I’m an Asian student in the Norcal Bay Area and I’m applying for BS Comp Eng/Undeclared as alternate at various universities in-state and OOS. I don’t care too much about my chances for my OOS unis as I really want to stay in state if possible. In-state schools I’m applying to and my stats are listed below- 5 UCs and 5 CSUs:
-UCI
-UCM (for the hell of it)
-UCR
-UCSC
-UCSD
-CPSLO
-CPP
-CSULB
-SDSU
-SJSU
-3.575 Cumulative Unweighted
-27 ACT score
-Higher level courses include Chem AP (this/senior year) and Honors, Algebra 2/Trig, Precalc Honors, Calc AB (this/senior year), Spanish 3 and AP (this/senior year)
Be blunt with me- what are my chances? Also, I’ve heard that admissions for SJSU have gotten a lot tougher as the school’s engineering program is getting more competitive. Rumors I hear include accepting over-qualified students and not doing waitlists anymore (even if the overqualified don’t end up going). I’ve also heard that they only consider your first major choice, ignoring your alternate. If you live in the area as well, can you verify this?
All the Cal states use the Eligibility index to rank applicants based on their major (except SLO). First you need to calculate your CSU/UC GPA: http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Then calculate your EI: (CSU GPA x 800) + (ACT composite x10).
For SJSU, they publish their EI thresholds for Freshman each year for every major. You can compare your EI to their cutoffs from last year.
http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/admission/frosh-f2015impact.html
I know that SJSU does not accept alternate majors. If not accepted into your first choice major, you are placed in Undeclared and then will have to try and transfer into your first choice major. I have not seen SJSU waitlist applicants these past 3 years but they will accept all applicants that meet the EI threshold (including over qualified applicants).
For SDSU, you want around a 1000 EI to be competitive
For CSULB, an EI of 950+
For CPP, an EI of 850+
SLO does not use the EI, but MCA points. Here is the link on how to calculate: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cal-poly-san-luis-obispo/1694769-confused-about-mca-score.html
Regarding the UC’s, much will depend upon your UC GPA. You will need an 4.0+ UC GPA to be competitive for UCI and UCSD. Also your ACT is below average for UCSD. You want to be in the 31+ range for CS. UCR/UCM and UCSC are probably good match schools.
http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html shows what admission thresholds SJSU has had in recent years.
You need to calculate your CSU GPA according to http://www.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/gpa_calculator.asp , then use it to calculate your eligibility index according to http://www.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/elig_index_calculator.asp . Compare your eligibility index to the thresholds for frosh admission on the SJSU pages.
Note that SJSU has a software engineering major that is somewhat similar to the computer science major, but usually less selective. SJSU’s computer engineering major, with more of a hardware emphasis, also tends to be less selective than the computer science major.
Thanks, @Gumbymom! Just to clarify, all- I am not declaring as a CS major, I’m declaring as a Computer Engineering major. Do you feel that I would be a strong candidate for these schools as CSUs are mostly about the numbers (no essay to express passion, ECs, and interests)? What about the fact that I am only considered a “local” for SJSU and none of the other CSUs on my list, are my chances of getting in to my other CSUs significantly lower due to this? Also, I am a bit confused about having Undeclared as an alternate in SJSU. Is it not feasible? When I filled out the CSU app for SJSU, it did indeed give me the option to put down Undeclared as a secondary. Will I be out of the selection pool if I don’t get in with Comp Eng and have Undeclared as my secondary?
Thanks, @ucbalumnus! Could you give me a possible figure about just how selective it is to get in as a CE major for SJSU? Any ideas on my chances for the other CSUs I’m applying to?
(I know I said I didn’t care as much, but now I’m curious) OOS and private schools include:
(applying through WUE from CA)
-Portland State
-Oregon Tech
-CU Denver
-CU Colorado Springs
-CSU Fort Collins
(other)
-Santa Clara University
-Purdue
-Texas A&M Galveston (Marine Eng or Naval Architecture major)
-University of Denver)
Any idea what my chances are? Thanks for the useful info, everyone.