Hi I got off the waitlist today, but they didn’t tell me how long do I have before change my decision.
Does anyone know about it? I looked up the website and they said that kids who got acceptance package after April 15th have 2 weeks to make their decision, but I am not sure that means kids like me.
Also, I am planning to go to UCSD for engineering, but now i need to make new decision…
Any thoughts? Which would be better for my future? I am not sure I have true passion for cs, but I think cs is interesting so far and uiuc cs is really great opportunity.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading this, it’s almost midnight and I have ap exam that I didn’t study at all tomorrow so I might be just crazy at this point.
UCSD and UIUC are pretty comparable schools for CS. UCSD has a slight edge in other engineering disciplines and a large advantage in non-engineering fields, so if you’re not certain your heart is set on CS that might be the safer option overall. Have you visited both universities?
UIUC must be having a dilemma where all the high standard students they’ve accepted are enrolling to better colleges, leaving UIUC with a lot of seats to fill for CS, because I just got an email saying they’ve updated my decision to be accepted into CS after I was rejected (not even waitlisted) for CS. I still got into my second choice major there (undecided-DGS), but I have already payed a $400 enrollment fee for another college-RHIT. Sucks because UIUC was my first choice. ;_;
Anywho, my email said I have till May 10th to enter UIUC as a computer science student, 2-3 business days to process the request, and then two weeks to accept my offer of admission.
Both are great universities and I do not think you can go wrong with either one of them.
Can you share your stats please? @M1223CT @greekyogurtking
I had a 28 ACT (28 Math, 28 Read, 28 Eng, 27 Sci) Nowhere near UIUC’s 34 ACT median. They must be truly desperate to want that lol.
UW GPA:4.00/4.00
W GPA: 4.36/4.00
Class rank: 1 of 106
Keep in mind that these HS stats are from a HS in bumblefuck Illinois, which has no AP or IB classes, two honors classes, and a couple dual credit classes. and Absolutely no computer science classes. The closest to one is a semester long Adobe dream weaver class where you learn the most basic HTML and CSS. (I’m going to self teach in my summer break so I’m not so helpless) Needless to say, I don’t have very much experience compared to like 90% of accepted CS students that pretty much already work for companies coding up programs.
Illinois resident
My app had pretty much all extracurriculars that my school offers on my app-~6clubs. Only held a leadership position as the manager for my scholastic bowl team for two years.
Essay could have been better. Nothing to stand out imo.
Honors: does high honor roll count? Also received 2016-2017 Illinois state scholar award.
So either my admission decision update to CS at UIUC is an utter mistake, a fake, or people reallllllly don’t want to go there, leaving a whole bunch of seats open for people like me.
@M1223CT Very humble. I have a 2050 super score but I applied engineering.
@kk2508 I got 2160 for SAT three subject tests with scores of 790~800 took 3 APs last year and 3 this year.
I am not sure about specific GPA, but it was all As or A-s so probably 3.8~4.0…?
I don’t know my class rank, but I think that i am top 20% and my school is pretty small but competitive.
Also, I am an International Student! But I decided not to go so I hope my spot goes to you!!!
@greekyogurtking did you get into UCSD CSE directly? I know in state kids with similar stats can’t get in.
@Just4Years I didn’t apply UCSD CSE! I applied for the different engineering program for my first choice so I might not be qualified for UCSD’s CSE major! but I got into many other schools for CSE major like NYU, UCSB, and waitlisted in Berkeley CSE! Also, I believe that Stats are one of the most important factors in college admission, but some colleges do holistic review so test scores are not all!! I saw kids who got into IVYs with low test scores, and I have pretty good essay (got the personal message from few colleges about the essay) and strong ECs!
@greekyogurtking NYU CS is not nearly as competitive as most UC/UIUC CS. UC in general are stats heavy. UCB might be more holistic than other UCs but still stats dominant. And there’s no reason to suggest in an state kid with similar stats would have worse essays/EC than an OOS or international. Money is a big factor when state schools including UIUC and UC now accept lots of OOS/Internationals instead of in state’s nowadays.
@Just4Years lol i don’t know why you are being so offensive. Well maybe you don’t know how good NYU’s cs department is, but it is actually 29th in national which is better than UCI and UCSB. and Yes it is true that state schools often accept OOS/International student for financial reason, but keep in mind that in state students still have better chance to get in than ppl from other states.
Are you upset cuz international student got into the school that you really love or wish to go to? I feel sorry that you can’t be happy for other people. You don’t have to patronize what other people accomplished to feel better about yourself.
Anyway, I don’t wanna be annoyed by your comments, so I won’t reply anymore, but I wish you can get into wherever you wanna go and stop being so mean to other people! If you are not a senior, why don’t you spend your time on doing something productive?
@greekyogurtking Means no offense dude. Just stating the fact and yours is just not quite right. At least in UC it’s already known (by plenty evidences) that it’s easier for OOS/Int kids to get in (it’s just getting more so every year). There’s even an audit proving that this year. But what can we do. UC just needs more fund from somewhere. Residents who pay tax already feel screwed. I don’t know if UIUC situation is as bad. Congrats to your NYU CS. I am not sure the ranking is right tbh but it’s a decent albeit smaller program. Class size should be better than public schools’. I was just saying that it’s not as selective as top six UC CS probably due its high price tag and popularity of UC. But if you can afford it all the power to you.
@DoctorP I disagree with you. UIUC is a step above UCSD when it comes to engineering and DEFINITELY when it comes to CS. UIUC is ON PAR with Georgia Tech and Michigan and just a step below UCB. UCSD does not even fall into this tier. This is evidenced by rankings (which consistently put UIUC top 10 if not top 5).
@greekyogurtking
You’re the one being rude here, jeez. The fact of the matter is that NYU CS isn’t up to stuff compared to the other schools here in terms of prestige. Secondly, It’s 29th on us news for Grad Schools, NOT undergrad. Maybe you should use your time to improve your reading comprehension skills instead of trying to provoke someone further with a lines like “Are you upset cuz international student got into the school that you really love or wish to go to? I feel sorry that you can’t be happy for other people. You don’t have to patronize what other people accomplished to feel better about yourself.”
Look, I go to a school in cali that’s a feeder to berkeley. There are around 3 or 4 people going to NYU for cs this year in a class of 600. They are only going because they didn’t get into any UC above santa cruz. That’s right. To us, NYU is considered below Irvine and Sb. It’s really easy to get into NYU based on the historical figures that past applicants from our school applied to, relatively speaking. Second of all, rankings aren’t everything. NYU has a tiny cs dept. compared to the other powerhouses being mentioned here. Furthermore, saying that one school isn’t as good as another is not “being offensive.”
Also, a higher admission rate does not necessarily mean that it’s easier to get in. You would have to look at the actual statistics of people getting accepted.
Also, if you didn’t apply to UCSD CSE directly, don’t expect to get in guaranteed. In fact, most people who come in trying to transfer won’t get in. The ones who make have a combination of the following traits:
- working really hard, like, harder than anyone actually in cse, and not hanging out much with friends
- true talent/passion for cs
- a decent amount of knowledge in cs prior
This quarter the gpa required to transfer into CSE at UCSD was 4.0.
Therefore, I think that you should definitely go to UIUC for cs over SD if given the chance. It’s just way too risky.
Cheers
@kaustubh0328 I think that UIUC is definitely a cut above SD for cs, but it’s on a semi-related note been way harder for cali residents to get into SD cse than it has for UIUC. Obviously this is because we apply to illinois out of state, though. The thing is though if you’re not sure if you’re truly passionate about cs than UIUC could be iffy too, since its relatively weak to those other schools outside of engineering.
@Evertim
I think you are the one who need to improve your reading skill… lol I never said that I wanna study CSE in UCSD and that’s why I decided not to go to UIUC. I think CS is awesome, but I like my first major at UCSD better than CSE and that’s why I chose that major as my first choice when I applied to UCSD. Also, just the fact that kids in your school chose to go to NYU b/c they didn’t get into UC doesn’t mean UC school’s cs is better than that of NYU. I saw many kids who choose NYU over UC schools for cs or other engineering programs. I know that many smart kids in Cali choose UC schools cuz they have great education with reasonable price, but that doesn’t mean prospective cs students all over the world would undoubtedly choose UC schools over NYU. You overgeneralize everything based on what you know. Dude world is lot bigger than you think lol.
I used graduate ranking because there is no published ranking about undergrad cs program. If you just assume that UCI and UCSB have better program for CS, is there any proof? I know ranking isn’t everything, but how could you be so sure that my statement is wrong without any stats or facts? Just4Years is the one who said NYU’s cs is not as nearly good as some UCs cs program, and I just said that is not true based on the US NEWS.
Also, I said he/she is being offensive cuz Just4Years said that OOS/international students can get into UC schools more easily than CA residents. I am not sure who won’t be offended when someone tell you that you got accepted because you are from outside California? That is so not true if you just checked their website which doesn’t take more than 10 mins. Berkeley’s website has average SAT/ACT scores and GPA for their admittees, and OOS/Int’s grades and scores are actually higher than Cali residents with lower acceptance rate. A situation could be different at other UC, but other schools don’t post specific test scores and GPA of instate/OOS/Int’s separately. (“Also, a higher admission rate does not necessarily mean that it’s easier to get in. You would have to look at the actual statistics of people getting accepted.”-> They actually do have higher stats than instate kids.)
Please just don’t be so sure about what you’re saying without any facts! It’s general courtesy and common knowledge.
@greekyogurtking which major did you apply to at UCSD? Just wondering why you applied to CS elsewhere but not at UCSD. If your true interest lies more in line with what you were accepted to at UCSD then it’s no brainier. If it’s CS then take the sure thing at UIUC. Go to a place based on USNWR ranking is not a good reason which seems to be the reason you asked that question to begin with. As to NYU, check out the faculty depth and degree requirement and of CS dept you tell me if it’s really as comprehensive as UC’s. My hunch is it’s due to its borne out of NYU’s math dept which has a high reputation. But CS along, nay. And Evertim is right that only kids who did not get top 6 UC CS would go to NYU, for the most part.