Most of the “how to pay for college and graduate in a reasonable amount of time” issues are the same, though.
Also, today is the last day to apply for most CSUs for fall 2016 entry. If the application is not submitted today, his default will be to start at a community college, although a few non-impacted CSUs may accept applications later for fall 2016 entry.
If unsure, it may be worth applying in order to be able to decide later (assuming some of the campuses admit him).
@Parentco2016 today is the deadline for most CSUs. Some might open up later for spring acceptance but for fall 2016 he needs his app in tonight. Most kids don’t know what they want to do when the get to college. Many might think they do, but they change their minds, and that is normal. He can go in undecided if he wants to and take some classes to see what he likes best. That is part of the process. College is a time to explore.
Remember college is nothing like a trade school. He won’t immediately start taking in depth classes in his major. He has to fulfill a lot of general education requirements which will allow him to explore many areas of interest. While he does this he will gain critical thinking skills and writing skills that will help him once he decides what he wants to do.
But timing is important. The deadline is today!!!
If this student doesn’t yet have a firm notion of what he wants to study in college, all the more reason for him to get his gen eds done more inexpensively at community college.
Have him apply to several CSUs NOW. (Today’s the deadline).
It’s easier to switch out of CS to another major, than to get into CS from another major.
Have him apply as a CS major and in MArch he can decide whether he wants to switch. Even if he sticks to CS, his first two quarters will be pretty general, so that if he doesn’t like his one CS class out of the 8 h’ll have taken by Spring, he can then switch.
We had him apply for his #1 Cal Poly Pomona, and his #2 Cal State San Bernandino and #3 Cal State LA and for Computer Science.
Your replies helped us come up with other options we were not aware of 
Thank you.
You and he can now take your time to revisit the CPP vs. CSUSB vs. CSULA vs. community colleges choice (conditional on admission to the CSUs). I.e. you and he have months to figure out what options are likely to be the best, considering all academic and financial aspects of the decision.