Good Schools for CS in NorCal/Central Cal

State Forums
1

Hi!
New here,
I’m currently a junior in high school and am starting my search into potential colleges. I plan to hopefully major in CS and live in central Cal, hence why I’m looking for schools close to home.

Wondering if anyone could recommend some schools for me to look into… I know there’s the obvious ones like Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis however I’d say they’re pretty much reach schools for me.

I have a small list going that includes UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, CSU Monterey Bay, and San Jose State, but 1) with the exception of Merced and SJ State I don’t know a ton about their CS programs and 2) with computer science now becoming a more popular major the competition is tough so I’m not sure if any of these would be truly be a good “safety” school.

If it helps, my current unweighted GPA is 3.6, not sure about weighted but I’ve been taking a few AP/Pre-AP classes. I’ve only taken one AP exam so far (Human Geo) and got a 4 on it, but am planning to a take a few this year (currently enrolled in APUSH, CS Principals, & AP English Lang. & Comp.). Took the PSAT 10th and got 1120… I probably could’ve done better if I had actually studied. I’ve also taken 3 UC/CSU transferrable college classes via dual enrollment with my local community college, doing another one this semester and next (so by the end of this year I should technically have one semester of college done!).
Haven’t done any sports because frankly I’m not an athletic type of person but I’ve done extracurriculars like Girls Who Code Club (1 year), Theatre Stagecraft (tech crew for the spring play), CSF (1 year-ongoing), Key Club (1 semester… kinda got disorganized and fell out) & Link Crew (ongoing).

My apologies for the lengthy post but if anyone could help thank you in advance! :slight_smile:

2

For some admissions related information, you can check these threads (you need to recalculated your weighted-capped GPAs as used by UC and CSU):
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/2127392-faq-uc-historical-frosh-admit-rates-by-hs-gpa-2018.html
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/california-state-university-general/2150136-csus-that-publish-past-admission-thresholds.html

3

Thank you! Will definitely check those posts out!

4

Besides the schools mentioned in your original post, Cal Poly SLO, Chico State, Sacramento State, Santa Clara University and the University of the Pacific have ABET accredited CS programs. There is also Humboldt, East Bay, Stanislaus. Sonoma and San Francisco State which offer CS programs but not ABET accredited.

ABET accreditation is not a requirement for CS programs but the Accreditation process helps determine if these educational programs meet defined standards of quality, so these schools would have similar curriculums to ensure you are receiving a good CS education.

The non-impacted CSU campuses for Computer Science would probably make good safety schools so they would be East Bay, Humboldt, Sacramento, San Francisco, Sonoma and Stanislaus. UC Merced might be safety depending upon your stats.

Below is the CSU impacted Matrix that shows which Cal states have CS programs and which programs are impacted (selective).

https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf

CSU/UC calculator:
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Once you have your Capped weighted CSU GPA = UC Capped Weighted GPA and some test scores, you can calculate your Eligibility index. (CSU GPA x800) + (SAT Math + EBRW).

Cal states rank based on EI and major.
SJSU’s and Cal Poly SLO’s CS programs are highly competitive with low acceptance rates and high EI (SJSU) or MCA Points (SLO) thresholds.

For the UC’s, since CS has become so competitive and popular, you will need a UC Capped weighted GPA of 4.0+ with test scores in the 1400+ range for the best chances.

5

Ah, thanks for the information! Will check those links out.