<p>@tk21769, just because you were one of the strongest students going in doesn’t mean that you won’t have trouble maintaining a 3.5 GPA for some majors. There are some engineering/science/math majors where anything covered in HS or the SAT/ACT is child’s play compared 90% of the courses in that major. As in, the prof would be embarrassed if they put anything as simple as what you find on the SAT & ACT on any of their tests for their class.</p>
<p>Also, unlike what some people may think, undergrad isn’t just undergrad. In the good CS programs, the upperclass courses are indistinguishable from master’s level courses. Other CS programs do not challenge their students as much. </p>
<p>At one state school (with a pretty good reputation in CS), the capstone project was the same as the first project for the same class at MIT. However, state schools may be much less forgiving as well. As another state school that a friend of mine went to (also with a pretty good reputation for CS), if you couldn’t get your code to compile, you got a zero for the project. If you didn’t hand in your code at the start of class, you got a zero for the project (and he said one of his profs would lock the door to his classroom when class started so you better not be late). And with projects making up the bulk of the grade and only 3/4 projects per semester, a zero on a project meant that the best you could do is a D for that course.</p>