Does anyone know the acceptance rate for college of liberal arts and sciences?
Quoting Jeff Ericson at Quora :
There are nine different computer science majors at Illinois: Engineering CS, Mathematics & CS, Statistics & CS, CS+Anthropology, CS+Astronomy, CS+Chemistry, CS+Crop Sciences, CS+Linguistics, and CS+Music. Two more majors are starting next fall: CS+Economics and CS+Philosophy. A twelfth major in CS+Advertising is in the final stages of approval, and will probably launch in Fall 2020.
[Added January 2022: Since I wrote this answer, we have added two new majors—CS+Animal Sciences and CS+Geography and Geographic Information Science—bringing our total number of CS majors to 14. Otherwise, my answer is unchanged.]
The core curriculum in all nine existing majors is identical—same classes, same instructors, same TAs, same labs, same homework, same programming assignments, same exams, same grading standards, same everything. Nobody will know which species of CS major you are — including the faculty — unless you tell them. (CS+Advertising will have a slightly different core, with one architecture+systems course replacing two separate courses, but with another data-oriented course added in. Some other CS+X’s may adopt that revision.)
Students in all nine majors have access to almost* all the same resources—same faculty, same labs, same computer accounts, same department advisors, same career fairs, same career services. Recruiters and graduate admissions committees cannot tell which species of CS major you are unless you tell them, and they really don’t care even if you do tell them. (Employers and admissions committees don’t really care about your major anyway; they care about you actual accomplishments, your expertise, and your passions.)
The differences are entirely in the upper-division electives. Engineering CS majors take more traditional CS courses. Math&CS students take more math. Stat&CS majors take more statistics (or as the cool kids call it these days, “data science”). CS+linguistics students take more linguistics. CS+CS students take more crop science. CS+Music students take more music.
That’s it. That’s the difference.
Oh, right, there is one more difference: The CS Engineering major is much more popular, and therefore much harder to be admitted into, because apparently many prospective students (and their parents, and their guidance counselors) still mistakenly believe that it actually matters which college you get your CS Illinois degree from. It doesn’t. At all.
tl;dr: The different CS majors at Illinois allow different students to pursue their own individual interests. That’s how they “compare”.
(*Almost: Only Engineering CS majors are eligible for the 5-year master’s programs, because the master’s requirements overlap the upper-division undergrad electives. Majors in different colleges have access to different college-level academic advising. Engineering has a study-abroad program, but so does the campus, so whatever.)
6 Likes
Completely speechless….
Your daughter is beyond amazing and I am confident one of her dream schools will materialize 
4 Likes
Accepted OOS(intl?) CS + Stat
1510 SAT
3.8/4.2
USACO silver, NYT editorial runner up, ACSL silver, OUCC top 20
Lot of leadership ECs
6 Likes
Accepted to CS in the Grainger College of Engineering.
OOS (International), 1570, 4.0 equivalent GPA, a bunch of leadership, writing and engineering ECs (including making my own projects).
6 Likes
She will make it to Carnegie Mellon.
wishing her the very best.
Daughter had applied for CS+Economics. In State. 1510, 3.79 UW; 4.17 W , 13 APs.
She got the following note - “While we are unable to offer you admission to your first-choice major, we do recognize you are a strong student and would like to offer you admission to an alternate major”
Hope some one can share their thoughts -
What does it mean to get into alternate Engineering Major? Seems like she will transfer to a declared program after freshman?
Was she offered an alternate Engineering Major? Did she list a second choice major?
I know that Purdue FYE was way more competitive than past years, so it doesn’t surprise me how competitive UIUC is either
Only the admissions people can tell you what is available at this point, but there is an undeclared major in the Grainger School of Engineering.
However, they might also be thinking Econ with CS minor or some other combo. It’s worth it to check out because not everyone gets this consideration.
Good luck!
Does anyone know anything about being offered a “Campus Waitlist” aka only being offered a waitlist for 2nd major/any other related majors and dgs? How would this compare to getting off a more competitive waitlist like CS (the 2nd major is in the ACES department)?
He hasn’t heard from Wash U, still waiting on UC schools, Cal Poly SLO, Lehigh, and Wash U. Not expecting acceptance, it was one of his reach schools.
Does anyone know when the admitted students tours are being held? The website says the dates will be announced on February 28, but I’m trying to schedule the plane tickets before then.
1 Like
Same here.
Does anyone have an estimated time frame for honors notification? I know the website says by April 1. Does anyone know when the honors notifications went out last year? Also, does anyone know if the honors notifications go out all at once or in waves by major?
1 Like
Son accepted to Biology. His interest is in premed. We are in-state.
His stats: WGPA: 4.48, SAT: 1570, 2022 National Merit Finalist. 10 APs.
UIUC haven’t informed us about at merit scholarships.
3 Likes
Son accepted to Philosophy
Out of stae
GPA: 3.6/4.6
SAT: 1460
2 Likes
Thanks for your prompt response. What is the big difference between CS in CoE and CS + minor in LAS? I know that LAS can’t apply for 4+1 which will shorten the master program.
rejected for CS. OOS 4.8 GPA. 1550 SAT ( a little low I guess). stem extra curriculars but maybe not deep enough. stem internship. varsity captain 4 years. national hispanic scholar. National Hispanic recognition award. commended AP scholar. It’s a tough year for CS
yes, CS can be very brutal.
1 Like