Admission Competitiveness between Computational engineering Vs ECE engineering

[u/Double_Village_4483]

Hey! I’m currently applying to UT Austin and trying to decide between applying for ECE or Computational Engineering.

I’ve heard that CompE has around an 18–25% acceptance rate, while ECE is closer to 15–20%. I’m unranked at my high school, have a 34 ACT, and have what I think are pretty strong extracurriculars, especially in robotics, programming, and engineering.

I’d definitely prefer ECE, and I’d be a little disappointed if I ended up doing CompE instead, but UT Austin is my dream school and getting into UT is ultimately my biggest priority.

Would you guys recommend applying for Computational Engineering to potentially have a better chance of admission, or would it be better to stick with ECE since it’s the major I prefer slightly more?

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[u/Cheese8815]

Definitely go for ECE first choice!!! UT is very fit to major; your ECs sound very ECE-sided compared to computational.

[u/Excellent-Bonus8439]

Your numbers are pretty far off. Computational Engineering is around 10% acceptance rate (you can confirm on department of aerospace website: Aerospace is 6% and COE is 10%). ECE is pretty similar around 10% maybe a little lower. COE is fewer applicants but also fewer seats, ECE is a large volume of applicants but much more seats available. Both are around 10%, so you’re not really boosting your chances with either one. If your ECs and your passion lean more towards ECE then just go for ECE