Hi guys!
Earlier this year I was accepted into Purdue EA as a computer science major. I was committed and ready to go when a couple of days ago I was accepted off the waitlist from UCI. However, I was accepted as a math major there. I know that UCI would be a lot cheaper because of instate tuition, but my parents are fine with either. If I go to UCI then I would have to transfer into CS which may be kind of difficult considering the fact that it may be difficult to register for the classes that are required for the major change, but I know a couple of people who have successfully transferred into cs from other majors so I think its definitely doable. I also feel like UCI may provide more opportunities as its location is a lot better, but I also know that Purdue is pretty well known in the field of cs as well. But I’m also concerned about the location of Purdue, I’m also afraid that the weather is not going to be the best there, definitely a lot different than California, so I don’t know how I’m going to adapt. Should I stay instate, go to UCI and try and transfer to CS? Or should I instead go to Purdue where I was accepted as a CS major?
https://www.ics.uci.edu/ugrad/policies/Change_of_Major.php#Another can help you see what you need to do to change your major at UCI.
How much debt at each?
Yep, I’ve looked through the different ways that I can change my major and have somewhat of a plan on how I’m going to finish the classes. I’m also instate so UCI would be about 15k cheaper each year compared to Purdue. However, I don’t know if it’s worth the risk to go to UCI and attempt to transfer or just go to Purdue where I was accepted for my major.
I’m going to page @Gumbymom to answer your question about transferring majors into CS at UCI.
At Purdue, CS in the college of science is direct admit.
Location wise, you won’t have any issues with internships or co-ops. Purdue has one of the largest job fairs in the country and companies come from all over.
Weather…well, that’s a different story but that’s what layers are for!
@floppypenguin: I have listed the change of major criteria for CS below. The issue is trying to get into the CS courses as a non-CS major to complete the requirements. Also there is no 100% guarantee if you complete the GPA and course requirements, that there will be room for you to switch. I would contact the CS department at UCI and talk to someone about your chances of changing your major before committing.
Requirements:
Students must meet BOTH requirements:
- Minimum of 2.7 GPA overall cumulative
- Minimum GPA of 2.7 in the quarter immediately preceding the change of major
- Course grades: A minimum GPA of 3.0 and no grade less than a C in ALL courses taken from those listed below. Completion of the following:
ICS 31 and ICS 32, or
ICS 32A and ICS 33, and
One or more of Math 2A, Math 2B, ICS 6B, ICS 6D, ICS 6N
https://www.ics.uci.edu/ugrad/policies/Change_of_Major.php
Thank you for the advice!
@momofsenior1
Yeah! I have looked through some of the companies that would be present at the careers fairs and I agree that there are plenty of opportunities. I’m still kind of worried about not finding much to do there though.
@Gumbymom
I have made a spreadsheet with all the transfer requirements and options that I might have in order to transfer. I have also talked to about 8 people and they have all been able to successfully transfer once they have completed the requirements, so I definitely know that it is doable, but I’m just worried about not being able to get the classes since there are so many people fighting for the spots. Also, I took your advice and shot them an email, so I’m waiting on that now.
You can look at UCI’s past class schedules to see how full the lower division I&C Sci courses needed for the CS major were in previous quarters.
https://www.reg.uci.edu/perl/WebSoc
http://catalogue.uci.edu/interdisciplinarystudies/computerscienceandengineering/
There is a ton to do at Purdue. Sports, arts, parties, movies, concerts, 1000 clubs, etc… More to do than you’ll have time for and if you are graving some time in the city, Indy is an hour away and Chicago is two hours.
@ucbalumnus
Thanks for the links, those really helped me!
@momofsenior1
Oh wow, that’s actually a lot of activities. I will make sure to look more into it then! Thank you!
I’m seeing some concentrations for math majors at UCI such as data science, mathematical finance, applied and computational math, and mathematical biology that would be just as good as a straight CS degree when it came to finding a job. Most of the programmers I worked with didn’t have CS degrees, although they almost all had some kind of STEM degree.
I have a CS degree. Just speaking for myself, if I had to do it all over again, I’d probably go for something more akin to the concentrations that UCI offers its math majors. I always found the theoretical CS taught in most CS programs to be very dry and monotonous. It was always the practical applications of CS that I found to be interesting.