UW Computer Science & Engineering Department Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Washington
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<p>To all: </p>

<p>First off, not getting directly admitted to CSE is not the end of the world. </p>

<p>If you consider that about 30 spots will be taken by direct admits, that means there’s another 220 spots available for each graduating year. The number of applicants go down drastically once people get ‘weeded out’ in the intro classes or think they don’t really want to do CSE anymore. The numbers are slightly blurred since people might graduate in 3 or 5 years. </p>

<p>There’s two parts to admissions: grades and personal statement.</p>

<p>To be a strong candidate, you should probably have a 3.7+ GPA in your prereq classes. Some people retake a prereq class (e.g. CSE 142) or take a higher level class (e.g. ochem, which isn’t required) to bump up their grade and show they can be a serious competitor. </p>

<p>You can get into the major with a 3.2. It’s been done. You can be rejected with a 4.0 That’s also happened. It’s kind of common, actually. Most of the rejected 3.9+ GPA students think they’re guaranteed a spot and then write terrible personal statements, which reflect on that attitude. </p>

<p>The second part of admissions is your personal statement. This is really the make or break-er. Let the admissions committee know who you are. Don’t just list your accomplishments, but talk about how you and the department will mutually benefit from your admittance to the program.</p>

<p>Learn more here: <a href=“https://www.cs.washington.edu/prospective_students/undergrad/admissions/upper_division/”>https://www.cs.washington.edu/prospective_students/undergrad/admissions/upper_division/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If your goal is to jump into tech industry (software engineer, product manager, etc) or get a PhD in computer science, not majoring in computer science is not the end of the world. Yes, it makes things a bit easier. Yes, you have more access to CSE specific resources. However, a lot of my friends who never get into the department end up with great jobs at startups, Microsoft, Amazon, etc… many will go pursue their masters or PhDs at top schools, like CMU. Your future is what you make of it.</p>

<p>I’m probably going to start rambling at some point, but basically… keep your options open. Check out the other majors at UW, like Informatics, HCDE, Design, EE, or ACMS. They produce graduates who do very, very well. In some cases, students who don’t get into CSE are more driven in some respects because they have to be proactive in job searching. Take part in hackathons and programming competitions. Build stuff. Host your code on places like Github. Expand your network of connections – both friends and professionals.</p>

<p>Good luck! I don’t know you guys, but I’m excited to see what you can do. The younger students never ease to amaze me with their drive and creativity. </p>

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<p>@speedsolver</p>

<p>On another thread, some one commented that Only the top 30% students (all excellent in STEM fields) are admitted into CS at UWashington. My son got admitted to UW seattle as pre-science though we applied for CS as major. His stats are 3.8 W GPA and 2190 SAT, 34 ACT. </p>

<p>is it a true statement that only top30% are admitted?</p>

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<p>@speedsolver</p>

<p>Thanks for that link.</p>

<p>From what I can see, my son probably has Maths 124, 125 & 126 as well as Physics 121 already from his “A” Levels. He will also have Chemistry 142, but that may not be usable for Computer Engineering.</p>

<p>That means that he has to do CSE 142 & 143 and the English Composition course in his first 2 quarters, which doesn’t seem to be a lot for 2 quarters. If he’s not allowed to take other CS or CE courses in that time, then I guess he’ll just to have take some elective/lib ed courses that will count towards his final degree.</p>

<p>I don’t know how this will work out, but the uncertainty does make it more difficult to choose U-Dub over other offers if they do come in.</p>

<p>Thanks again for your help.</p>

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<p>@bullcomp: I’m actually not totally sure of this number because it changes based on the number of applicants, and some applicants apply multiple times. I wish I could be more certain of this percentage, but people tend to use different numbers/reporting methods to their advantage.</p>

<p>For example, I know that some admissions cycles see a 25-30% offer rate. At the same time, many students will 1) apply multiple times, and 2) apply even though they will almost definitely not get in (e.g. 2.5 GPA). I’ve also heard that our overall admissions rate is closer to 35-40%, if you take out all the duplicate applications from over the years. Some of my friends were accepted after 3 or even 5 applications. Most of them ended up finishing their other degree as well (and thus double majoring or double degreeing). </p>

<p>Please note that these numbers are somewhat out of date. I am happy to tell you that we are growing our department, though! We recently unfroze our graduating class numbers! Four years ago, there were spots for 160 graduating students (both CS and CE) each year. About two years ago, that was bumped up to 200 students. Now, we’re seeing 250 graduating students each year. At the same time, we’re also seeing an increase in student applications since the CSE program is getting more and more popular. </p>

<p>I hope this helps!</p>

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<p>@speedsolver
Thank you for your input. Yes, it definitely helps. </p>

<p>I have another unrelated question regarding state of residency. Currently, we are from California. If my son gets admitted to Seattle, I heard that after 2 years, in state fee will apply. Do you have any information related to this?</p>

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<p>@bullcomp, I don’t believe that is true UNLESS you (his parents/legal guardians) will be moving to Seattle at the same time. In that case, your son could get in-state fees in as little as 12 months. At least, this is my understanding from reading the UW residency requirements, which can be found here: <a href=“Residency for Tuition Purposes - Office of the University Registrar”>Residency for Tuition Purposes - Office of the University Registrar;

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<p>@bullcomp I haven’t looked much into the residency status requirements, but @Candela2 has a great link. More specifically, this might help: <a href=“Residency Requirements (Non-affidavit) - Office of the University Registrar”>Residency Requirements (Non-affidavit) - Office of the University Registrar;

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<p>Hrm. Im just confirming my lack of knowledge by asking this, but you can apply for the Computer Science major the moment you complete the pre-reqs? </p>

<p>Basically, when exactly do you apply? and can you continue applying each quarter if you are rejected? </p>

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<p>@UniversityHugger: The applications open for every Spring and Fall quarters. That means you can apply at the end of Winter quarter (Spring admissions) or in the summer (Fall admissions). </p>

<p>Once you complete the pre-reqs, you can apply during the next admissions cycle. If you’re rejected, you can continue to apply at all the subsequent admissions periods.</p>

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<p>@speedsolver i want to get into mechanical engineer department. how difficult would that be in terms of GPA which is required to get in. I am admitted in pre-engineering</p>

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<p>@Jash95: The intro classes have 300-400 students in each. The quiz sections (TA taught sections) have about 24 students.</p>

<p>Upper-division courses/seminars is anywhere between 9 students and 80. The class sizes are getting a bit bigger since we’re admitting more students and there’s more demand. I’d say the average upper division course has about 60 students. </p>

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<p>@speedsolver i have a few questions-
-Will i be able to take some kind of test and waive math 124 and 125 which are pre-requisites for CSE? because i believe that i know the material but i dont have not done any AP or IB courses since theres a completely different system in my country.
-is it possible to get into CSE if you dont get a 4.0 in CSE142 and 143??

  • can you name the typical courses i will have to take my first quarter as a pre-engineering major trying to get into CSE
    -How is the Electrical Engineering program at Washington? is it as difficult to get into as CSE or CS??
    -How is the general rigor at the university? will i have to put in several hours of study per day or is pretty relaxed??</p>
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<p>@SoccerGuy7:

  1. Not that I know of. If you think your coursework from your country can be transferred over as credits for 142/143, talk to an advisor.
  2. Totally. It is definitely NOT required. You can also get rejected with a 4.0 in 142/143; it really boils down to your personal statement.
  3. Autumn: Math 124, CSE 142, <em>other</em>
    Winter: Math 125, CSE 143, <em>other</em>
    Spring: Math 126, <em>other</em>, <em>other</em></p>

<p>Put a science and an English composition course in two of the <em>other</em> sections. Then, take some random classes you’d enjoy that satisfy any requirement (or as electives).
4. I can’t speak much about EE, but it seems to be a great program. Many of my friends are doing EE and doing well in industry/graduate studies. CS and CE are within CSE. CSE isn’t its own major. The admissions process is the same for CS and CE, and there is no distinguishing factor on what makes it easier to get into one or the other.
5. It depends on the classes you take and how well you want to do in the class. In some classes, I literally showed up to class, wrote a paper, and got a 4.0. In my CSE classes, I spend a ton of time studying, doing projects, going to office hours, etc and get an ok grade. </p>

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<p>Thank You @speedsolver
so is the admission to the CSE department a complete crapshoot?
and what do the people that get rejected major in?
is there any placement tests which can get me out of Math 124 and 125? i thinking of ways i can apply to CSE by the spring admission cycle</p>

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<p>Admissions is competitive and risky, but I wouldn’t call it a crapshoot.</p>

<p>People who get rejected usually end up in one of: INFO, HCDE, ACMS, EE, or transfer to another university (including UW Bothell).</p>

<p>Unfortunately, no:
“UW does not offer a placement test for any math above 124.”
<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/choosing-courses/placement-testing/”>http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/choosing-courses/placement-testing/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thank You again @speedsolver</p>

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<p>@speedsolver

  1. Do you recommend taking Math 134, 135, and 136 over Math 124, 125, and 126, or does a student applying to the CSE department look the same?
  2. If not for the first question, if you take the prereqs, not honors classes or more advanced classes like (Math 134 series) how does the admission office distinguish between two students with the same gpa besides their personal statement?</p>
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<p>@tennismc

  1. Take the series that you feel you’ll have a higher GPA in (and whatever speed/material you’re more comfortable with). A lower GPA in a ‘harder’ series won’t work to your advantage.
  2. I don’t really know the answer, sorry! I would assume that an honors/advanced class with the same GPA as non-honors/advanced will have a slightly higher weight, BUT it won’t be the final deciding factor. The personal statement is really, really important.</p>
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<p>@speedsolver thank you! Did you find it difficult to get a 3.7+ because A-'s are no longer 4.0’s and grades are on a curve?</p>

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<p>@tennismc: what do you mean by “A-'s are no longer 4.0’s”?</p>