How competitive is the Computer Science major at Universites? [closed]

Question

My college applications are due by the end of this month and I'd like to know how competitive Computer Science is now. From what I've heard, there's been an exponential drop in Computer Science majors in the past few years--is this a good sign or a bad sign?

Will those dropping rates help me get into a good University? Do majors contribute to your acceptance at a University? Sorry but I don't understand the higher-education system too well yet.

Would you say that it's easier to get accepted as CS major instead of something such as an Engineering major?

Answer 1

It will likely vary by school. I went to a public university (U of Washington), and the CS program there was considered "competitive entry" - you had to apply to the department (even though I was already a student at the school) to specify CS as my major and thereby be able to register for CS classes. Other programs at the same school were not competitive (e.g. natural sciences). Some schools will base their decision to accept you partly based on what major you specify at the time you apply and your qualifications for such.

The second definition of competitive (i.e. difficulty of courses/competition between students to perform) was also true at my school, but again that will likely vary by location. UW specifically has a lot of nearby connections with the industry, notably the headquarters for both Microsoft and Amazon, as well as local offices for Google, Adobe, and many startups. Schools in California will probably be quite similar (e.g. Google, Apple, Intel, and Silicon Valley in general). Schools in the middle of nowhere will likely be less competitive.

Answer 2

I think you might be confusing what "competitive" means. I don't think a college would ever turn your choice of major down, but private university certainly may not accept you as a student.

A counselor once told me the same thing, Computer Science is competitive. At the time I wasn't sure what that meant, but I'm 3 units away from finishing my B.S and this what I know.

In some classes, particularly the hard ones, your grade depends on how well or how poorly how other students are doing, mainly because of curves.

I do not mean to scare you, but Computer Science is not easy. There are handful of CS major compared to other more popular majors, this makes the pool smaller and typically the brightest are within it. Your up against smart people (may not always be true).

Outside of Academia, its similar. Those that get hired are typically brighter, more hard working and have more technically knowledge.

Answer 3

The competitiveness, and more importantly content, of a CS major massively differs by university. I wouldn't worry about where you've been accepted, because a degree by and large is defined by how well you work at it. A passing grade at Stanford indicates a worse candidate than a 4.0 at a Michigan, after all :)

The exponential drop is because there was actually a massive spike about ten years ago, due to the web bubble. Don't think of the drop as a sign - think about it as the world returning to normalcy.

There is always a demand for talented software developers, and if it helps, read The Daily Wtf and remember that all of those people were employed.