Hi, I’m an undergrad applicant to GATech. On the Common App it asks you “Please select an additional major interest.” My first choice for a major is Computer Science, if I can’t get that then I want to major in Computer Engineering. I want to extend this in the future to a double major of CS-Math or CE-Math, but not CS-CE. What should I put for this section, CE or Math?
I think the deadline is past, but here is my advise:
I might put math first then computer science second, but be careful and be sure that you can switch, for now I think you can. Math is a hard major though at GaTech. I think math is less oversubscribed. Computer science is very very crowded right now. Your class size will be smaller in math or EE. Its hard to double major if you don’t come in with a year of IB/AP credits and you want to finish in four years. Even double majoring in CS and math is very hard because of the credit requirements, unless you are in state and on a Zell Miller and want to take five years to get the two degrees. Or if you have parents that can pay for five years of GaTech, you don’t study abroad which will kill your chances of double majoring in most cases, as there are fewer classes in the study abroad programs that work for a double major, but just depends on where you study abroad. There is a program in Hong Kong that could work, or if you take an extra summer, which costs EXTRA, then study abroad will work. As much as GaTech wants everyone to believe study abroad saves money, it does not, because so few classes are going to count towards your major.
I would advise you to invest the extra time and effort you would spend double majoring into getting a graduate degree, which can often be obtained with about the same amount of additional coursework as a double major, or into getting more involved on or off campus. A double major isn’t really going to do anything for you and if you are just academically curious, you have your entire life to keep learning.
In computer science, having as much math as possible is important though as there are literally tens of thousands of computer science majors out there, and how are you going to stand out? Its truly daunting, but you can try to sign up for a co op plan at a school like GaTech. You might be surprised how many GaTech students do not find good summer jobs after freshman year, unless their parents have contacts. The one job that seems open in Home Depot software interns in Atlanta, but you have to stand out to get that job after freshman year. Of course you can take a retail job and hope for the best after two full years at GaTech, but the kids who got that Home Depot position, with all the extra math, will then get the next set of jobs. Its very competitive to get summer jobs from GaTech and not at all automatic. ) Ditto on other large state schools with a CS degree.) So I kind of disagree with InPursuit, think now how you will stand out. Math or EE courses, working in a lab, finding a job by doing Indeed searches. Its very tough!
I know one GaTech student who applied to about 50 summer positions and was actually interviewed in California for a summer position. He got one interview, with 50 job applications ! Yeah, its bad, but well, its the world we live in.
The job fairs at GaTech do not lead to jobs, they are more advertising for the companies. Unless you skip class and spend all day at the job fair, and happen to get lucky and get a technical as apposed to an HR recruiter who happens to like you. Job fairs at state schools are free for alls and not at all conducive to finding summer work.
Also if you hope to get into any competitive PhD program, you must have a LOT of math or even a math major
to get into any top computer science graduate program. They are highly competitive to get in, and math is
what will get you in. Physics is helpful, depending on exactly what sort of CS interests you. Good luck.
If you want to pay more money for a masters degree, then, yes, maybe thats easier to get in, but
you have to have the funds, and most kids don’t after Gatech. So most kids do the five or six year funded
masters degrees or get a job, or go to a FUNDED PhD program and drop out after the masters portion is done. ( or complete the PhD if they are having fun, some are ! )
By all means take courses that will give you the background that you need to land the jobs or to get into the graduate programs you are targeting. That doesn’t mean you need to double major or that you cannot target taking extra classes that will help you get a graduate degree rather than simply tacking on a second major. And it’s not “more money” to take classes that could apply to a masters degree if you were already planning on taking a bunch of extra classes for a second major.
As Coloradomama noted, Computer Science is math intensive, although that is somewhat dependent on the area of CS you are most interested in pursuing. You will be required to take a lot of math as a CS major and will be able to take further math and algorithm classes within the existing CS curriculum. If you decide to pursue a PhD, you will likely select a thread within the CS curriculum that is more math intensive. All that said, getting a separate major in math is not necessary to stand out for most jobs and graduate programs.
If you do well in school and can handle the technical interviews that are par for the course with most large Tech companies, you will not have any trouble getting a job. In fact, once you land your first decent internship, recruiters will likely be hounding you for the rest of your career. Computer Science at Georgia Tech has a >90% placement rate with most students landing entry level jobs paying >80k/year. I’m not saying you can be lazy or don’t have to work to get your foot in the door, but quality CS talent is not in abundant supply (despite all the people majoring in it), and Tech has no trouble placing its graduates in good jobs.
Thanks In @InPursuit ,thats helpful to me as a non CS major, but an engineer, with a kid in CS. The placement rate I mean. Yes, the math double major may not matter much, but getting some research work or experience may matter more and just learning on one’s own as one goes is another way to get more math. GaTech offers a very good Putnam Math class for a few credits, and the option to take hard Math exam once a year in December.
Those that score well, get a full ride for math at Harvard (PhD program). And get into all their grad schools.
When there is a will, there is a way.
see Putnam club and class at GaTech:
https://www.math.gatech.edu/putnam-competition
GaTech’s math department is arguably more personal and caring than the huge CS department can be
right now. But we are only on year two and could be missing something. I am not at GaTech very often
and really know very little about day to day life in College of Computing.
The math teachers are amazing at GaTech. CS teachers are too, but they will not remember your name.
Classes are large.