UW-Seattle vs. UIUC vs. u of Toronto

It’s difficult to get into the CS major at U of T as well. First year students not admitted via the CS program needed at least an 83% in their intro courses last year. The class average for those courses is lower than that. The majors in math and physical sciences are not competitive.

Isabelli, in your situation, given your choices & given that you want to do CS, I’d suggest that you seriously consider UIUC. Its CS program in COE is top-notch. My son was accepted into their CS+Math major in the Science school & is seriously considering it. But I think it’s a very competitive program.

@KritinSinghal, UW engineering and CS appear to enroll a broad range of students (middle 50% range SAT 1170-1420; ACT 27-33). When considering the CS and engineering admission process at UW and reading about the percentages of students who are admitted to their majors each year, try to determine where you stand academically in relation to the entering class of engineering students. Generally speaking, if you are at or above the upper range of scores, you should be OK as long as you continue to apply yourself to your studies. If you are below the average of these scores, you may be facing an uphill climb.

Regarding CSE admissions, the UW Engineering Admissions Statistics page states:

“We typically have space for approximately 40% of students who apply. Cumulative GPAs of admitted students generally range from 3.4-4.0. The minimum GPA to be considered for admission is a 2.5 average in prerequisite courses.”

A few days ago, an article in the Seattle Times about Paul Allen’s $40 million gift to the establish the new Allen School for Computer Science & Engineering reported:

"Although computer science and engineering is a tough program to get into, the picture is getting better. In 2016, 43 percent of bachelor’s applicants were admitted to the program. In previous years, the admission rate was lower.


“[The CSE Department] is now enrolling about 370 new undergraduate students each year, double the number it was able to accommodate in 2012… This year, it is asking for $6 million from the Legislature to increase the number of students it graduates by 120 degrees per year. Most of that increase would be in bachelors degrees, Lazowska said.”