Uw Computer Science Acceptance Rate (2023)

uw computer science acceptance rate

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Congratulations on your admission to the University of Washington!

The UW offers many top technology-related courses, including Computer Science and Computer Engineering programs at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

There are several admissions paths for Computer Science and Computer Engineering. It is important that you verify information about your current admission status. Freshmen admitted to UW who applied for Computer Science or Computer Engineering as their first major choice received one of the following options:

Information is offered for prospective students of Computer Science Admission Pre-Science

The remainder of this page contains information for prospective freshmen who are interested in majoring in Computer Science but have not received direct admission to the course. Students wishing to study Computer Engineering should consult theDirect information to the university on the Faculty of Engineering website.

Interest in computer science is growing rapidly across the country, including at the University of Washington. The Washington State Legislature has funded spectacular enrollment growth at the Paul G. Allen School in recent years, and support from the Legislature, the University of Washington, businesses and individuals has funded the construction of asecond buildingwhich was completed in December 2018. However, despite these significant advances, student demand for the Allen School continues to exceed capacity.

Admission to the Computer Science major is through three pathways: High School Direct Admission, Transfer Admission, and Current UW Student Admissions.

Currently, the majority of our rides enter by Direct Admission, with 15-20% of our rides entering by Transfer Admission. While this leaves approximately 30% of our places for current UW students, we have many more applicants than student places, so admission to the Computer Science major is not guaranteed. Current Student Admission is primarily intended for students who discover an interest in computer science after enrolling at the UW.

Students who are admitted to the University of Washington but are not given direct admission to a Computer Science degree should evaluate their options. As the University of Washington excels across the board, we encourage these students to consider choosing UW and pursue a variety of relevant courses: Computer Science, Computational and Applied Mathematical Sciences, Geographic Information Systems, and others. Students who are 100% sure they want to major in Computer Science and are guaranteed a place in a program elsewhere should consider whether this might be a better option for them.

Please review this page before contacting us with questions. When contacting us, please note that we have a strong preference for direct communication with students, although parents may receive copies of emails, on the student phone line, etc.

Why wasn't I offered Direct Admission?

If you were not offered direct admission, it is not an indication of your ability to excel in this discipline. Rather, it is an indication of the small number of students we are currently able to offer Direct Admission to. For 2019, we will be offering admission to approximately 280 WA residents out of approximately 1,000 prospective WA residents who listed Computer Science as their top choice and who received direct admission. These students earned incredibly high grades, followed the most rigorous curricula offered at their schools, exhibited meaningful extracurricular experiences, and made strong personal statements. There are many highly qualified students that we are unable to offer Direct Admission to. (We do a small number of DA offers to out-of-state students, but the vast majority of DA offers go to Washington residents.)

Getting into an elite computer science (CS) school

There are multiple paths to admission to Computer Science programs and degrees at top schools.Universities administer different processes for admitting students to their CS programs.There are mainly four types of ways in which students are admitted:

We will cover each of these paths in detail in this post.

Apply to CS before being admitted

At some universities,you enroll directly in the Computer Science course when you enroll at the school itself. The application will ask for supplemental materials such as additional SAT subject test scores, additional essays or a resume in addition to your college application.

This is the case, for example, at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) and the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), for the Electrical and Computer Engineering career. When you are admitted to these schools, your major is already declared when you start your freshman year.

Carnegie Mellon University is a little different in that when you apply for admission, you apply to the School of Computer Science (SCS), which hosts three different races. You are accepted into SCS and declare your major at the end of the first year.

Colleges that follow this application method ask students to show astrong math and science background, interest in computing, and extracurricular activities on and off the field. They also often ask students to discuss their interests, experiences, and intentions with a Computer Science degree in an additional essay. Extracurriculars associated with Computer Science, such as being part of a robotics team or having worked on projects such asJune summary, or achieve good results in theUS Computer OlympiadThey are handy to have. They convey not only a strong interest in the field of software engineering, but also important qualities such as leadership skills and the ability to take the initiative in pursuing your interests. Extracurricular activities outside of computing also help demonstrate interpersonal skills, work ethic, and varied passions as colleges seek to admit well-rounded students. You can view a sample of some of our admitted student profiles below.

UW Computer Engineering Acceptance Rate

We have worked hard over the past few years to increase the number of college students we can accommodate, an effort that has been successful, in large part thanks to investments from the Washington State Legislature and strong university support to expand our program. However, even as we grow, we will have to deal with capacity constraints for the foreseeable future. Our current student admission path is currently at a 20-25% acceptance rate and is likely to decline again in the future.

How many college students do you admit into the program?

About 450 students per year are accepted into the CSE Department for our Computer Science and Computer Engineering courses. We review all candidates together, so both specializations are equally competitive. The vast majority of our students now enter as freshmen, either directly into Computer Science or into Undeclared Engineering and then into Computer Engineering. We reserve a spot in our program for UW transfer students and current students who have recently decided to apply for CS or CE after enrolling at UW.

Because we have multiple application cycles, many people apply more than once, and the number of applicants varies every quarter, it's very difficult to say what percentage of people get in. While we tend to have more applicants in the fall, the percentage of accepted students is roughly the same for the fall and spring quarters.

University of Washington Acceptance Rate - Class of 2024

There were 43,778 applications for admission to the Husky Class of 2024. Of that group, 24,386 people or 55.7% were accepted. Last year, 52% were admitted to the Class of 2023. Out-of-state residents were 51% accepted, while the admission rate for residents was 59% friendlier.

University of Washington Admissions: SAT/ACT, GPA, and Class Rank

For those admitted to the Class of 2024, the mid-50% SAT range was 1220-1440. Students admitted from Washington had an average SAT score of 1220-1440, while students from out of state scored 1370-1500. The overall ACT range was 27-33, although non-residents had a higher score of 30-34. Admitted huskies had a median range 50 GPA of 3.72-3.95.

Among students who actually enrolled in the class of 2023, the average SAT score was 1340 and the average ACT score was 30. 59% ranked in the top 10% of their high school class, 89%% were in the top quartile and 99% were in the top half. The average GPA earned in high school was 3.8.

Admissions Trends and Notes

How the University of Washington Evaluates Applicants

The University of Washington rates three factors as "very important" to the admissions process: rigorous high school coursework, GPA, and application essays. Items that are "big" as part of the admissions process are: standardized test scores, first generation status, volunteer work, paid work, extracurricular activities, and talent/skill. Factors considered are: character/personal qualities and state of residence.

The admissions office wants applicants to know that "despite receiving over 43,000 applications per year, your application will receive a holistic and in-depth review." In addition to the important elements mentioned above, the following will also be considered:

It is also worth noting that recruited athletes enjoy a huge advantage. This is because the University of Washington is proud of its 22 NCAA Division I sports teams. In all, more than 800 student-athletes currently attend the university. Of course, other efforts outside of the classroom can also enhance your enrollment profile. For tips on how to stand out on the extracurricular front, check out our previous blog titledHow many extracurricular activities do I need for college?

Who actually gets into the University of Washington?

Let's look at the demographics of the current undergraduate student body. Geographically, the Class of 2024 is broken down as follows (all percentages are university estimates):

Among non-residents, competition is fiercest among those from states with endless streams of qualified applicants (all from the Northeast and West Coast). If you come from the deep south or from a less populated state like Idaho or South Dakota, your location will likely increase your chances of admission to the University of Washington.

International students currently attending UW-Seattle come from the following countries:

As for the ethnicity of the most recent freshman class, the breakdown was as follows:

Looking at the breakdown by gender, the Class of 2023 entered far more women than men:

University of Washington Rate of Return

University of Washington Performance Rate: The percentage of accepted students who choose to enroll divided by the total number of students admitted is 29.6%. This number is significantly lower than other large state universities such as the University of Michigan (46%), UNC-Chapel Hill (43%) and UCLA (41%).

Tips for Applying to the University of Washington

If you plan to join the nearly 44,000 Husky hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

1) Test message [mandatory]

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that demonstrated your character or helped shape it.

Maximum length: 650 words

2) Short answer [required]

Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community can refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, can contribute to diversity. from the U.W.

Maximum length: 300 words

The UW-Seattle Admissions Team offers some tips for writing a winning essay. These recommendations are as follows:

Should I apply to the University of Washington?

Those with SAT/ACT scores within the mid-50% range for UW-Seattle, who are also at the top of their respective high school classes, are certainly viable candidates for the University of Washington. If you reside in Washington, your path to acceptance will be a little easier than if you are an international or out-of-state applicant. You'll need to bring higher test scores and possibly a special skill or "hook" if you don't come from your college's home state or want to get into an engineering/computer science program. Of course, it goes without saying that every teen applying to a University of Washington-type school should also have an appropriate mix or "target" and "safe" schools on their college list. More information can be obtained on how to create a balanced list of universities.found here.

Dave has over a decade of professional experience, including work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is the co-author of The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).

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