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

AroundHere
Thu, 22 Mar 2018 17:36:03 +0000

If you did not get direct-to-college, you probably cannot get CSE – which is in the school of engineering. They will not accept any additional engineering majors until all those accepted direct-to-college get matched, and CSE is popular enough that you should assume it will be full. (Cannot say this with absolute certainty since direct-to-college is brand new, but this is how it is supposed to work.)

You can do well in the prerequisite classes and apply to major in CS (without the E!) and the associated majors listed above, but as others have noted, CS is going to be highly competitive.

I would practice your programming over the summer on sites like EdX or Coursera rather than creating a community college transcript. You’ll have the same benefit of being well-prepared for CS142 without the risk to your GPA and academic record. An easy community college class will not serve you well if you get transfer credit but don’t have the same fundamentals that the UW CS students got. You’ll be behind the curve in the follow-up classes. A challenging community college class is not worth the GPA risk because it will be a semester’s worth of work in less time and a faster pace, and you absolutely need A’s if you are not direct admit to CS.