<p>I currently live in michigan, but I just found out that after my senior year, my family is moving to california. I want to major in computer engineering, but I know nothing about california schools! </p>
<p>31 ACT composite, 3.9 weighted gpa</p>
<p>What california schools would be best for engineering? Please help me! I would like to work for a large company.</p>
<p>Lastly, will I have to do really well on the sat or can they convert my ACT score over?</p>
<p>Berkeley is the most prestigious of the UC schools, followed by UCLA, UCSD, and Davis. </p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is another good option to look at for engineering, but it's private, so I'm not sure if that factors into it....</p>
<p>And of course, Cal Tech.</p>
<p>You are very fortunate, your parents are going to the mecca of computer/engineering education and jobs. Cal, Stanford, Caltech and Mudd are 4 of the best in the world. Other UC schools are solid and even some CSUs are very good.</p>
<p>Anyone else?</p>
<p>the schools mentioned will all convert your ACT to an SAT equivalent. Actually, the UCs used a standardized table for both.</p>
<p>The top schools in the state (and nation) have already been mentioned for engineering, comp sci. But, on a less selective level, the mid-tier UCs (David, & Irvine) are also excellent, as is Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.</p>
<p>are there any other good schools for computer engineering in nevada or arizona that I should consider?</p>
<p>how do these schools compare to each other?</p>
<p>Why do you need to change schools just because your parents are moving? Unless you need in-state tuition you could still go to UMich. To give you an idea of the relative ranking of California public schools, here is the approximate avg GPA for 2006 admits: UCB & UCLA (3.71), UCSD (3.5), UCD (3.43), UCSB(3.38), UCI (3.36), UCSC (3.27), UCR (3.06). UC Merced is very new and avg GPA for 2006 may not be relevant. For weighted GPA, CA schools add a point for up to 4 year long AP courses (or 8 semester courses). The weighted GPAs for each school are obviously higher. For example, UCB is around 4.1 or 4.2. California also has a good system of business and career oriented schools which we call the CSU system. Cal Poly SLO is the top of that system and is probably equivalent to UCI or UCD in terms of GPA. Other schools in the system are San Diego State, San Jose State, Cal State Long Beach, Sonoma State, etc. The ones in large cities tend to be commuter schools. These schools have good programs in business, accounting, teaching, nursing, as well as computer science. You will have to investigate further to see which of them are better in computer science. You will get larger classes at the universities and smaller classes at the state schools.</p>
<p>my sister and I will be going through college at the same time (twin) so tuition could* be an issue if I went out of state.</p>
<p>why can't I edit my post?</p>
<p>Also, do you think that I have a decent shot at ucla or berkeley?</p>
<p>I'd say that you have a good shot at both...</p>
<p>As for your other question, U of Arizona is a pretty school - worth looking into, but stay FAR away from Nevada (I live in NV, so I can say that ;).</p>
<p>thanks for the tip</p>
<p>I have basically heard so far that for engineering the top three (excluding caltech) are berkeley, ucla, and uc san diego. How do these schools compare to each other?</p>
<p>Lastly, is uc san diego like a bunch of seperate colleges or what?</p>
<p>As a California resident...and my d is class of 2011...I have heard through friends who work at UC Berkeley/aka CAL...2/3 of the applicants with 4.0 unweighted were rejected and over 5000 applicants had perfect 2400 SATs.and UCLA had over 50,000 applications..you have strong scores/gpa...and will need strong extra curricular activities as well ..as both Cal and UCLA are holistic in their application review.As the Bay Area is "home" to Silicon Valley, Stanford should also be part of your list for consideration. A safety could be Santa Clara University, or San Jose State.
Good Luck!</p>
<p>Berkeley is the most prestigious, but also has a reputation for not putting enough focus on undergraduate education. UCLA just slightly under Berkeley, but focuses more on undergrads. I've heard great things about it from friends who go there. UCSD ranks just below UCLA. All I've heard is that it's extremely science-oriented. </p>
<p>Personally, of the three, I'd pick UCLA.</p>
<p>If your weighted GPA includes more than four weighted courses your "UC GPA" will be lower than 3.9. Also, UC only uses sophomore and junior year grades. UC is very grade conscious - both UCLA and Berkeley have average GPA's for their freshman classes over 4.1 using the UC formula. It will be hard for you to get into Berkeley or UCLA or UC San Diego with those "stats", barring other interesting aspects to your application. (Last year my son had a "UC GPA" of 3.9, SAT's over 2100, SAT II's averaging over 750, and didn't get into any of them - but of course grades and tests scores aren't the entire story.) UC Davis, Irvine, and Santa Barbara look good, and all have well regarded computer engineering programs. Also UC Santa Cruz, which is just over the hill from Silicon Valley, has a strong program.</p>
<p>US News lists both Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Jose State University (which is in the middle of Silicon Valley) in the top five undergraduate computer engineering programs in the country. You would be a shoo in at either.</p>
<p>^^I think it depends on the high school. A mom I met in my yoga class said her D who is in the same high school as my D, got into UCLA with the above stats. I think the courseload is also very important. This kid has nearly 0 EC. Her mom said her D was so shocked moving from overseas to this high school that she did not have time to catch up let alone do any EC. Her only EC is ROP class and its related activities.</p>
<p>Actually there's a lot of extraneous factors which go into the admissions decisions at the top UC schools. Attending a really, really bad high school can help you; attending a more competitive one can hurt you. First in family to attend college is a big plus; overcoming economic and other forms of adversity also are a help.</p>
<p>At Berkeley and UCLA, you need good ECs and a solid GPA for in-staters. However, since you'll have moved after your senior year, you'll be applying as an out-of-stater, so it'll be much more difficult.</p>
<p>ricegal: I'm not sure where you get those stats, but the last I checked, the average UW GPA at Berkeley was 3.83, though it could've changed.</p>
<p>kluge: what is this US News undergrad computer science ranking?</p>
<p>applying as an out of stater!</p>
<p>so am I just screwed? I will be living in california during all of college, but I am an out of stater? what the heck!</p>