Help Make a Decision for a Cal State University in Computer Science

State Forums
1

I’m currently a high school senior living in the Southern California area. The main question here is what’s the best CSU for computer science, but I have some questions about myself. I am in the process of applying to colleges and here are the five exclusive CSUs that I do have an interest in attending:

  1. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo: The best CSU / one of the best universities for engineering and science.
    .

  2. Cal Poly Pomona: It’s very close by, a polytechnic concentration, and the most likely campus for me to get in.

  3. San Jose: I heard about good things about their computer science program and I have an high interest in it, too. It’s probably the college with the highest interest for me to go, along with CPP.

  4. Long Beach: I heard it’s a good school for engineering and maybe science and I love their campus from seeing the online tours.

  5. San Diego: Again, I heard it’s a great school for engineering and science. The only problem is that this is the college with the least knowledge I have. The only thing I have heard is that campus life is great there.

Although applying, I actually do consider going to a community college first rather than a 4-year university. There’s a variety of reasons, but it’s mainly that I on’t feel prepared to go to a 4-year college. I know that I would struggle while attending college, but I just don’t want to fall so far behind in school. Despite having standard grades and working hard in school, I tend to do things at a slow pace. The colleges I’ve selected above are my target and reach schools. I’ve eliminated my safety schools (Fullerton, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Fresno) because I don’t really know much information about those schools or their information doesn’t satisfy me, leaving me with a lower interest to apply to them.

If I decide to go to community college, then I’m likely deciding to go to Chaffey Community College to get an AS-T (from the Associates for Transfer / A Degree With a Guarantee transfer program) in computer science. Amazingly, three of the five campuses I’m applying to participate in the transfer program with Chaffey, which are San Jose, Long Beach, and San Diego. Even though I really would want to go to San Jose, I might consider Long Beach. This is where I need help deciding one of the three campuses.

Other community colleges I plan on attending are Citrus Valley and Mount San Antonio Community College. Mt. Sacc was my initial community college because they offer an associates degree for computer programming and has some classes about computer sciences. I do plan to do the honors program for any community college for my own reasons. I’ll still have to check If I can do both the honors and transfer program at Chaffey though.

tl;dr (rankings as replies are fine):

  1. What’s the best CSU campus for computer science?

  2. What’s the best CSU from my 5 target / reach choices (if I get accepted)? (SLO, Pomona, San Jose, Long Beach, or San Diego)

  3. Is there anything about the 4 safety colleges eliminated that I should know about (Fullerton, San Francisco, LA, and Fresno)

  4. If deciding on community college, where should I go? (Chaffey, Mt. SACC, Citrus Valley)

  5. If going to Chaffey and getting an AS-T, which one of the three campuses should I transfer to? (San Jose, Long Beach, or San Diego)?

I would also love to know any info beyond what I’m asking and hear about any other CSU campuses out there!

2

My younger son is a 2nd year CS major at SDSU and he applied to all the schools listed including CSU Fullerton.

  1. Cal Poly SLO has an excellent CS program. The acceptance range hovers around 10%, so if you have the stats to get into the program, you should also consider several of the UC’s: UCSC/UCI/UCSD/UCD/UCSB/UCLA. Software Engineering is an easier admit, so you might want to consider this as an alternate major.
    SLO favors locals for transfer, so attending Cuesta will help your chances.

  2. SJSU again has a excellent CS program and also a tough admit. They publish their EI thresholds so you can get an idea of how you compare to last years class. EI for SAT CS: 4300 ACT: 1021 For Software Engineering SAT: 3600 ACT: 862.

  3. Cal Poly Pomona CS is impacted so again competitive. Going to Mt Sac and then transferring would probably be a wise move if you do not apply as a Freshman.

  4. CSULB: 3rd most competitive CSU overall and requires at least a minimum 3900 EI for a good chance at an acceptance as a Freshman. Again locals are given priority but if you maintain a good GPA at a CCC, transferring should not be an issue.

  5. SDSU: Competitive school/progarm. An EI of 4100/1000 or above puts in good standing for an acceptance. Very difficult to transfer in unless you attend a local San Diego CCC even with an articulation agreeement from out of area schools.

  6. CSUF: Very good program. Recommended by a friend whom received their masters at CSUF. Good transfer possibilities from area CCC’s. An EI of 3700/900 should get you in.

My son compared curriculum’s of all the Cal states that he was accepted to before making his decision (SLO was a rejection). Found the overall programs comparable, but college is just not about academics only. Fit is important. He chose SDSU for the academics/reputation/social scene and location.

Good luck.

3

If you are choosing between community colleges, use http://www.assist.org to check which have the best coverage of the courses each CSU wants you to have to transfer. You can still transfer with some courses missing (since many campus-specific CS courses are absent at many community colleges), but then you would have to take them after transfer, possibly delaying graduation.

Example reports from Chaffey to CPP, CPSLO, and SJSU:

CPP:
http://www.assist.org/web-assist/reportOnly.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&rinst=left&EM=1&sia=CHAFFEY&ia=CHAFFEY&ria=CPP&oia=CPP&ay=15-16&dora=COMP=SCI

CPSLO:
http://www.assist.org/web-assist/reportOnly.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&rinst=left&EM=1&sia=CHAFFEY&ia=CHAFFEY&ria=CPSLO&oia=CPSLO&ay=15-16&aay=14-15&dora=CSC
http://www.assist.org/web-assist/reportOnly.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&rinst=left&EM=1&sia=CHAFFEY&ia=CHAFFEY&ria=CPSLO&oia=CPSLO&ay=15-16&aay=14-15&dora=SFTENG

SJSU:
http://www.assist.org/web-assist/reportOnly.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&rinst=left&EM=1&sia=CHAFFEY&ia=CHAFFEY&ria=SJSU&oia=SJSU&ay=15-16&dora=COMPSCI
http://www.assist.org/web-assist/reportOnly.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=1&rinst=left&EM=1&sia=CHAFFEY&ia=CHAFFEY&ria=SJSU&oia=SJSU&ay=15-16&dora=ENGRSW

4

http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html lists SJSU’s recent past thresholds for both frosh (by CSU EI) and transfer (by prior college GPA) students.