I can speak to a few anecdotal factors having recently graduated from Stanford.
1) The current tech boom.
There's the perception of being able to easily create a startup or to get a programming job at a tech company. Some major in computer science also for the technical skills it gives even though they plan not to pursue programming as a job. They may want to become a PM, or a related non day-to-day programming role for which understanding technical concepts is important.
2) Financial downturn of 08.
Many students who would have previously majored in economics or finance have chosen computer science due to the folding of many investment banks as well as the increasing negative perception of working on Wall Street.
3) Increase in diversity of the major.
The major has become more interdisciplinary. You used to be required to take very "hardcore" classes like operating systems and compilers. Now though with the rise of fields like HCI the major has become more diverse.
4) Social tipping-point.
There is a common joke at Stanford that everyone is a CS major. More people majoring in CS means more help from peers who have been through the same classes and can help out. This social support leads to the positive feedback loop of more people entering the major.
#4 is interesting I've never heard that before. I recently graduated as well but from a heavily liberal-arts oriented uni. Most of my friends didn't even know a CS major even existed.
> There's the perception of being able to easily create a startup or to get a programming job at a tech company
Yeah a lot of people believe simply having a CS degree is a shoo-in for any job. However, if you're studying CS you probably want to work at a top-tier corporate or startup and neither is easy for most grads.
A lot of commenters referred to money being the biggest driver but I think that's only a half truth. Rather, job security seems to be the most logical reason to study computer science. No matter who you talk to, in any field, there's a huge consensus that having knowledge and experience with computers increase your employment prospects (I'm sure this could be proved by scanning job boards). Combined with the current job market and popular opinion that college may not be worth it (especially for non-STEM majors), I'm not the least bit surprised that CS has gained such an enrollment.
Anecdotally, my experiences confirm this. My brother, who before, had never even tried to program, is currently a CS major. Most of his friends are too. They don't care about startups or startup jobs, they want secure jobs at big companies.
Yeah I think that's an important distinction. A lot of kids are picking up CS as a second major or as a minor because it's believed to make you more marketable for a non-tech field.
