Hi! There’s only one week left, but I still have no idea which one to pick.
I want to major in computer science. I got in:
UW: pre-science
U of Toronto: math & physical sciences
UIUC: computer science
The costs are all the same. I’m a OOS in both UW and UIUC, an international in Canada.
UW has the best location and weather, but I heard it’s really hard to get in CS.
Toronto is relatively easier to get in CS. The overall ranking and location is great. But I heard there is less sense of community in u of t and the class sizes are huge.
The big problem I have with UIUC is the location. Urbana Champaign is kind of in the middle of nowhere.
Any kind of advice will be really helpful! Thanks!
I would personally prefer UW because of the amazing location and campus and there are fixed steps which if followed will enable you to easily switch to CS. I figure UIUC will be more expensive as well considering their latest hike in tuition fees.
@KnightOne , I would not consider switching in to CS easy at UW considering that only 30% of those who try to do so succeed. UW does have CS-like majors, though.
It me, it comes down to how badly you want to major in CS. I would not consider Toronto as an American.
@PurpleTitan, Why wouldn’t you consider Toronto or Canadian schools in general?
@KnightOne, yeah Seattle is very attractive, with awesome job and internship opportunities. And UW’s campus is just breathtaking. But the competitiveness of getting into CS is really not ideal.
More American companies would recruit at American colleges.
Granted, Waterloo is recruited heavily. UBC as well. If costs are not an issue, from a purely career perspective, you already got in to a top CS program at UIUC, so why go to Toronto?
UIUC is probably even harder to get into the CS major if you are not directly admitted, but it looks like you are directly admitted, so that is an advantage over Washington.
If you’re not a direct admit to CS at UW, and you know that’s what you want to major in, cross it off your list. “Hard to get into” is an understatement. In fact, kids who can’t get into UW CS are overcrowding other Washington campuses as well. For example, if you don’t get into UW CS and try to transfer in the state system, you will find that Western Washington limits CS course enrollment for transfers because they were getting more than they could handle as the fallback plan for kids shut out of UW.
If you have direct admission to CS at UIUC, that is the safest path. However, I saw that you had a 2220 SAT, 780s on Physics and Math 2 SAT II and an unweighted GPA of 3.85, which suggest that competitive admission to the CS major at Washington may not be that much of a concern for you compared to the average student, as you would be well above the top 25% of the class. If I were you, I would call the department and speak with an advisor about your prospects, given your outstanding academic profile. See also: http://www.washington.edu/news/blog/uw-wins-national-award-for-promoting-womens-participation-in-undergraduate-computing/
@UWfromCA, I reckon that most kids at UW trying to get in to CS are in the top quarter (just as those who try to get in to HYPSM are in the top few percentiles), yet most still get rejected.
@PurpleTitan, Their profile is only slightly higher than the overall student body (est. 26-32 vs. 25-31 ACT; est. 1170-1400 vs. 1110-1350 SAT (2014); expect an uptick in these figures when the complete 2015 CDS is published and again for 2016 due to large increase in applications in each of the last two years).
These might not be the best predictors of performance in CSE 142 and 143 at Washington. Prior programming experience is likely a better predictor of how well one does in those two courses, even though CSE 142 is supposed to be for those with no programming experience.
According to UW, “It is not necessary to have had computer programming courses in high school, or computer-related work experience, to gain admission to our program.”
Of course, just as an experienced fisherman is likely to catch fish more easily and an experienced gardener is likely to grow roses more easily (sadly, I am terrible at both, despite a fair amount of experience).
Regarding UIUC, I just wanted to check if you were admitted to CS in the College of Engineering (COE). There are CS majors not in Engineering, but the one in the COE is the main one. If you’re not in the COE, it will be hard to transfer into.
Also, saying UIUC is in the middle of nowhere is a bit of hyperbole. Sure, it’s not a big city – population of the two cities is about 125,000 – but there’s plenty to do there.
I am stuck in a similar situation. I got accepted to the University of Toronto in Maths and Physical Sciences and to UWash Seattle in pre sciences. I want to pursue Computer Science. Please let me know about your considerations and the program that you had chosen finally. Thank you!
@KritinSinghal if you were not direct admit to CS at UW then your chances of getting into CS later are low – it’s very competitive. UW is a nicer university to go to. But if a CS major is important to you, then I recommend Toronto.