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College Question re: EE/CSE Double Major


Kimm in WA
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My son is in his 1st year at our good state college, majoring in electrical engineering. He was directly admitted to the EE dept. as a "freshman" (1st year, and freshman age-wise) even though he had 90 credits through dual enrollment.

 

After the 1st qtr., when all 18 yo's are freshmen, he became a junior based on credits. They, however, assigned him a freshman advisor... my son actually told HER what he should take!

 

Fast forward to the end of first year. Son just now finally got in touch with an EE advisor to discuss double majoring in EE & CSE (computer science engineering). B/C of the 2 yrs. at CC and 1 year at Univ. in EE classes, he's starting too late to double major. He will have to complete EE degree and then apply for CSE program and, if admitted, finish off the last 3 qtrs. for that degree (since EE and CSE have so many of the same courses).

 

So my question (finally!) is whether or not students who complete 1 degree at a school have an easier time getting into another competitive program at the same school. DS WAS one of only 13 freshmen directly admitted to the EE dept. at this large school.

 

TIA!

Kimm in WA

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So my question (finally!) is whether or not students who complete 1 degree at a school have an easier time getting into another competitive program at the same school. DS WAS one of only 13 freshmen directly admitted to the EE dept. at this large school.

 

My guess would be yes, as long as his grades are competitive with other applicants. My husband did both his undergrad and graduate work in CSE at the same school, and it was much easier to for him to get admitted into their very competitive graduate program.

 

I wanted to add that I think it's great your son is pursuing EE and CSE. My husband (who works for a microcontroller company) always said that he wished he had a bit more EE. :)

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Well that was part of my concern, that they would compare his grades in his upper-level EE classes with CSE applicants who had just finished their gen ed. classes. His would obviously be harder and, therefore, his grades wouldn't be AS high. He's doing well so far, but I just wondered about that.

 

Kimm

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I think it is important that he find a different advisor for this question. It's not a generic question that will be the same at all schools. AND it is possible he could be accepted now that this junior thing is not correct. I'd go back to the advisor and ask if he could talk with someone in the program he wants to join OR just find someone and go in talk with them (the nice thing about college is most folks have open office hours).

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If he's at U of Washington they are in a situation that seems to be different from many state universities. They are much tighter on admitting students into computer science programs and tighter in admitting students to second majors overall. Not sure about computer science engineering, but I have read that even 4.0 students are not all admitted to computer science majors. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/avantgo/2016987078.html

 

My suggestion would be that your son is really aggressive about seeking out the best advising he can get. In other words, don't just see random advisers or assigned university adviser's but if possible seek out contact with faculty, including the program director or director of undergraduate studies, in the field of interest.

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Barbara, do you have any info about UW admitting few students to 2nd majors?

 

Thanks for posting the article...it was interesting.

 

Kimm

 

It's related to state funding cuts and some strange state laws. When I was at UW, there was no limit on credits, then the legislature created new bills forcing students to graduate after a certain number of credits to make room for incoming freshman. There were several freshman classes that were smaller than they should have been because there was no room, and parents were furious that there was no space for their qualified students at the local U. The same bill resulted in limiting 2nd majors because not many double majors can be completed under the number of credits requiring you to graduate. I would not have been able to do the same double major now.

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The same bill resulted in limiting 2nd majors because not many double majors can be completed under the number of credits requiring you to graduate. I would not have been able to do the same double major now.

 

Wow, I didn't know that. That's weird.

 

The whole reason my husband ended up in engineering was because he'd spent time in a conservatory program and had a ridiculous number of transfer units. The college of engineering was the only college at his UC that didn't have a unit cap.

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Barbara, do you have any info about UW admitting few students to 2nd majors?

 

 

 

If you are on the yahoogroup hs2coll it may be worth checking the archives or posting about it. I recall there was a student who entered early with a lot of credits and she was not allowed a second major and was made to graduate before she wished. I have heard of it more than once at U of Washington so it is worth investigating.

 

This may be something your son wants to ask his adviser about: http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/degreeplanning/sp.php#180

The 210-Credit Rule

 

The UW expects that students should graduate by the time they have completed 30 credits beyond the credits required for their degree; since most degrees require 180 credits, that means you should plan to graduate with no more than 210 credits. For most UW majors, if you have not submitted a graduation application or graduated by the time you are in the quarter in which you will earn 180 credits, a hold will be placed on your registration until you and your department adviser submit either a graduation application or a petition outlining your plan to graduate within two quarters. Depending on your major, the plan must be approved by your department or your college. For more information, visit the Registrar's page. The satisfactory progress policy is currently under revision; please consult your adviser for the most current information about the satisfactory progress policy.

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Candid,

What did you mean "the junior thing is incorrect"? All incoming students from high school are considered freshmen regardless of how many CC credits they have. After that, my son was a junior b/c he had over 90 credits.

 

Kimm

 

I was referring to it being too late to add a double major and that he would have to wait until he was done. This needs to be verified at the school. At the state school I went to once they awarded a degree they would not allow you to continue or to come back for a second degree. This is a place where bad advice can get you into big trouble. Not everyone appointed knows what they are doing.

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Beth,

Is your son doing Running Start or AP? My son did Running Start and was one of the 30 freshmen direct admits to the EE dept. this year. He's lovin' it!

 

Best wishes to your son.

 

Kimm

 

Hi, Kimm.

 

Ds will do RS next year as a senior. He was extremely impressed with UW when he visited last month. He wants a strong comp sci focus, too, along w/ EE. But this could change.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest theburd

Yeah, double majoring is really tricky stuff. I was a double major in two completely unrelated fields for a year, and eventually decided to drop one of them down to a minor. On another note, a fellow student wrote an article on double majoring here: http://www.parentsandcolleges.com/blog/bid/143667/The-Double-Major-The-Best-and-Worst-of-Both-Worlds

 

Hope it helps you out!

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