USC Physics/Comp Sci. vs UCI Comp. Sci. and Engineering? Please help!!

College Search & Selection
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Hi there everyone! I’m really having a lot of trouble deciding between these two schools and the deadline is coming up.

I have been admitted to USC for what was my 2nd choice: the Physics and Computer Science major in Dornsife. At UC Irvine though, I am admitted for the Computer Science and Engineering major offered jointly by their Donald Bren School of ICS and School of Engineering. Both are giving pretty good scholarship+financial aid packages, so it just comes down to choosing the one I want now.

I see it like this: Dornsife would allow greater flexibility for exploring other areas, but not as much depth compared to UCI with regards to my preferred major, Comp. Science and Eng. I was comparing the coursework for the 2 majors by browsing their catalogues online. UCI seemed to be far more comprehensive and extensive in terms of the coursework. I know that USC has an incredible engineering school, but that would be useful only if I could transfer into Viterbi or supplement my coursework by taking additional classes in Viterbi other than the ones I’ll be taking there as part of my currently offered major. Is the latter even possible being a Dornsife student?

USC has been my dream school. And now I feel like I have to choose between my dream school and my preferred major.

Is there a way I can be reconsidered for my preferred major in Viterbi right now? Or how does the internal transfer process work generally at USC? How tough/easy is it? If I am not able to transfer to Viterbi for Comp Science and Engineering, would Physics/Comp Science through Dornsife be worth it?

How is the Physics/Comp. Science major in Dornsife in terms of the coursework and classes? How would it compare to Comp. Science and Engineering at Irvine? How do the professors and classes compare in general?

ANY advice and help with this decision would be greatly appreciated! Thank you to all those who respond!

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Anyone??

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I would recommend going to UCI because you got into your intended major. A few friends of mine went to USC arts and sciences and tried to transfer to Viterbi for computer science but are stuck with a major like cognitive science. If you got into Viterbi for engineering, you could change majors freely but transferring to the Engineering school is very hard nowadays.

In terms of difficulty, it’s based on how much you like the subject. For example, would you rather be taking physics or engineering related classes (they do overlap a little bit). They’re both moderately difficult but I would say that USC professors would probably help you succeed more. However, in my opinion CS and Eng would be easier as the languages you learn in CS often overlap with engineering. UCI’s coursework is more challenging and more comprehensive but the one thing USC has going for it is their alumni network. Won’t be a challenge finding a job with a UCI degree though, especially because of it’s proximity near silicon valley.

If you don’t like UCI enough, feel free to transfer into Viterbi from there since getting into USC through outside transfers are really easy.