I got a waitlist for UIUC CS, and I am now planning to appeal for a new major, as I have experiences with humanity factors in these three majors, and besides those CS+ in LAS which are obviously competitive as second choices for many ENG CS applicants, they are the only options that I could relate to my broader interest field and academic enrichments. So little information of admissions and academics of these majors online, anything provided would be sincerely appreciated! ~(≧▽≦)/~
freshman I mean. I know abbreviations are frustrating for some foreigners, they are Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics. Also, if you have better suggestions…Admission counselors adviced quite generally and officially–maths could be okay…etc
All 3 are about the same in competitiveness, Physics probably has the edge on both. Honestly if you really want to do CS you should go somewhere else, you’d probably be happier than settling for a major you aren’t as interested in.
For arts & science programs in the USA, freshmen admission generally is to the whole college, not to a specific department. Arts and science students frequently change majors. I doubt your intended major will have a much (if any) impact on arts & science admission, especially if you indicate a major that is not one of the most or least popular.
UIUC admits directly to major though.
UIUC admits by major, though it may also admit frosh as undeclared if they are admissible to the school but do not meet the frosh admission threshold for the major. However, undeclared students who want to declare a popular major (like CS or any of the CS+something majors) after enrolling may face a high GPA threshold or competitive admission to declare the major.
Here are the criteria for admission to the CS and CS+something majors at UIUC for undeclared students:
https://cs.illinois.edu/admissions/undergraduate/transfer-students
I’m surprised to learn that UIUC/LAS admits by major.
Maybe more liberal arts programs do this than I thought.
So are there differences in specific entrance requirements for different departments?
I would think differences for math v. stat v. physics admission rates (or average scores) would depend on the current year’s applicant pool and their preferences.
The entrance requirements were either university-wide or college-wide I dont remember exactly. But certain departments are more selective than others because of who applies. UIUC’s physics program is ranked much higher relative to the Math or Stats program. (Both are still good nevertheless) Generally because of this, Physics gets more really qualified applicants and they still have to choose who to admit. Physics is technically in the engineering department too despite offering a degree in LAS. As far as I know though, the difference is pretty marginal between the three majors.