541. NAVIGATING THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ADMISSIONS

The various flavors of computer science and engineering majors tend to be among the most popular and potentially lucrative for incoming students. No wonder they've also become some of the most selective programs to get into! Amy and Mike invited college dean Jennifer Stephan for guidance in navigating the competitive landscape of computer science and engineering admissions. What are five things you will learn in this episode? How competitive are Computer Science (CS) and engineering admissions? How can students position themselves with the strength to apply to schools as a CS and engineering major? What makes a CS and engineering program a good fit? What does a balanced college list look like for CS and engineering majors? What are CS and engineering-related majors for students to consider? MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Jennifer Stephan has held a variety of roles across top colleges and universities, including professor, academic dean, and board of admissions member, in addition to serving as a private college counselor, alumni interviewer for Johns Hopkins University, and parent of three. She holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, as well as an MS and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Jennifer is currently the Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies for the School of Engineering at Tufts University. Before joining Tufts in 2016, she spent over two decades serving as a dean and a professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College, where she collaborated with colleagues at MIT, Olin College of Engineering, and Babson College to support students pursuing engineering. While at Wellesley, Jennifer served on the College's Board of Admissions, reading and evaluating approximately one hundred transfer applications each year. Jennifer also is the founder of Lantern College Counseling, a robust college counseling practice where she regularly employs insights from her experiences leading in higher education to help students develop their college lists and shape competitive, authentic applications. Jennifer specializes in STEM, computer science, engineering, undecided and transfer students She is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). Take advantage of Jennifer's powerful "How to Write a Standout Computer Science College Application" course and use the savings code: TESTS_AND_THE_REST for a 20% discount. This offer is available through Sunday 1/28/24 11:30 pm EST. Find Jennifer at [email protected] or https://www.lanterncollegecounseling.com/. LINKS Illuminating Your Path to an Engineering Major and Career How to Write a Standout Computer Science College Application RELATED EPISODES STRATEGIES FOR SELECTING A COLLEGE MAJOR ON TIME COMPARING MOST POPULAR AND MOST LUCRATIVE COLLEGE MAJORS CHOOSING HIGH SCHOOL MATH COURSES STRATEGICALLY GALLUP ALUMNI SURVEY AND THE SIX COLLEGE EXPERIENCES THAT DRIVE SUCCESS ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.