Demographics
• US Citizen
• Southern California resident
• Ventura County School - Senior this fall
Intended Major(s)
Computer Science
Computer Information Science
Biology(Maybe)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA (10th & 11th): 3.73
Weighted HS GPA (10th & 11th): 3.87
Class Rank: Do not know, will check with Counselor and post here later
ACT/SAT Scores: Did not take
Extra Curriculars:
Classical Indian Dance for 12 years
Foreign Language School 5 years
Language: Telugu
High school Marching band for 3 years
Color Guard Captain 1 year
ASL for 4 years
ASL Honors Society for 3 years
ASL Honors Society President 1 year
Grassroots Activism Club 2 years
GirlsWhoCode 2023 Summer session
Data Science Agoura Math
Tennis for 5 years
National Honors Society 2 years
Community College Statistics class
Interested in assessing my chances in UCs, CSUs, and Private colleges (provided I get some aid there). I would be more than happy to go to any of the following colleges.
For CSUs other than CPSLO, the high school GPA is the UC weighted-capped one, except that each semester of college course taken while in high school counts as two grades and two courses.
For CPSLO, recalculate weighted-capped including courses and grades from 9th grade as well as 10th-11th grade, with double counting of college courses.
Note that CIS / MIS is mostly business, not science (the S in CIS / MIS is systems, not science). It is a less technical major and less suitable if you want to go into more technical computer software design and development work.
I think the UCs will be reach to high reach, especially for CS. Maybe UCR is a possibility if you aren’t interested in UCM/UCSC but others seem unlikely. What does your senior year course load look like in terms of APs?
My S23 had similar stats, with Calc BC/Phys C (though not much in the way of ECs), he was waitlisted and eventually got into UCSC for Astrophysics. Waitlisted then rejected at CPSLO, rejected at SDSU. Rejected at UCSB, waitlisted then rejected at UCSD.
You may want to consider OOS publics like Utah, ASU and Arizona as additional potentially cost-effective options.
I have a question though? I took marching band for three years in high school and it counted as a grade/sport in my school. Should I add this when calculating my GPA? For more information I got an A for my grade all three years.
For a reach, I would suggest applying to the Data Science major at Riverside. Undergraduate | Data Science This major would give you a foundation in computer science and statistics, but would also require you to choose a focus area (which could be biology) within which to apply your data science skills. This major seems like potentially a better fit for your interests and strengths than CS, and also not quite as difficult an admit. Realistically, it’s extremely tough to get into any UC’s other than Riverside, Santa Cruz, and Merced, with a 3.87 weighted GPA; and CS and related majors are among the most competitive programs. (And if you apply to a different major, or undeclared, you won’t have the option to switch into a major like CS.)
There aren’t a large number of comparable programs to the Riverside Data Science major in the CSU system, but the newest Cal Poly campus, Cal Poly Humboldt, has one, with a very informative website: Data Science, B.S. | Mathematics This could be a really nice program for you, and I think you could be confident of getting in. SJSU has a data science major too - it may be tough to get into, but CS would be even tougher. (Marching band at SJSU is fantastic btw. But if you want to be assured of getting into SJSU, you may want to look at some alternative majors. Packaging is an often-overlooked program, easier to get into than most, but with phenomenal career outcomes; and it might span your interests in a way you haven’t considered: Bachelor of Science in Packaging | Nutrition, Food Science, and Packaging ) Another attainable program to consider would be the Bioinformatics major at San Bernadino Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics | CSUSB
Look up the a-g course list at your school at University of California A-G Course List . Likely it will be in the f category (arts). If so, it should be included in UC and CSU GPA recalculations.
Data science was one of the less selective majors at SJSU in the most recent admission cycle (threshold of 2080 = 2.6 GPA), so it would take a huge surge in application interest for it to become less than very likely for the OP.
Then SjSU Data Science is going to be extremely high ROI - the main problem is housing but recruitment should be topnotch for a low entrance bar. (Ofc many will discover this “hack” soon but till then OP has an ideal academic safety provided she gets housing.)
All the UC’s will be Reach schools with a capped weighted and fully weighted UC GPA under 4.0. If you do want to attend a UC, then you definitely need to include UCSC and UCM for a possible chance at attending.
Regarding Marching band, according to the UCOP a-g course list and the information given on the other discussion thread, Marching band is not on the a-g course list only Jazz band and Orchestra.
2022 CS admit rates if available
Campus
CS
UC Berkeley
2.9%-L&S EECS-4.5%
UC Davis
No data but <20%
UC Irvine
5.8%
UCLA
3.8%
UC Merced
85%
UC Riverside
36%
UC San Diego
No data but <10%
UC Santa Barbara
No data Historically 5-6%
UC Santa Cruz
60%
Cal Poly SLO
9%
Cal State Long Beach
54%
San Diego State
40%
San Jose State
31%
Biology admit rates 2022 admit Rates which are also very competitive and Biology is impacted/capped at many of the campuses.
Campus
Biology
UC Berkeley
12% for College of L&S
UC Davis
45% for College of Biological Sciences
UC Irvine
23.7%
UCLA
10% for College of L&S
UC Merced
93%
UC Riverside
66%
UC San Diego
No data but <20%
UC Santa Barbara
27% for College of L&S
UC Santa Cruz
52%
Cal Poly SLO
13%
Cal State Long Beach
57%
San Diego State
33%
San Jose State
56%
SJSU and CPP admission thresholds would be in the Match category.
I do not have admitted GPA data for all the schools on the list but just to give you an idea on where you stand using either the Capped Weighted UC GPA, the Capped Weighted CSU GPA or the SLO GPA.
UCB: 4.16-4.30
UCLA: 4.21-4.32
UCSD: 4.12-4.30
UCD: 4.09-4.29
UCI: 4.11-4.29
UCSB: 4.14-4.30
UCSC: 3.90-4.25
UCR: 3.85-4.20
UCM: 3.45-4.20
SLO: 4.15-4.25
SDSU: 4.02
CSULB: 3.98
No GPA data for SJSU or CPP but as noted, they use an index to determine admission.
I have already chanced you on the other discussion thread and as I stated if you want to stay in California, the CSU’s such as Channel Islands, Northridge, Fullerton and any of the other non highly competitive campuses will give you a good education. If you are willing to go OOS, then there are numerous other school options.
Regarding private schools, you have not listed a budget?
If you are interested in NAU, they have rolling admissions. That means you can apply today and hear back within a couple of weeks. The application is $25 and doesn’t have any essays or LOR. You just need to enter your classes and grades.
Do some research about the university. If it sounds like a place you would like to attend, apply ASAP. It will nice to have an acceptance in hand when you are deciding what other schools to apply to.
Do you live in the local service area for Channel Islands? If so, that will help as well.
As a non-impacted campus that admits at the CSU minimum eligibility criteria (2.5 GPA) except for impacted majors (nursing and mechatronics), CSUCI defines its local admission area as the “State of California”.
SJSU and CPP publish previous year admission thresholds based on their own formulae that can be found on their web sites. Overall GPA ranges are not relevant, since each major has a different threshold. Thresholds are determined competitively each year, so they may vary this coming year compared to the most recent admission cycle.
SJSU: Freshmen Impaction Results | Admissions (formula is GPA * 800; for engineering majors, add math_GPA * 400; there are other bonus points for local area and other attributes)
CPP: Freshman Student Profile (formula is GPA * 1000 + 450; there are other bonus points for local area and other attributes, but the exact values are not listed)
Just some more information regarding the CSU’s. All CSU’s admit by major, very few will consider an alternate major (SJSU and CPP do consider alternates) and not all CSU’s allow applicants to apply Undeclared/Undecided (SLO does not offer Undeclared) so you may need to be strategic on which majors you plan to apply for each campus.
If CS is your top choice then for all the UC’s and the majority of CSU’s, you need to select that major option. For the non-impacted CSU campuses it should not be an issue, but since CS has been very popular, switching majors cannot always be guaranteed.
As noted, there are plenty of Cal States where you have a solid chance for an acceptance and if you are willing to consider some OOS schools, then these can offer even more and sometimes better options for your areas of interest.
Best of luck with your list and make sure you will be happy attending the safety schools listed.
Wow, that’s surprising! I should have researched that rather than assuming - I agree with MYOS below that this likely won’t last as word gets out. Less-competitive-admissions to a CS-adjacent degree at SJSU should be a real draw for the OP.
It’s true that housing can be challenging but there are dorms for the first year or two, so there’s time to figure that aspect out. I would be wary if on an extremely limited budget… but if the student can afford a UC without aid, then SJSU is a relative bargain and overspending on housing to get something convenient & comfortable would be an option (as opposed to, say, UCSC, where you’re paying UC prices and then have to scrounge for limited and expensive housing as well!)
OP, I would consider SJSU Data Science very seriously. CS there is a non-starter stat-wise, but Data Science is likely a better fit for your profile of interests anyway. The band program (especially if you want to do marching band, but even if you just want non-marching ensembles) is phenomenal and would provide an instant social incubator. (The director is wonderful, both musically and in the community-building sense - one of my kids was fortunate to work with him in high school before he went on for his PhD and then got his current job at SJSU.)
There are a couple of Bioinformatics electives available within the Data Science major, and of course you could add a minor in bio if you were interested in more than that. If you want something that’s more truly interdisciplinary, the Humboldt program seems to lean more that way. Comparing the two directly should help you to get a sense of what kind of program appeals to you.
