My son will be applying soon for CSUs (cal poly SLO, SDSU, LB) and UCs (UCD, UCB, UCLA, UCSD). Since he’s choosing such a competitive major and there are no ACT/SAT scores to submit (also these schools are test blind i believe), I’m wondering if he can get admitted under a different major and switch into CS/CE. Also, since the CSUs don’t have essays, all they have are the GPA and course rigor to go by?? Just seems like such a crapshoot this year.
UC’s currently have an injunction in regards to using the SAT/ACT scores however, there is been a change:
I would say in general that an applicant should select their 1st choice major either CS/CPE/CSE since there is no guarantee that once accepted, that student can change majors.
What major other than CS/CPE/CSE would your son consider?
Cal Poly SLO, SDSU and CSULB admit by major so your son needs to research how difficult it would be to change majors at each Cal State.
Currently SLO is not accepting change of majors for CS but will accept for CPE.
https://eadvise.calpoly.edu/Changing-Majors/From-Outside-the-College-of-Engineering
SDSU admits into the “pre-major” and all students need to meet the pre-req’s and GPA threshold before declaring the major.
https://curriculum.sdsu.edu/curriculum-services/general-catalog/20-21-gc-2/057-computer-science.pdf
CSULB is similar to SDSU where you are still are required to meet GPA and pre-req course requirements before continuing in the major or declaring/changing majors.
UCSD admits into the University first than into the major and suggest to select another non-capped major if CS/CSE/CPE is the first choice. Changing into CS is done by lottery after completing the pre-req courses with a certain GPA.
https://cse.ucsd.edu/undergraduate/cse-capped-admissions-program
UCD admits nto the Engineering school for CSE. For CS in the College of Letters and Sciences, applicants are admitted by Division with the College of Letters and Sciences.
https://cs.ucdavis.edu/undergraduate/non-majors/changing-majors-double-majors
UCLA admits directly into the Engineering college and changing from a non-engineering to CS/Engineering is nearly impossible after being admitted.
https://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/ls-to-engineering/
UCB offers CS in the College of Letters and Sciences and requires meeting a GPA threshold in the pre-req courses or admits directly into EECS which is highly competitive.
https://eecs.berkeley.edu/resources/undergrads/cs/degree-reqs-lowerdiv
The CSUs are not crapshoots at all, they admit by major based on an eligibility index (EI) which is a formula of weighted gpas and scores. If you’re at or above the EI, you’re admitted. They publish the EIs for the previous year so you have some idea of what you need. Yes the EIs will probably be higher for CS or CSE the following year, but you’ll know how competitive you are. For most CSUs, you should apply directly to the major, especially for CS, as gumbymom points out, you won’t be able to transfer in to CS.
EI = HSGPA * 800 + SATRW + SAT_M (there is also an ACT version)
CPSLO has its own formula (called MCA) that has additional factors: https://mca.netlify.app/
Unfortunately, only a few CSUs publish historical EIs; SJSU is the best known one: https://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/freshmen-impaction-results/index.php . The only completely assured sure thing for an applicant meeting or exceeding CSU minimum eligibility is a non-impacted major at a non-impacted campus (e.g. CS at SFSU or CSUDH), since impacted majors and impacted campuses determing EI thresholds competitively.
Another wildcard this year is that CSU will not consider SAT/ACT scores this application year, so past EIs may be difficult to translate into whatever formula they use now (could be just HS GPA, but some have their own formulae, such as CSULB using a formula that greatly overweights English and math grades over other grades: https://www.csulb.edu/admissions/freshmen-eligibility-index ).
Thank you for your comment. What I mean by “crapshoot” this year is that because there are no SAT/ACT scores this go around, the CSUs will only have GPA and course rigor to consider. At least thats how I understand it to be.
@tnursemom: As noted by @ucbalmunus, each CSU is using different criteria for admission since test scores are not considered. CSULB is using their own admission formula to replace the Eligiblity index which is linked.
SDSU specifically states that for Engineering/CS majors, Math and Science grades will be heavily considered in the Freshman selection.
SLO will put a greater emphasis on GPA which is 9-11th grades for the a-g courses (unlike the 10-11th grades for the rest of the CSU’s). But they also consider HS course rigor in the from of bonus points for extra semesters of the a-g courses, EC hours, major related work hours and leadership positions.
According the CSU mandate, it will be up to each campus ”to determine the supplemental factors used with GPA to determine eligibility in these cases and communicate these criteria publicly for prospective students. Impacted Campuses and programs may utilize higher “a-g" GPA thresholds for applicants, as well as identify supplemental criteria and their relative weights, in making admission decisions. ”
didn’t catch his GPA but, your son is applying to a competitive major at selective schools. As you gather, the inability to include SAT/ACT and a group of deferrals and gap applicants this year/ makes this year’s admission threshold hard to tease out in advance.
Again, don’t know his stats but, I’d strongly suggest he include a safety or two on his ap list, Chico, Sac, SF have solid programs and are more accessible to the typical student.
Apply broadly and good luck.
@NCalRent - he’s got about a 4.1 I think, although I’ve never quite figured out how to calculate the CSU GPA, nor do I know exactly what the UCs look at for GPA. He didn’t put effort into his sophomore year so that’s what brings his GPA down to 4.1 (he had a great junior year though). He takes mostly AP classes with Engineering and Computer courses for his electives…which he always gets As in. He’s always been in high level math and science courses. It’s just hard to predict this year due to no ACT/SAT tests being considered. With my oldest child we could somewhat predict where she would get in, but with my son (my youngest of 3), I have no idea. I know a 4.1 is low for anyone applying to Engineering or Computer Science and we don’t want OOS.
UC’s look at 3 GPA’s: Unweighted, Fully weighted and Capped weighted. UC Capped weighted = CSU Capped weighted.
It is very important to know his GPA for gauging his chances especially for competitive majors since test scores are not a consideration for the Cal states and UC’s are still up in the air.
Use the Rogerhub UC calculator and input only 10-11th grades for the a-g courses. Capped weighted gives 8 semesters of Honors points for UC approved Honors, AP/IB or DE classes taken 10-11th grades. Fully weighted UC GPA gives unlimited points for these courses taken 10-11th grades.
Here is the calculator link: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
You can look up his HS approved a-g courses including the designated Honors classes that get the extra weighting bump here:
https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist
Please post all 3 UC GPA’s. Also be aware the Cal Poly SLO is the exception and uses 9-11th grades with the same 8 semester cap for honors points for 10-11th courses that are Honors approved.
With a 4.1, he will probably get into CPP. SDSU, and CSULB (SLO will be a coin toss) and none of the UCs you list.
I’d add UCR and UCSC and maybe a private or 2 like LMU or USD - that will give him several solid programs from which to choose next year.
good luck.
Yes, he’s also applying to UCD and UCSC. He can add UCR too. We aren’t doing privates or OOS, just CA public schools. I used the gpa calculator and it says 4.09 for weighted, weighted and capped gpa is 3.91. unweighted is 3.55…he took too many AP classes in my opinion and didn’t try hard enough his sophomore year.
Below a 4.0+ for competitive majors at the UC’s will be tough.
2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 12%
UCLA: 7%
UCSD: 33%
UCSB: 32%
UCD: 47%
UCI: 35%
UCSC: 72%
UCR: 87%
UCM: 96%
**2020 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range: **
UCB: 4.22 (4.13-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.31)
UCSD: 4.18(4.04-4.28)
UCSB: 4.17 (4.03-4.27)
UCI: 4.11 (3.96-4.26)
UCD: 4.11 (3.97-4.25)
UCSC: 3.94 (3.71-4.16)
UCR: 3.88 (3.65-4.11)
UCM: 3.68 (3.40-3.96)
Competitive majors will have lower admit rates and require higher stats for the best chances.
UCR is possible along with UCM. Most of the Cal states would love to have him with exception of Cal Poly SLO and maybe SDSU. Edited post to include SJSU as a tough admit for CS. CPE might be an option at SJSU.
As long as he applies widely and is willing to attend any of the schools on his college list, he will be fine.
yes, this is kinda what i was thinking. unfortunately he won’t have any ACT/SAT scores to submit or the schools are test blind. he took the ACT his sophomore year as a “practice” run because he wasn’t in town to take the PSAT so I wanted him to try one of these tests during 10th grade. he got a 28 so we were pretty sure he would be able to get it to a 30-32 ish during his senior year, but now that’s not happening, unfortunately. hoping sdsu or ucsc will take him!!!
@tnursemom - I would be confident that at least one of those two (or others on your list) would be happy to admit him. But what stands out to me is how very different those two campuses are! Has your family done any virtual tours of either university?
yes, he’s my 3rd kid so we’ve seen almost every CA public college there is. i can see him at either of those 2 and a few of the others. i don’t really see him at UCR or UCM though. just hoping he gets into one of the ones he (and me) likes!
SJSU is highly competitive for CS, even though some other majors (while listed as impacted) may end up setting their admission thresholds at baseline CSU eligibility.
For fall 2020 start, a CS applicant to SJSU needed an EI of 4825 to get admitted: https://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/freshmen-impaction-results/index.php .
A non-local CS applicant with a 3.91 GPA would have needed a 1697 SAT score to be admitted, which was clearly impossible. A local area applicant (with +0.25 GPA bonus) would have needed a 1497 SAT score to be admitted.
Of course, this year will be a wild card since CSUs are not using SAT or ACT scores.
many privates offer merit money to well qualified applicants - so, for some they are cheaper than full fare at a UC or even CSU.
Another thought, most of the CSUs have honors programs which he would probably qualify for - they typically include priority registration, smaller GE sections with more intellectual approach to GE topics. Most have a supplemental ap you have to dig out of their websites. Priority reg is a godsend at most big colleges.
My son was in the Chico program for a few years.
here’s a link to their program info
https://www.csuchico.edu/honors/
yes, i’m aware of that too as this is my 3rd kid going to college. my kids have cal vet so we want to use this benefit and it’s only for public CA schools. thanks though! i wish he had more options where he could use cal vet!