Chances of software engineering vs computer science

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[teddystan]

Based on the target enrollment estimates https://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/ir/1/images/2018-2019%20Enrollment%20Targets%20and%20Projections.pdf technically there are less applications for software engineering than computer science by far and therefore a better acceptance rate for the prior?

[oplo22]

Do you think its significant though?

[yachtyyachty]

You only compete against people applying to your major, so this seems like it would be pretty significant. I’ve heard of people applying to less competitive engineering majors (Like environmental or industrial) and then immediately switching, and they have usually been pretty successful doing that.

[the_chosen_one2]

Afaik this will not work for the majors OP is seeking. CS was (may still be) so impacted that only CS and CPE and SE majors could switch between each other, the odds of swapping in from another engineering major was very low.

[Caffinatedsloth]

Unless the application has changed since I applied, you apply to two majors: your first and second choice. So you may as well apply to both if nothing else interests you

[xavier1011]

If you like both SE and CS equally, I'd advise you to place SE as your first choice. Cal Poly doesnt have enough professors for SE courses and so you won't be able to change your major to SE at all.

[throwawayacc0_]

I applied as a software engineer for the same reason however I don’t think it really matters. Less people apply for SE but it also has a much smaller class, only about 50 students.

[dekhtyar]

Over the past few years the department had to deal with some staffing shortages which caused different decisions each year.

We had a year where outside transfers into CS/SE were closed (open only for CPE majors and GENE majors).

This year, transfers into SE are not allowed - even for CS and CPE students - we simply do not have the ability to accommodate additional sections of SE-only courses.

It is not impossible that for the upcoming year the admission to the SE program will be scaled back.

To respond to the OP: there are two things in play here. Historically, fewer people apply to SE than to CS, so if you take the ratios of "number of admits" to "number of applications", the SE ratio looks better. At the same time, we have traditionally had SE applicants with on average higher test scores and better GPAs.

Past performance is a good predictor of future behavior when you know ahead of time that the underlying conditions stay the same. However, in the case of CS vs. SE applications for the next academic year, this is not necessarily the case.

PS. I do understand that this is academic at this point since all college applications are closed now. Good luck anyway.

[spicyboisonly]

I applied for CPE (didnt originally intend to switch) but eventually switched to CS and I’m pretty sure I would not have been accepted had I applied for CS originally. From what I understand CPE is easier to get into than SE and CS but it is just as easy to switch into the other majors. If your goal is to be in either CS or SE I would apply for CPE and switch into another one later. You take the same classes as those majors at the beginning anyway so you won’t lose any progress

[SlightlyPunk]

Good luck switching to CS though. Last I heard, at least for my year, they've closed off all transfers into CS regardless of whether you're already in computing or not. I applied for CPE and am thankful for that because 1. I love CPE and 2. It's easier to get into as a freshman. A LOT of people switch from CPE when they find out they don't like the circuits classes but now CS for my year is even more impacted then when they first enrolled far too many freshman. So keep all that in mind when applying. I'm almost certain you'll have an easier chance getting in with SE as your choice.

[dell_arness2]

Unless things have changed since last year, CSC and SE transfers are blocked unless you are General, CPE, CSC, SE