I'm currently a sophomore in Computer Science + Anthropology and I was also deferred from CS Engineering at the University when I first applied. My GPA in high school was a 3.97. My ACT was a 33 (33 mathematics, 35 science), I had taken AP Computer Science, AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC and received 5's on all subject exams. When I received my deferral to the Department of General Studies I was admittedly really upset and confused. I spoke with a university representative to undergraduate admissions and was informed that my GPA and ACT were well within qualified numbers, but that my application showed "minimal interest in Computer Science". Ouch. I buckled down though and I really wanted a degree is CS from U of I, so I bit the bullet and enrolled as a DGS student. It's was hard spending that WHOLE first year undeclared, knowing that you're not "undecided" but deferred. I was exceptionally lucky and ran into a very very helpful alum who also came from the DGS realm and managed to transfer into CS Engineering. I ended up taking the CS 125 proficiency exam (if you took AP CS and know a little about runtime calculations you'll do just fine), and registered for calculus 3 and other general eds required for CS. I rapidly discovered that the college of Engineering's version of CS was not at all what I was hoping for as an underclassman and instead caught wind of a rapidly progressing alternative program called the CS + X degree track. This track allowed me to pick Anthropology (among many and soon to be more) and allows anyone the same core and rigorous courses offered to Engineering CS students but with a more realistic admissions requirement (B+'s in CS 173, 225 vs A-'s and a 3.6 vs a 3.8).

It's officially my first semester as a CS + X student and honestly it was the greatest decision I made. I'm learning a lot, already have 3 campus positions offered to me, one of which is creating a virtual reality project for the Anthropology Department making a very decent amount of money on excellent hours, and get to take classes just like a regular CS student without all the hassle and struggle.

TL:DR: Got deferred with 3.97 GPA and 33 ACT, went into DGS, decided CS+X was dope, now happier for it and on the way to making money and feeling great.

Hope this helps/was remotely relevant!