Chance me for CS at CSU's and UC's

State Forums
1

Hi everyone. I am a senior in high school right now. and my stats are low which makes me worry I will not have a chance of getting into the school I want… I have taken the SAT and will be taking the ACT for the first time in October. I am putting CS as my intended major and data science as my alternative for the UC schools that offer it. If there any other schools that have good cs programs please let me know.

My stats are:

UC GPA: 3.8
SAT: 1150

CSU:

Cal Poly SLO
Cal Poly Pomona
Sacramento State
San Diego State

UC:

UC Irvine
UC San Diego
UC Santa Cruz
UC Davis

2

Welcome to College Confidential as a first time poster.

I will be honest with you that Sac State looks like the only possible Match school on your list and if it is your local CSU, then it would be a Safety.

A UC GPA below 4.0 with an SAT score below 1300, makes the UC’s all Reach schools especially for Computer Science. Cal Poly SLO has about a 6-7% acceptance rate for CS which is the most competitive major. SLO will be a Reach school.

For the other Cal states, they admit by CSU GPA and test scores (Eligibility index) which is (CSU GPA x 800) + (SAT Math + EBRW) which equals a 4190. Your EI is a solid but due to the high application rate and competitiveness of CS majors at all these schools, you need higher than average stats for the best chances.

Cal Poly Pomona unless you are local, would be a High Match and SDSU a High Match/Low Reach.

I suggest you add a few more CSU’s to your list such as CSU Fullerton, San Francisco State, Chico State, Channel Islands, East Bay which all with exception of CSUF have non-impacted CS programs along with UC Riverside and/or UC Merced.

If you are able to increase your SAT into the 1300 range, then CSU Long Beach, SDSU and CPP would be solid Match schools for you.

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 (capped weighted) and not major specific. For CS, expect admit rates to be much lower.

UCB: 12.6%
UCLA: 11.7%
UCSD: 38.7%
UCSB: 53.6%
UCD: 56.5%
UCI: 52.1%
UCSC: 75.7%
UCR: 90.1%
UCM: 96.1%

For the best chances, you want test scores above the 50th percentile especially in the Math portion of the SAT.

25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:

UCB: 1360-1540

UCLA: 1340-1540
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1270-1500
UCD: 1220-1480
UCI: 1230-1490
UCSC: 1210-1450
UCR: 1130-1380
UCM: 1020-1280

Best of luck and apply widely.

3

Can I ask where you got those stats?

4

The admit rates by GPA can be gotten from https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary . Click “Freshman Admit Rate” and “HS GPA” to see the admit rates by GPA range for the selected campus. Remember:

  1. The GPA is the UC recalculated one; see https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/ . Many high schools' weighted GPAs are higher than the same student's UC recalculated GPA, so do not use a weighted GPA from your high school unless it specifically says that it is calculated the UC way.
  2. These past admit rates are not major or division specific. Some popular majors like CS tend to have much lower admit rates.
  3. Competitiveness of a campus or specific majors may vary next year.
5

The SAT stats are listed on the UC website for each campus under Freshman profile and I have just consolidated the data. @ucbalumnus has given you the link for the admit rates which are 2017’s data. 2018 data should be available some time January 2019 which is not too helpful for applicants applying this cycle.

The average UC GPA for all but UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside and UC Merced is above a 4.0 and this does not take into account specific majors especially for the competitive majors such as Engineering, CS, Biology etc…

I can also tell you my chancing is also based on personal experience and data that I have collected over the last few years especially when my younger son was applying for CS along with some friends and family members whom I have helped with the UC/CSU application process.

Due to the popularity of CS, you need to apply to a wide variety of schools and always have 2 safety schools on your list.

6

I agree - you are only competitive for Sac and perhaps Pomona. for CS - I believe Pomona still considers alternate majors so, if you really like the school, you should pick one that’s not impacted. I would add Chico, SF and Fullerton to your ap list.
Good luck

7

I looked at the eligibility index for San Jose State, and I saw their e.i. for Software Engineering is 4200. My E.I. is 4150, so would I still have a chance or will I just be declined automatically?

8

The EI threshold can fluctuate from year to year so definitely worth an application. SJSU ranks each SE applicant by their EI and then accepts from the top down so next year’s EI could be lower or higher. You will not be rejected automatically unless you do not meet the minimum a-g course requirements when applying.