<p>At admit day told 50% drop out of CS before they graduate. If you took AP CS, calculus AB and all the standard science clases in high school and did pretty good on your SATs how impossible is CS at UCSD? Would it be better to go to a less rigorous school and maybe have an easier time?</p>
<p>Lots of people switch majors. Especially out of engineering. I think bioengineering has a crazy attrition rate, like 90%+. If you did well in high school, you can reasonably expect to do well here too. I think everyone probably has some anxiety, but as long as you put effort forth, you’ll probably do fine. The people who fail are the people who don’t take the necessary steps to learn (attend class, talk to people who understand the material). It would likely be easier to do well at a less rigorous schoo.</p>
<p>By the way, dropout rates of a major aren’t necessarily because they are too hard. I know a CS major who has already quit CS, and it wasn’t because the major was insanely demanding, but more because it wasn’t necessarily what he expected. CS isn’t just programming; there’s a lot of computer theory, I think.</p>
<p>The CS program at UCSD is rigorous but not impossibly hard. You already have a head start with your AP CS class in both experience coding and in having a better idea of what programming is about. Slorg is right - many will leave CS because either it wasn’t what they expected or because they simply don’t want to do that much work. The amount of work a CS major does is substantially higher than many other majors (due to the programs one must write) but if you’re motivated and are willing to do the work and can get acclimated to not getting straight A’s, you should be able to do okay. </p>
<p>Many employers know the rigor of the majors at various schools so sometimes the graduate of the more rigorous program will fare better with offers.</p>
<p>For getting jobs in engineering it is all about the GPA. Better GPA’s get more $'s.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Only half true. There are various articles i’ve read that rank what employers look for the most in potential employees. GPA was at like 8 or so. #1 was experience. They say a 3.2 with a good amount of internships is vastly superior to a 3.7 with zero experience. So grades are only a part of the formula.</p>
<p>Anyway, CS is very demanding here, but I really have nothing to judge this against. You will become very well acquainted with sleep deprivation. If staying up all night playing with code doesn’t excite you, then CS will be especially painful for you IMO.</p>
<p>I’ve been through the lower div requirements for CS, and there certainly is a good amount of theory and math. It is much more than simply learning programming languages. I must admit, though, that my least favorite parts of CS are the math parts heh.</p>
<p>Oh yea, and you may hate EE. You’ll have to take 2 EE classes. Most CS majors go through it wondering why “we have to take this crap!?!?!?!” I know that feeling intimately. :)</p>
<p>The best advice i’ve received is simple and cliche, but so very true: have a positive work ethic.</p>
<p>“GPA was at like 8 or so. #1 was experience. They say a 3.2 with a good amount of internships is vastly superior to a 3.7 with zero experience. So grades are only a part of the formula.”</p>
<p>True. For most engineering majors, GPA is not a big factor in the job market. Experience in the industry is much more important.</p>
<p>I have heard oppositely regarding GPAs. The husband of a hirer at HP told me that she would hire a dog, if it had the skills. I think what you learn is what matters most.</p>
<p>Post this in the engineering section and they will tell you the highest paid jobs go to the students with the best gpa’s.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you read my post, you’d know I did not dispute this fact. I was simply stating that, as I understand it, there is more to getting a good job than grades. Namely experience. It also should not be ignored that it often requires a good GPA to get experience.</p>
<p>“For most engineering majors, GPA is not a big factor in the job market.” </p>
<p>This is simply not true. Without a minimum 3.0 GPA good luck even getting in the door for an interview. If you have a higher GPA you will in most instances be paid more at the entry level.</p>
<p>“Experience in the industry is much more important.”</p>
<p>It is certainly of equal importance, but without the GPA good luck getting the initial interview.</p>
<p>Are we talking about undergrad gpas?</p>
<p>I’ve talked to employers and mentors from very notable businesses, and all of them say that the single most important factor is experience. The next most important thing is probably research experience (again, experience), then GPA, and then the school you attended. Of course a 3.0 from MIT (which, incidentally, happens to be quite good) is going to be better than a 3.7 from some rural state university, but unless you’re attending a top university - and there are about five of them - it’s not going to matter.</p>
<p>It’s all about experience, and if you’ve worked for several summers and/or have significantly contributed to various OSS projects, it shows that you know your stuff, and that’s what a company wants - a worker who can get the job done.</p>
<p>“This is simply not true. Without a minimum 3.0 GPA good luck even getting in the door for an interview. If you have a higher GPA you will in most instances be paid more at the entry level.”</p>
<p>Let’s not forget the obvious flaw pointed out by SQL: engineering is harder at some schools than it is at other schools. Furthermore, a 3.0 engineering GPA is considered to be above average in many schools since most engineering courses are curved at B-'s. By your statement that a minimum of 3.0 can barely capture the attention of employers, most engineers should have a hard time finding jobs. Now, this is hardly agreeable.</p>
<p>“It is certainly of equal importance, but without the GPA good luck getting the initial interview.”</p>
<p>Experience is definitely of greater importance than GPA. This is quite clear. Why would a company choose GPA over experience? Experience shows that the job applicant is actually able to apply what he/she learned in school to the relevant field. GPA is useful in determining how well someone understands the concept. It’s not the same as actually applying the concept. Of course, there are courses that apply the concepts, but they are not the same as what most engineers will face in the job market. Experience gives the assurance that the applicant knows what he/she is doing and is prepared for circumstances that are usually not present in a classroom setting.</p>
<p>Think of it like this, would you hire someone who has a 3.3 GPA with no experience or someone who has a 2.9 GPA with 3 years of experience at Genentech to run and oversee your chemical analysis?</p>
<p>I’m not going to argue with you. Once again I refer you to the engineering majors thread to read the posts there.</p>
<p>There’s a very high employment rate of engineering grads from UCSD. The average engineering (CS anyway) GPA there is around 2.75 or so which means less than half have above a 3.0. Employers are clearly hiring many UCSD engineering grads with below a 3.0 GPA.</p>
<p>That’s nice for the UCSD grads. Do you have a link for that information. It would be nice to post it over in the engineering majors section where this discussion has been going for some time.</p>
<p>lol at this thread</p>
<p>sorry for derailing this thread :(</p>
<p>“I’m not going to argue with you. Once again I refer you to the engineering majors thread to read the posts there.”</p>
<p>And what should I be looking for there? The general consensus that “for getting jobs in engineering it is all about the GPA?” I’m not sure if you even read the thread, but there is little or no general consensus there. The only thing that they agree on is that GPA is not the only factor in getting a job in the engineering market, which is contrary to your statement: “For getting jobs in engineering it is all about the GPA.”</p>
<p>The consensus is that without the GPA it’s going to be hard. The GPA is the baseline.</p>