I think I chose the wrong major

reformedman
Mon, 26 Feb 2018 15:06:35 +0000

@AmitKania Congrats on your acceptance!
Your first year as a [Computer and Systems Engineering](Program: Computer and Systems Engineering - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Acalog ACMS™) student will be nearly identical to the first year as a [Computer Science](Program: Computer Science - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Acalog ACMS™) major.
For that reason I want to advise you that you think very clearly whether you want to transfer to CS or dual in CS. If you dual then you need to avoid taking ECSE 1010 and ENGR 1200. My son took is as an incoming Computer and Systems Engineering student before deciding to dual. It turns out as a dual you don’t need it and although he aced those classes, he could have saved time and did required courses instead.

You cannot get the degree without first filling out a [simple form](http://www.rpi.edu/dept/srfs/undergrchngstatus.pdf) and getting approval from your advisor. The process is simple but the qualification is where the challenge will be. There are two ways to qualify to change your major or add a dual CS major. The first is like @joedoe said above. You need to get a B grade or better in Data Structures class CSCI 1200. The second way is to get at minimum a 3.0 average among the computer science classes that you’ve taken upto and including CSCI Foundations of Computer Science. That second way may be a slightly simpler way since Data Structures is notoriously difficult at any college. What you do is concentrate most of your effort in your first year Python class, do your best in Data Structures, and then only take Foundations in your third semester (don’t take any other CS courses or they may get averaged in, not sure since the write up is a little vague there). When you average those three classes you should be good to change major or dual with it.

My son came in as CompSys Engineering and decided like you to dual in CS. He aced Python just in case but he seems to be ok in Data Structures so hopefully he will be able to add the dual without having to rely on Foundations before doing it. If he needs Foundation to average his three courses he will need about a C+ or better so it should be ok.

RPI has a great Computer Science curriculum with a lot of options for different concentrations. Good luck.

rpi website:

Students From Other Majors (i.e., for both duals and to switch to CSCI)

We recommend students from other majors interested in Computer Science take CSCI 1100 Computer Science I and CSCI 1200 Data Structures in their freshman year. You will not be admitted into the computer science major until you have demonstrated your ability to succeed in these computer science courses. More specifically, you must earn a B or higher in CSCI 1200 Data Structures. If you do not meet this criterion, you must take CSCI 2200 Foundations of Computer Science and have a GPA in all named required CSCI courses of 3.0 or higher. Contact David Goldschmidt for admittance and/or more details.

[url=https://science.rpi.edu/computer-science/programs/undergrad/bs-computerscience]Source[/url]