PSA: FOR ALL FRESHMAN WHO DID NOT GET INTO CS

AceofSpades0
Sun, 12 Mar 2017 22:40:30 +0000

2ND YEAR MATH - CS MAJOR, REPOSTING FROM REDDIT IN WHICH YOU SHOULD ALL FOLLOW FOR DECISION MAKING:
https://www.reddit.com/r/UCSD/comments/5yrojn/psa_for_incoming_freshmen_who_did_not_get_into_cs/

First of all congrats on making it into UCSD! If you are undeclared, admitted as Math - CS or waitlisted and deciding on trying to transfer into CS, here’s an inside opinion to help you decide.
from /u/chenboy3, the CS department is now making its admission based on a LOTTERY system. In previous years, it was based on a GPA cutoff of roughly 3.7 ~ 4.0 and last year 3.9 ~ 4.0. It was painfully hard to switch into CS as one A- could ruin your chances. One of these classes, 15L, was very likely to give you that A- since it was a lot of memorization that you’re bound to miss somewhere. Yes, it was very likely for even you: who got straight A’s in HS and 156% in all of your 23 AP classes. Thus, this lead to many people dropping CS class like a failed speedrun of a videogame and retaking them. Now this created a problem for other people who wanted to take those classes but had lower enrollment time. Thus, a fix proposed was a lottery system.

You may think to yourself, “Ok, I didn’t get into CS declared and don’t want to try my luck in transferring, so let’s do Math - CS.” Math - CS is NOT AN ENGINEERING OR PROGRAMMING MAJOR. It is a MATH MAJOR with emphasis on CS. A majority of the classes are MATH CLASSES. Yes, you take CS classes and yes you can succeed in CS as a career (I’m an example), but you need to understand what you’re stepping into. Your degree consists of a lot of theoretical math classes that require you to write proofs and think abstractly, which is beyond what a lot of people are used to. I personally think that Math - CS is one of the hardest majors on campus to succeed in with people changing into Cog Sci (which is hard in its own right) to continue coding. You would have to put up with both MATH classes and CSE classes at the same time. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO PUT UP WITH INTENSIVE MATH, DO NOT MAJOR IN MATH - CS. YOU ARE NOT THE EXCEPTION. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

There are options yes, but if you’re accepted in CS elsewhere, I firmly believe that you should take that option instead of getting second tier status at UCSD.

tl;dr If you got into CS elsewhere, take that option. Otherwise, be prepared to be stressed out.