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Penn Admissions Blog

Changing Majors
Olivia | October 16, 2018

Throughout high school, I changed my mind over what I wanted to pursue in college about every six months. By junior or senior year, I had narrowed it down and was pretty sure I wanted to study engineering, but I had no idea which discipline I wanted to study, and very little understanding of what the different majors involved. After talking to several engineers about the different work they did and doing some research online, I decided to apply into mechanical engineering, but I always had the mindset that I was open to exploring the other majors. In general, freshmen in Penn Engineering take mostly general math and science engineering requirements during their first year, and most of the major-specific core classes begin sophomore year. Luckily, this allowed me a bit more time to make my decision before having to feel really confident in committing to a path.

            In high school, I didn’t have any exposure to computer science.  My high school offered classes in it, but my electives were always filled with band or art classes, and I couldn’t see myself giving those up for a subject that I had no idea if I’d like or not. I’d always been vaguely interested in the subject, but it was so foreign and unfamiliar to me that I was intimidated by it and didn’t know where to begin. It seemed like many students who were majoring in computer science already had experience with it, and I didn’t want to feel behind. This is probably one of the main reasons I didn’t consider it when coming into Penn. Fortunately, I decided to take ENGR 105, Introduction to Scientific Computing, which teaches programming using a programming softwre called MATLAB, during my first semester at Penn. MATLAB is primarily used by engineers and scientists to build programs to collect and analyze data, but many of the concepts involved translate to general computer science program solving skills, and the language has many similarities with Java, one of the most widely used programming languages. Somewhat to my surprise, I loved the course. I had a dedicated, engaging professor, Dr. Graham Wabiszewski, and while the homework assignments were challenging and always pushed the limits of what I thought I knew how to do, I always looked forward to tackling them each week. I spent more time on that class than any other my first semester, and I knew I wanted to learn more about computer science. I took CIS 110 the next semester, Penn’s standard Introduction to Computer Programming, which is taught using Java, and the course really cemented my desire to study the subject. At this point, I still wasn’t sure - I had loved the MEAM (mechanical engineering) electives I’d taken so far, but I was struggling over whether I could see myself pursuing a career in industry as a mechanical engineer. On the other hand, I was pretty confident that I could see myself using computer science in a future role. Still, being indecisive and torn between both majors, I decided to take the summer to reflect on my options.

As I interned at a data science company with lots of tech applications, though I wasn’t doing computer science myself, I was able to see lots of possibilities of what else I could do in the future using computer science. Entering my sophomore year, I planned on taking both computer science and mechanical engineering core classes before deciding between one or the other. I kept going back to the reasons I chose mechanical engineering, which were my love for physics and calculus. However, when I started the year, I realized that taking rigorous, challenging core classes for the two subjects was just going to make it difficult for me to do either well. I knew that I needed to make a decision. I realized that as interested in mechanical engineering as I was, I was far more excited about my computer science classes and the possibilities in that direction, so I decided to change my major officially. Though it was a hard decision, the process itself was as simple as meeting with my advisor and filling out a form, and the support from the CIS department in helping me plan out my schedule moving forward has been instrumental in making the change.

It has definitely been a scary leap to take, but the best I could do was to go with my gut and make a thoughtful decision. It also helped knowing that with either major, I would have so many options available to me, and I couldn’t really make a wrong decision! Though I am starting CIS about a semester behind many of the CIS majors from my year, I’m glad I took MEAM electives my freshmen year - they were some of the most engaging and fun classes I will ever take. Learning how to use SolidWorks, to laser cut and 3D print, work in the machine shop, and build a Stirling engine are experiences that will always stay with me.

Since changing to CIS and spending more time exploring the resources and community here, I have realized how much support there is in CIS, particularly for women, and how many opportunities there are to learn, from workshops to hackathons to boot camps. I am really excited about my decision to study computer science, even with two impending midterms, and I’m looking forward to finding more to love about it in the next few years.

About the author
Olivia

I am from Wilmington, Delaware, studying Computer Science with interests in creative writing, art, entrepreneurship, and data science. On-campus, I'm involved in a publication, a volunteer organization, religious life, and Greek life. I've loved learning more about Penn and the students here and taking advantage of all the great opportunities Penn and Philly have to offer. In my free time, I love running, cooking, exploring the city, and spending time with friends and family.

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