How Do I Change My Major to Yale CS?

I’m currently a high school junior planning on applying to Yale, and I recently developed a strong interest in computer science. I’m wondering, if I get accepted for another major, how difficult it would be to switch to a CS major once at Yale. Has anyone here had experience with changing majors at Yale, particularly to something as competitive as computer science? What should I consider in terms of prerequisites or departmental requirements?

Switching majors at Yale is a relatively straightforward process, and it's important to keep in mind that Yale doesn't admit students into specific majors. When you apply, you are admitted as an overall candidate without regard to your listed intended major. At the point of application, stating your intended major generally doesn't bind or significantly constrain you.

As such, if you get accepted into Yale, you'd spend your first one or two years taking a variety of classes that span across the breadth of the liberal arts curriculum as part of the distributional requirements. During this time, you can certainly take computer science courses to test the waters and see if the subject is something you'd truly enjoy as a major.

Realistically, you don't declare your major until your two years into your degree program. Therefore, from the outset, you have room to navigate through your interests and sample different fields without necessarily being tied to a particular major. In this scenario, technically you would not be "switching" your major to computer science, rather you would finally be declaring it as your major.

As for prerequisites and departmental requirements for a CS major at Yale, they may vary year to year. However, as of now, the Computer Science major requires a variety of foundational, intermediate, and advanced courses. It includes but is not limited to:

- Data Structures and Programming Techniques

- Systems Programming and Computer Organization

- Discrete Mathematics

- Algorithms

- A number of electives to choose from

Once you join Yale, you'll likely have access to academic advisors who can guide you more specifically through the process and help you tailor your schedule according to the major requirements. It's essential to meet with these advisors and potentially also get in contact with the computer science department for a more in-depth understanding of the course structure and requirements. As long as you're proactive and strategic about your course selections from the start, moving into the Computer Science major at Yale should be quite manageable.