Should I Major in CS or Math Given My Career Goals and Credit Limit?

[TheKracken5]

Hey everyone, so I am a transfer student at a small private college and I am currently having a dilemma.

My college has a pretty strict credit cap at 140 credits, so you are not allowed to double major and can only get a minor if it fits into the major as well, but I transferred in with a bunch of credits so I have 2 options. My goal was to do a Math major and CS minor but I will only be able to take 1 or 2 extra courses on top of it before I hit the cap. Or I talked to the computer science department and if I switch right now, since I still have more than the 140 credit limit left to do the major, the school will approve a appeal to go over the credits. Also the department head of CS said I can substitute some of the courses with upper division mathematics courses.

The opportunity cost comes into play here. If I stick to the math major I will be done after next winter semester. But if I do the CS major it will another 3 years. Either way I have school funding and my loan amounts to 5k per year to help cover living costs.

My goal is to go to graduate school in computational neuroscience or statistical machine learning related fields.
My biggest concern of staying in the math major is that I won't have time between now and grad school applications to really study for the GRE and get any sort of research experience (there is little to none here) and my grades will only show 2 semesters worth of grades to grad schools.

 

[Stephen Tashi]

My college has a pretty strict credit cap at 140 credits,

What!? Perhaps you mean there is a cap to the number of credits that is funded by a scholarship.

My goal is to go to graduate school in computational neuroscience or statistical machine learning related fields.

Have you investigated what educational backgrounds such programs expect of applicants?

My biggest concern of staying in the math major is that I won't have time between now and grad school applications to really study for the GRE and get any sort of research experience (there is little to none here) and my grades will only show 2 semesters worth of grades to grad schools.

Is there a CS part of the GRE? How is it that grad schools will only see 2 semesters of grades? Where would you expect go get research experience if you switch to a CS major? - at your college in the CS department?

 

[TheKracken5]

What!? Perhaps you mean there is a cap to the number of credits that is funded by a scholarship.Have you investigated what educational backgrounds such programs expect of applicants?

Is there a CS part of the GRE? How is it that grad schools will only see 2 semesters of grades? Where would you expect go get research experience if you switch to a CS major? - at your college in the CS department?

My university indeed has a 140 credit limit cap not including the scholarship, but that applies as well. The only way to get it appealed would be in my case if I switch to a major that has requirements that will automatically put me past the 140.

Diverse backgrounds, but the minimum requirements are some programming, DEQ's and LA (already have these). But I want to be an exceptional applicant.CS is not part of the GRE.

They will only see 2 semesters because I will have only complete 2 semesters by this next fall at this university. My community college grades were rather poor there for a while.

I would consider myself a nontraditional student, I am married and with 1 child.

 

[Stephen Tashi]

I would consider myself a nontraditional student, I am married and with 1 child.

What does "the boss" think about your remaining at your current college for 3 more years? Does she like the town?

 

[TheKracken5]

What does "the boss" think about your remaining at your current college for 3 more years? Does she like the town?

We absolutely love it here. She doesn't mind my staying in school a while longer and supports me going for a Phd as well, but since we want a large family the boss says I better be able to eventually make a good amount of money!

 

[Stephen Tashi]

boss says I better be able to eventually make a good amount of money!

Does making a good amount of money depend on getting a job in private industry? Or is a salary as an assistant, associate, or full professor sufficient? I don't know anything about the prospects for an expert in machine learning in private industry. My impression is that private industry is a grab-bag of situations - physics majors getting jobs as wall street traders etc.

You should evaluate whether getting into the Phd program you want is a can-or-can't situation or whether it is only a question of being in a more prestigious vs less prestigious program. How important, salary wise, is it to graduate from a more prestigious program? I can see it matters if you go job hunting to be a teacher. If you go job hunting in private industry, I don't know. The crucial point may be how well your Phd thesis topic matches what a private company is interested in doing.