I was wondering if you could apply to both schools, how hard it is to get into CoE as a cross campus transfer, whether it was guaranteed (like how LSA CS declaration can be guaranteed if you meet requirements) and such.
Can you apply both places?
How hard to transfer to CoE from LSA?
Just tryna see where i should apply, thanks!
No
Likely easier the other way around. Michigan does not make it easy to transfer to CoE. And that goes for most colleges. High schoolers should not think that they are the first person in the history of the universe to wonder if there is a back door way in.
Did I miss which school? At schools that admit by major it can be hard to impossible to switch. At other schools, just a formality if you are in good academic standing.
You should apply to the college that best aligns with your interests.
Thanks Ski! Missed that it was in the Michigan forum!
I believe transferring at Michigan is straight forward.
I think that the University of Michigan COE has long ago figured out that many students would try to game the system by applying to LSA and then transferring to COE. They don’t make it easy; so if you apply to the UofM LSA, be prepared to stay there.
Or find another university where it is a little easier for you to get into a college of engineering.
https://bulletin.engin.umich.edu/admissions/cross-campus-transfer/
Seems rather straight-forward. You should like math and science to be in engineering. Why is it not easy?
The difficulty of transferring from LSA to CoE lies in getting the required GPA, since the math and science classes are VERY difficult. Assuming one can meet the prereq requirements, transferring is relatively perfunctory procedure.
Math 116, Physics 140, Engineering 101, Chem 210, etc. are all considered some of the most difficult classes (i.e., “weeder”) at UMich. If you get through the gauntlet, then voila!
Also, a CS degree is offered by both LSA and CoE and have similar requirements, but not exact.
If you can’t get B’s/C’s in these beginner math/sci courses, perhaps you shouldn’t be in engineering? Why would you be interested in engineering if you are not that interested in math/sci?
If you barely get by with these beginner courses, how do you survive your junior year in engineering?
So talking from Experience here. My son was stuck between Actuary and engineering so he applied to LSA with the idea of transferring. Once he sent his application in he wanted to change to engineering but he would of had to reapply.
So he gets in LSA in EA. Takes the courses needed plus some over freshman summer. He applied for the transfer during his freshman year and got it Feb 1st of Freshman year (yes the deadline to transfer), but he still needed to finish the remaining classes so it basically started in engineering in the fall of his second year. You have until Sophomore second semester to get the classes but trust me. Take the extra classes and get it done. He took 18 credits both fall and winter semester. This is NOT easy as stated lots of weed out classes. He also worked 10 hours a week and started a major student org that was time consuming. He didn’t get all As that I can guarantee you and got his first C ever in his life. He said that was the “good” grade for the class. In Calc 2 before mid terms many many kids dropped the class and same with physics 2 muttering they were no longer going to be doctors or engineers. He had 25 kids ended up in his Calc 2 class.
He entered with a 3.9 or around unweighted and a 34 act with 35 in both math and science. His high school was the top one in Illinois that year. I say this only to emphasis, Michigan is not joke. It’s a very tough school and always has been so.
Yes, you can transfer to engineering from LSA. You have to write and essay. It worked better for his since he never took Matlab but took Python /C++ instead. Did I ever tell you about the 1 problem that took him and his partner 13 hours to solve and they were the first ones in the class with the correct answer… Lol…
But. Regardless its not easy. People used to want to do a this since there was a greater grade difference between the two. This is not true anymore. LSA is 3.9 unweighted with 32-35 Act. Engineering is 3.93 with 34 Act. Not really a difference anymore.
So. Yes they take more LSA VS engineering students but they will sniff you out on the application process so. Better have a damn good reason to do so. Good typical advise… Apply to where you want to go into.
Good Luck. Also no its not guareenteed but. Michigan also wants to support their students and will usually bend over backward to try to assist.
Junior and senior year are actually easier… Getting by those first 2 years well… Isn’t…
FWIW, my son was deferred EA and rejected RD from Engineering with 4.0 UW/4.75w and 34 ACT (first test). He kind of regretted not applying to LSA because he wasn’t entirely sure about engineering. All worked out well. He went somewhere else that IMO seemed to have handled Covid much better and chose another major. Good luck to you.
Only if you are just trying to get by and pass. If you are not good in math/sci and barely get by the entry-level courses, you will find the higher level engineering courses impossible.
One major reason to study engineering at Michigan is the breadth and depth of the engineering education available, including research and graduate courses in your area of interests. In two of my graduate CS courses, about 1/3 of the class were undergraduates, and my toughest challenge were with the juniors and seniors. These are the people you are competing with when you are looking for jobs or graduate schools.
My point being is by the time you reach to be a junior etc you understand the way Michigan works. Classes tend to be more project based and more interesting and your actually learning something useful (yes, it depends upon the engineering discipline)… But as you know, you get your monies worth. People don’t get how world classes the research labs are and the facilities and faculty. But it’s all what you put into it. Don’t really know of anyone not getting a decent job if their not going to graduate school. Glad it worked out for you.
Can I ask how you know that beyond the requirements, the rest of it is “perfunctory procedure”? I ask because I haven’t heard anything about their process before, and was worried that it was based on luck like UIUC
Thanks for the detailed answer. Since it seems that the grade difference was about the same, I probably will just apply COE and stress about my essays rather than backdoors
Make sure the essay states how you will be an “active” participant on campus and relate your essay back to your major. Do something different that applies to you. Good Luck
It’s pretty damn easy to transfer over. I was told by my advisor that you need a baseline gpa in a couple of courses including calc 1, 2, physics mech, gen chem or orgo I, intro to computing, and a FYWR. It sounds like a lot but if you have the AP credit, you can skip the calc, physics, and chemistry requirements.
You can’t use AP for the grade so you still need to take the next level class and get a C or better in it. This is for cross campus transfer
I’m almost certain that’s not the case, except for calculus.
Please call the school. They want you to take the next class available to see how you do. Been through it already. Just give yourself the best chance of success. You have to meet the said requirements and you can apply be Feb 1st but not official till that next fall.
Good Luck.