Should I attend? (OOS admitted pre-science with intention to pursue CSE)

UWfromCA
Wed, 21 Mar 2018 15:09:15 +0000

Last year, an article in the Seattle Times about Paul Allen’s $40 million gift to the establish the new Allen School for Computer Science & Engineering reported:

"Students are usually admitted at the end of their freshman year or the start of their sophomore year. But the school also admits some students directly, at the same time they are admitted to the university as freshmen. This year, direct admission will be offered to 150 students. All but five of them are Washington residents. [UW CSE website at that time stated, “These admits have an average unweighted gpa of 3.97 and are mostly Washington state residents. Average test scores are: ACT 34, SAT math 764, SAT verbal 758.”]

"Although computer science and engineering is a tough program to get into, the picture is getting better. In 2016, 43 percent of bachelor’s applicants were admitted to the program. In previous years, the admission rate was lower.

“[The CSE Department] is now enrolling about 370 new undergraduate students each year, double the number it was able to accommodate in 2012… This year, it is asking for $6 million from the Legislature to increase the number of students it graduates by 120 degrees per year. Most of that increase would be in bachelors degrees, [Professor] Lazowska said.”

The following page from the UW website has some helpful information and guidance about regular admission to CS (which is how most students enter the major):

https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/ugrad/admissions/freshmen

Also note that the UW enrolls a broader range of students in keeping with its mission as Washington’s flagship university (2017 engineering and CS enrolled student (direct and pre-major) stats per ASEE profile: middle 50% range SAT 1250-1430; ACT 28-33). Knowing that you will want to be somewhere in the top 35-45% of the class of regular admission applicants when you apply to the CS major, try to determine where you stand academically in relation to the entering class. Are you closer to the 75th percentile or the 25th percentile of these stats? Is your high school unweighted GPA above 3.85? Your advanced math and science background will definitely help. However, if you have doubts about your prospects for admission after reviewing the information on the UW website referenced above and performing this self-assessment, you probably should enroll elsewhere.

Congratulations on your admissions and good luck!