Oh - ok - I thought it might be distance but then you said all UCs minus Riverside - so I figured it wasn’t.
OK.
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I heard Riverside - Pollution is at its worst.
My thinking was he might get in Merced which is closer to Bay Area than Southern CA, so eliminated Riverside.
I think if he is comfortable with SJSU, you really don’t need to look beyond it unless he gets into Davis, SLO, Cal, UCSB, UCI, or UCLA. If SJSU is an option he will be happy with, then I think it completely destresses your process and you can be more aggressive with major selection at the other UCs. I recommend looking at the apps not just individually but as a portfolio of hedges and gambles.
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Thank you, that would be my plan.
SLO - Mechnical
Cal - Engg undeclared etc.
I am still gathering all admission stats, will apply strategically.
If distance is a big factor, maybe consider Santa Clara CSE. Did not see a budget up top, so i am not sure but maybe he will get merit to offset the cost.
I cannot afford Santa Clara, so did not consider it.
The student wants to stay in CA…per the OP’s post above. With all the wonderful public universities in CA, this is a very nice way to look at the colleges available…at instate costs. Plus, the family has another older child attending a CA public and is happy with that decision.
I think it’s great that this kid and family have narrowed down their options this way. Nothing wrong with this…at all.
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No one said anything is wrong with it.
I was asking the question as to why - because there are other schools as close, etc.
Then I read this - and now I wonder - why Irvine, San Diego, etc. “he wants stay close to home”
It’s ok to ask a question - which is all I did - because if it’s cost, I was simply pointing out there are safety valves.
No one needs to be criticized for asking a question.
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Admission stats only tell part of the story at Cal Poly. You can find out how many applied and accepted, but we intuit yield as 33%. Certainly it varies by major, but that isn’t public facing. It also says nothing about the applicant pool. Mechanical Engineering may admit 19%, but I’d be willing to bet that the MCA cutoff is higher than 19% admits in other non-CENG majors due to the strength of the pool.
If they’re unsure, I’d be inclined to apply to General at CP. It’s an easier admit and they expect students to change majors. As such, they lower the barriers into other majors. Still, no changes into CS or SE though.
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In reading through your first post I was thinking, this parent’s got all the questions answered already! Then I looked at your username and realized, no wonder! Hope your older son is enjoying Cal.
I have two questions, one for OP and one for the general board.
For OP:
- Have you thought about U. of the Pacific? It’s in northern California and I suspect your son would receive sufficient merit aid to bring it at least to the price of a UC, if not lower. It’s ABET-accredited in bioengineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, engineering management, engineering physics, and mechanical engineering. And one of the big benefits would be that your son doesn’t need to pick a single major and worry about whether he changes his mind and wants to switch into a different major. If he cares, I also suspect there would be smaller classes, more individual attention, etc.
For the board:
- Which California publics have low-enough demand or make it easy enough to switch between various engineering majors, CS, etc? For instance, I don’t think that San Francisco State is an impacted campus, so does that mean someone could enter as mechanical engineering and then readily switch to computer, civil, or electrical engineering (the other fields it’s ABET-accredited in)?
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Unequivocally it’s Berkeley. A COE admit is very hard but once you are in, UNTIL NOW, it has been very easy to switch majors so long as you meet GPA thresholds. Yes, even for EECS (my S22 did it).
The other UCs all have some level of flexibility but SLO has a look back requirement, UCLA is more stringent when it comes to CS and so on.
There’s almost always more flexibility than you think but its generally fraught with some risk. Always a good idea to apply to the major that closely matches interests.
I see more than 8 semesters of AP/Honors classes. Capped and uncapped weighted gpa cannot be the same. Can it? maybe revisit the calculation … might have better odds at UCs that consider uncapped weighted gpa.
Cal Poly is quite easy if, and it’s a big IF, you are admitted into something hypercompetitive like CS in the first place. It’s near impossible to swim upstream though.
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Is this changing for all the different COE majors, or just for CS?
Also, are there any California publics with easier odds of admittance than Berkeley that this is possible? The vast majority aren’t going to be getting in there.
The CS policy changes don’t affect COE. COE still retains huge flexibility.
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I used Honors/AP claasses from 10-11th Grades only. If I include 12th Grade also, its more than 8.
maybe you are using years instead of semesters? I see 4 AP classes + Chem H, we should be more than 8 semesters …
You are correct, I was using Years instead of Semesters.
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Thank you. I was not aware of this College. I will do more research on Cost/Merit Aid etc.
Other worry is with change in FAFSA for 2024, I need to pay double the amount for 2 kids(in 24) and I want to make sure I am not over committing.
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According to U. of the Pacific’s Common Data Set (CDS), 21.9% of students had no financial need and received merit scholarships averaging $24,098.
In using your son’s unweighted GPA, no test scores, and an anticipated major of mechanical engineering, the NPC did not pop up any merit aid.
With a 1300 SAT (650 Math/650 Verbal) there was $18k in merit aid.
With a 1400 SAT (700 Math/700 Verbal) & a 1500 SAT (750/750) there was $22k in merit aid (got the same results for 1500 SAT and CS major).
So if your son does get an interest in U. of the Pacific, it might behoove him to take one of the standardized tests.
Of course, these are the minimums, and the NPC was saying it was for the 19-20SY, so I think it would certainly be reasonable to reach out to an admissions officer if you become more interested in the school. I don’t know if they decrease aid for the engineering & CS majors (as $22k is below the average merit aid package), or the amounts have gone up since SY19-20 and the NPC just hasn’t been updated.