Computer science enrollment is falling. According to preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse, undergraduate enrollment in computer and information science programs at four-year colleges declined 12.4% this fall.
After years of extraordinary demand, the field that once seemed like the safest bet in higher education is attracting fewer students.
For families navigating college admissions, the obvious question is whether computer science is becoming easier to get into. The answer depends on what, exactly, a student is trying to enter.
At the University of Washington, admission to the university and admission to computer science are two different decisions. Students must identify computer science or computer engineering as their first-choice major to be considered for direct admission to the Allen School. In 2026, just 8% of domestic applicants from outside Washington who applied to the Allen School received an offer. A student admitted to UW without a place in computer science may have few realistic opportunities to enter the major later.
MIT takes a different approach. Students apply to the university rather than a particular department, and declare their major at the end of freshman year. The field of interest they list on their application has no bearing on admission. MIT even reports that approximately half its students eventually choose a major different from the one they initially indicated.
These policies reflect two very different ways of managing uncertainty. Washington asks students to make an important academic commitment before arriving on campus, while MIT gives them another year to figure it out. Both approaches are understandable, but they create different incentives for teenagers.
A student applying to a capacity-constrained computer science program has every reason to build an application around that interest. Advanced mathematics, coding projects, summer programs and related extracurricular activities can all help demonstrate preparation. Yet many students begin making these choices at 14 or 15, well before they have enough experience to know whether they actually enjoy the subject.
The admissions process can turn an emerging interest into something resembling a professional identity. Once a student has spent several summers learning to code, built a few applications and written essays about a future in technology, reconsidering that direction becomes difficult. Not necessarily because the interest has deepened, but because so much has already been invested in it.
The enrollment decline may eventually relieve some competitive pressure, although fewer enrolled students does not necessarily mean fewer applicants or more available seats. Universities still control the size of their programs, and demand at the most selective institutions will likely remain strong.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is changing what students imagine a career in computing will look like. (Rice recently created a standalone AI major.) Some may be reconsidering the major. Others may discover that their interest in technology is better pursued through mathematics, engineering, economics or another field.
Colleges have always asked teenagers what they want to study. At some institutions, the answer has become a consequential commitment rather than a starting point for exploration. A decline in computer science enrollment may change the competition for seats. It won’t necessarily change how early students feel compelled to choose.
Marc is the author of Untangling the Ivy League, a best-selling guidebook on the Ancient Eight. He earned a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Marc chaired the admissions ambassadors at Cornell and the admissions advisory board at UNC.
