Hello Parents,
My son is working on his college applications (CA State and a few UCs). Those majors he really likes are all in School of Engineering. His weighted GPA is 3.9 (SAT 1350, ACT 30). We are trying to decide if he should apply to those majors he wants as a first choice or just put undeclared (or a less popular major). I’ve heard different opinions so I’d like to ask here too.
Thanks
If the university admits by college or major, make sure that you apply to the one that you want. Nothing worse than going to a school and not being able to get into the major that you want.
He should choose the major he wants. If he enrolls in a different major, and the major he wants is “full”, he will have to go through another competitive admission process to change into the major he wants.
He wants computer related majors in School of Engineering. He has 2 semesters with C+ in Honors Algebra 2 in 10th grade and regular pre-calc (B both semesters). Currently enrolled in regular (not honors or AP) calc. From what we’ve read all Schools of Engineeringrequire good grades in math. He knows the subject but doesn’t do well with high paced math tests and our school doesn’t have a curve in all math classes.
He most likely won’t get into a major he really wants. Not in colleges he wants to apply. He wants to stay in CA.
What colleges does he want to apply to, and what are is UC/CSU-recalculated weighted-capped GPA ( https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/ ) and SAT / ACT scores?
CSUs admit by eligibility index, which is a formula of the recalculated GPA and SAT / ACT score. So math grades per se (as long as they are C or higher to count for subject completion) do not specifically matter for admission beyond their effect on GPA. However, a student who finds high school math to be difficult is likely to find math in college to be difficult.
Below is how each UC campus admits Freshman applicants. If he wants a specific major, he should apply for that major. If his Stats, EC’s and essays are not up to par to get him into his choice schools, then he needs to rework his list.
Not all CS majors are in the School of Engineering, some are in the School of Science especially at several of the Cal States.
UC admission by major:
UCB:
Division (L&S, CNR, CoC, CED, CoE) matters for admission selectivity.
Within CoE (but not the other divisions), major matters for admission selectivity. Changing majors within the CoE after enrolling is not guaranteed, unless one is CoE undeclared.
Note that L&S admits students as undeclared; admission to capped majors (e.g. CS, economics, psychology, ORMS, statistics, art practice, and a few others) is by college GPA in prerequisite courses (and portfolio for art practice) after attending for a few semesters.
The business major is in a separate division and admits students in a competitive holistic process. Frosh intending business majors begin in another division (usually L&S), take the business major prerequisites, and apply (usually in their second years). They also need to take prerequisites for a backup major in case they are not admitted to the business major.
All students who apply to UC Berkeley and select a major within the College of Natural Resources are evaluated based on their application, not on the particular major they select.
UCD:
Admission decisions are made based upon the qualifications of the applicant pool and the number of available spaces within each academic area:
• College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences admits by college
• College of Biological Sciences admits by college
• College of Letters and Science admits by division within the college
• (Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies; Mathematics and Physical Sciences; Social Sciences)
• College of Engineering admits by academic department
Students applying as “undeclared” or “undeclared/exploratory” are considered within the college/division to which they applied.
UCI:
- Freshman Selection:
UCI admits into the University first and then into the major. In the case that UCI is unable to accommodate all qualified applicants in their first-choice major, those students who indicate a valid alternate major may be offered admission in that major or Undeclared.
UCLA:
For the College of Letters and Science, the applicant’s major is not considered during the review process. The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science admits students by declared major, with more emphasis on science and math programs. The School of Nursing also places more emphasis on science and math programs and requires the submission of an additional supplemental application. The School of the Arts and Architecture; Herb Alpert School of Music; and the School of Theater, Film and Television admit students by declared major (within the school), and put more emphasis on special talents through a review of portfolios and/or auditions, which are the most significant admission factors for these schools.
UCSD:
The campus does not admit students on the basis of academic major or choice of UC San Diego undergraduate college. Alternate majors are considered and capped majors are highly competitive. Also note: Capped majors require additional pre-req courses and specific GPA to be able to qualify if changing majors.
UCSB:
College of Letters and Sciences: Choice of major is not considered in selection to the College of Letters and Science. The exceptions to this rule are dance and music performance majors. Both majors require applicants to complete an audition in late January or early February.
College of Engineering: Students are selected by major for all engineering and computer science majors. Only applicants with a solid background in advanced high school mathematics will be considered for admission to engineering. This includes high grades in all math courses through grade 11 and enrollment in pre-calculus or higher in grade 12. A student not selected for their first choice major will be reviewed for admission to an alternate major outside of the College of Engineering if one was selected.
College of Creative Studies:
Applicants to the College of Creative Studies submit a supplementary application in addition to the general UC Application, which is reviewed by Creative Studies faculty. Students are selected within Creative Studies majors only. Applicants not selected for Creative Studies will automatically be considered for admission to the College of Letters and Science.
UCSC:
Important Note for Prospective Engineering Students: Choice of major does not influence the selection of first-year students, except for those applicants interested in a major offered by the Jack Baskin School of Engineering (BSOE). Freshmen who are interested in a BSOE program should be sure to indicate a BSOE proposed major. Students who do not indicate a BSOE program or who apply as undeclared might not be able to pursue a BSOE program.
UCR:
Admission by major but alternate/2nd choice major will be considered if applicant does not need their first choice admission standards.
For Business: Freshmen students must apply to Pre-Business under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS). The College breadth requirements and the prerequisites for a Business major are completed during the freshman and sophomore years. An application is submitted at the end of the sophomore year. Upon acceptance, students become Business majors and are then advised in the Business Department. Students from any academic major may also complete a Business minor.
Cal States admit by major but some are more flexible in allowing applicants to change into competitive majors than others.
My younger son wanted to apply as a CS major and was not willing to compromise on his major but his GPA was below average for the majority of the UC’s and Cal Poly SLO (originally his first choice) He had solid test scores and very good HS course rigor.
By applying widely, downgrading his college list a bit, he was able to get into his choice major. He ended up at a great fit school for him and the major he wanted (SDSU).
I suggest he consider UC Santa Cruz and Riverside, CSU Long Beach, San Diego State, Cal Poly Pomona and CSU Fullerton. All will give him an excellent CS/CPE education.
Bottom line which is more important to him, the major or the school.
To ucbalumnus
Sorry, I cannot gind how to quote a comment.
He is applying to UCSC, San Jose State, San Diego State. Those are top choices. He doesn’t really have a problem with math. Our school doesn’t have a curve in all math classes and my son’s 10th grade math teacher’s tests were insane (many students and parents complain).
To Gumbymom
Thanks for the information. My concern is if my son applies for a major in School of Engineering he might not get into a school he wants. It’s not always clear if a student who is not accepted into SOE will have equal chances to get into Letters and Sciences as other applicants.
UCSC for example. They say they do not consider major when you spply to Letters and Sciences but they do consider major when you apply to SOE. What if you don’t get to SOE and your alternative major is in LAS? Is applying to SOE (and not getting in) could compromise your chances of getting into LAS in this college?
“Important Note for Prospective Engineering Students: Choice of major does not influence the selection of first-year students, except for those applicants interested in a major offered by the Jack Baskin School of Engineering (BSOE). Freshmen who are interested in a BSOE program should be sure to indicate a BSOE proposed major. Students who do not indicate a BSOE program or who apply as undeclared might not be able to pursue a BSOE program.”
What are his UC/CSU-recalculated weighted-capped GPA ( https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/ ) and SAT / ACT scores?
Not sure about UC/CSU GPA. I believe 3.6. SAT 1350, ACT 30
If those are the numbers, then approximate CSU eligibility index would be 4310 (= 3.7 * 800 + 1350).
Last year, SJSU CS required 4725, computer engineering 4700, and software engineering 4200; see http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/impactionresultsfreshmen/ . Thresholds may change this year.
UCSC admitted 44% of applicants with HS GPA of 3.40-3.79 for 2017, according to https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary . CS would be a more difficult major to get into.
In another post, you mentioned SFSU and CSUSac. SFSU is not impacted, and the CS and computer engineering majors are not impacted there. So any CSU eligible applicant (2950 for California residents) should be admitted.
The ideal majors would be something like Technology and Information Management or Network and Digital Technology (UCSC).
SJSU School of Engineering calculates eligibility index differently with more weight given to SAT math. But it still won’t be enough to get to CS.
For SJSU
Calculating the Impaction Index for College of Engineering programs
Beginning Fall 2017, applicants to programs in the College of Engineering (COE) will be ranked based on a modified Eligibility Index giving greater weight to the math sections of the SAT and ACT.
- To calculcate the COE impaction index, you will need to calculate a total SAT score (math and EBRW) in the following way:
a. For SAT scores from a test date after March 1, 2016:
[(SAT Math * 3) + (EBRW)]/2 = COE total SAT score
[SAT Score Total + (GPA * 800)] = COE impaction index
I’m just curious about OP’s comments about math courses in her son’s high school not being curved. That was the norm in my daughter’s school too. It was the very, very rare exception that a teacher would curve a test, in any subject and usually it was in the AP history courses. I don’t think she ever ever had a math test curved. Just curious if that’s not typically the case.
OP - I’m going to caution your son about pursuing engineering if he’s struggling with his high school math courses. Engineering math courses in college are TOUGH, starting with Calc I. I belong to a FB parents group for my daughter’s class and after each round of exams, there are hundreds of posts by freaked out parents saying their kids are dropping classes, changing majors, etc…
The problem I see with that curve situation is that it’s fairly new in our school. As well as that particular teacher. I think her tests didn’t reflect what they studied in class. My older child graduated from the same school so I can compare.
I am concerned about SOE math too but my son is positive he can handle it.
@verycrazymom: According to the UCSC website:
Students pursuing Network and Digital Technology and Technology and Information Management are NOT required to be proposed in these majors in order to declare them.
Most likely since these are interdisciplinary studies, he can select these as proposed majors and still have a chance even if does not get into the “proposed major”. He will just have to take the required courses and declare the major formally later. Have him apply to his intended major and if not accepted into the “proposed” major, he should get into his 2nd choice major and then switch for UCSC.
For SDSU, IT is in the School of Business and not Engineering. CS is in the School of Science and CPE in the School of Engineering. An EI of 4300+ makes him competitive but not a guarantee on admission. SDSU does not consider alternate majors but changing majors is not that difficult as long as take the required pre-req courses and meet the GPA requirement. SDSU admits into Pre-Majors so all students have to meet the major criteria before continuing into the upper division courses.
CSU’s admit into the major and only a few CSU’s will consider alternate majors with SJSU being one of them along with CPP. Check each school’s website for change of major policies especially if impacted.
For the UC’s, Information Technology or related majors can only be found at UCI other than UCSC.
http://catalogue.uci.edu/donaldbrenschoolofinformationandcomputersciences/#Degrees
Again I emphasize, what is more important to your son, the school or major. With luck he will have both.
https://admissions.sdsu.edu/transfers/apply/gpa_requirements suggests that CS is not a heavily impacted major at SDSU, since only a 2.00 GPA is needed for transfer students to get into SDSU CS.
To Gumbymom
Thanks a lot! We’ll take a look. For the what more important I’d say both but depending on major/college/location combination. Knowing my son he won’t strive in a college that is geographically far from civilization even if it can provide a good education. For example, Chico State or Merced. So it’s really a combination for him.