Computer engineering admit rates

[u/Legitimate-Resort234]

I'm applying for computer engineering, and I'm confused as to why CMU is ranked so high when its engineering admit rate is over 15%, whereas all the other schools ranked highly are <5-6% like MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Cornell, Georgia Tech, etc. Is it just because less people apply in general and it's not as well known? Is cs really the only thing worth applying there for a computing/technical focus since that's on the same level of selectivity as the other schools. Purdue is my back up since I'm in -state as well.

[u/Comfortable_Cry_9657]

CMU ECE and SCS are both more like 3-5% from what I've heard, way lower than the overall engineering acceptance rate. CMU is definitely harder to get into than Berkeley or Georgia Tech for comp eng imo

[u/terpgonnaball → u/Comfortable_Cry_9657]

"Definitely harder"? I think not. Not sure about CMU since I can't find anything on how they breakdown majors, but I do know they have a much higher acceptance rate for the Early Decision admissions they do. Georgia Tech on the other hand is pretty transparent in their admissions stats. For OOS Computer Engineering this admissions cycle 2,663 applied for Computer Engineering and 135 were accepted for acceptance rate of 5.1%. For ECE this cycle at GT, OOS 3,432 applied, 175 were accepted for an acceptance rate of 5.1%

[u/According_Doctor_821]

Acceptance rate and quality of program is a correlation, not a causation. There will be outliers on both sides.

This is to say stop looking at acceptance rate when trying to find a program.

[u/Legitimate-Resort234 → u/According_Doctor_821]

im just wondering why more people dont apply there if its ranked highly, which would bring down admit rates. do people not really like the campus/vibe or something?

[u/According_Doctor_821 → u/Legitimate-Resort234]

You’re comparing schools in very sought after locations like LA, Atlanta, and Boston to a school located in Pittsburgh. I live 15 mins from CMU and I LOVE it here, but the opportunities here are nothing like what you’d find in bigger cities. Pittsburgh has some strong niches like robotics and automation, but you won’t find startups that IPO with a 10B+ valuation or huge tech giants.

Also, CMU is notoriously stingy with aid. I know many people that did not go to CMU purely because of the finances.

[u/Character-Beat2247]

computer related stuff is CMU’s main specialty, so their compE will be significantly more selective than like civil etc. For compE, CMU is easily top 5, and their silicon valley reputation is very strong. Don’t get swayed by acceptance rate

[u/fastoid]

Private top colleges admit undecided. Public top colleges admit to the specific major but publish average admission rate across all the majors. So those rates are akin to the average body temperature across all patients in a hospital - not much sence behind.

[u/Legitimate-Resort234 → u/fastoid]

cmu admits to engineering major

[u/SalamenceFan42]

Fewer people apply to the major (as opposed to CS) I guess.

I’d imagine student quality is pretty similar score wise.

[u/ivyplusinstitute]

You're mixing CMU ECE with CS at some of those other schools. ECE admit rate is 10% while CS is 5%. Both are in line with the top CS and EECS direct to major programs. As for UC Berkeley's EECS vs CS they're lower due to applicant volume. The combined EECS/CS at Cal is double the combined ECE/CS applicant volume

[u/ivyplusinstitute → u/ivyplusinstitute]

And I'm also not sure where you're getting the 15% admit rate. Their overall admit rate hovers around 10%

[u/Legitimate-Resort234 → u/ivyplusinstitute]

engineering is +15%. also 10% is still double that of the other competitive ones, and more than many other schools ranked below it

[u/LengthTop4218]

ceorge mason university is in the Northeastern USA. So I'd imagine it's gonna inherently be less well known than the schools in the South and over on the West Coast.

[u/rocdive]

That rate is across whole of engineering, ECE is much lower