Computer Science @ UCSC vs SDSU vs UCSD (undeclared) vs UW (Pre-Science)

State Forums
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I have a few questions regarding which school I should attend for a computer science major.
Schools:
UCSC, SDSU, UCSD (undeclared), UW (Pre-Science)

So far I am leaning toward UCSC and UW because I feel like trying to get from undeclared to CS at UCSD would be difficult to accomplish and I feel like SDSU is just not on pair with the UC’s in terms of general resources (teacher quality,) and study abroad opportunities (which is something I think I want to do.)

  1. When I first applied to schools, UCSD was my number one choice; at this point, is it a lost cause to go there and try to do CS?
  2. UCSC or UW? I didn't get directly into the computer science program at UW, but apparently most people at UW for computer science also do not get direct admission anyway. I live in California so UW is inherently more expensive than UCSC; however, many various website rank UW much higher than UCSC for computer science. Does that matter?
  3. Finally, I think I might want to go to graduate school after college. What matters for graduate school? If I go to anyone of these schools and get good grades will I have all the same opportunities for graduate school? If I end up going to graduate school would it make more sense to pick one of the cheaper schools, UCSC or SDSU?

Thanks for your time :slight_smile:

2

I meant to type SJSU (San Jose State University) instead of SDSU (San Diego State University.) It seems silly that I can’t edit the original post.

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For Washington, you need to get a high GPA to have a realistic chance to get into the CS major through holistic admission (which considers other things besides GPA):
https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats

UCSD is also competitive admission to get into the CS major, though how competitive is not stated:
http://cse.ucsd.edu/ImpactedMajor
You may want to ask directly how competitive it is.

Were you directly admitted to CS for UCSC and SJSU? If not directly admitted to CS at UCSC, you need a 2.80 GPA in the prerequisites to get in, according to http://registrar.ucsc.edu/catalog/programs-courses/program-statements/cmps.html . At SJSU, it looks like you need a 3.45 GPA:

http://www.sjsu.edu/cs/practicalities/major-change/ .

If majoring in CS is important to you, then the lowest risk is to choose a school where you received direct admission to the CS major. If none of the schools gave you direct admission, it looks like UCSC is probably the one with the lowest hurdle to get into the major, though you should find out more information from UCSD.

Note that UCSC and SJSU are conveniently local to Silicon Valley computer companies, so the recruiting and access to interviews at the companies should be good there. Washington may be advantageous for recruiting if you want to live and work in the Seattle area after graduation, though the price premium and risk of not getting into the CS major are significant disadvantages.

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Hi there, I just thought I’d say I’m almost exactly in the same boat as you. I was given Pre Physical Science instead of Computer Science for UW and because majoring in CS is so important to me, I decided to not go to that school, as they also warned it’s possible I may never get CS.

I also received undeclared at UCSD and that too I decided against because the risk of never being able to major in CS was not worth it. Apparently you need a GPA of 3.7/3.8 to be considered to transfer in later on.

That has left me with UCSB, UCI, UCSC, and UCD for direct CS. Let me know where you eventually choose to go!

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For UCSC, I recommend attending one of their Engineering School open house days (April 1-9th) to learn more. That’s what I plan on doing to gain some more insight :slight_smile: