve in the follow-up classes. A challenging community college class is not worth the GPA risk because it will be a semester’s worth of work in less time and a faster pace, and you absolutely need A’s if you are not direct admit to CS.

Taking 142/143 at a community college is to avoid risk to your academic record, since even with java experience, you are unlikely to get a 4.0 at UW in those courses. Look at the curve from last quarter, it was insane.

If you choose that, odds are against you. So look at the alternate majors.