Help my friend(compsci/architecture)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Please help him find some good colleges that he has a good chance of getting into, he is stressed and under a lot of pressure from self/parents. He's a really sweet kid with a genuine interest in science and math and loves music and art. The thing is he is pretty laid back about school and our area is very competitive and harsh about GPA/Scores, etc. A school with a diverse, fun, artistic culture but is still serious about academics would be nice. I'm not sure about regionally but I think he's looking at mainly the west coast. What are some UCs/Calstates he would like? His UC GPA is a 3.6.</p>

<p>SAT/subscores: Superscore-1920 610CR/640W/670M
GPA: 3.58W, 3.45 UW
Class Rank: school doesn't rank
SATII: ML2: 710, Physics: 720, Chinese w/Listening: 760
AP classes/test scores: AP Physics B: 4, APUSH, 4
Senior year classes:
AP Gov, AP Enviro, AP Stats, Contemporary literature, band, horticulture
Extracurricular activities(duration/time commitment/leadership activities)
Marching band, jazz band-pretty much entire life
Summer Activities:
band camps, travel, homework, etc.</p>

<p>Awards:
Band got 1st/second at Reno Jazz fest</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Intended Major: He has stated interest in computer science/architecture but is pretty undecided so flexibility would be good
State: California</p>

2

<p>He said that he prefers California-like weather(he’s applying to some in Arizona/Colorado too).</p>

3

<p>Realistically, he won’t be able to combine architecture with comp sci. There’s a reason it’s nicknamed architorture. All of the arch and archE majors I know get very little sleep thanks to spending hours and hours in the studio. That being said, UOregon and Cal Poly SLO are both known for their architecture programs. However CS at SLO and architecture are in different colleges which somewhat complicates the application process. </p>

<p>Since he is in CA, he has a ton of options as far as CS goes. Given his interest in an artistic school, UCSC might be up his alley. It even houses the Grateful Dead archives! One of the most popular majors is apart which means there are plenty of “creative” types at the school. However , availability of art classes for non majors. Unfortunately there’s no architecture offered. </p>

<p>One of the less selective CSUs offering both architecture and CS is Cal Poly Pomona. However it isn’t a particularly great option for undecided students. </p>

<p>If he’s willing/ can afford to look out of state he might have more options although keep in mind that since the great majority of students change their majors, going OOS for a particular degree might not be the best idea.</p>

4

<p>A few thoughts…</p>

<p>Many architecture programs do not admit you as a frosh. You take some Design studio core courses frosh year and then apply. At my son’s school (he is a Design major) only about 50% are admitted to architecture. </p>

<p>You can major in anything and then do a grad program in architecture, generally a 3 year program. He could consider CS as a major and if the architecture bug is still there, apply to grad arch programs. </p>

<p>From what I have witnessed, you are either really into Design (architecture, landscape arch, industrial design, urban planning, graphic design, etc) or you aren’t. It doesn’t really attract people that are only somewhat interested. You are either all in or you are not; mostly because of the studio culture and the massive amount of work that it entails.</p>

5

<p>Thank you. I felt the same way about graduate architecture programs but didn’t know too much about it.</p>

<p>He has already applied to Arizona State,University of Arizona and CU-Boulder</p>

6

<p>[Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) indicates that few UCs and CSUs have anything that might be an undergraduate architecture major:</p>

<p>Architectural Studies/B.A. (UCLA)
Architecture B.A. (UCB)
Architecture B.A.R. (CPSLO)
Architecture B.Arch (CPP)
Art History - Architecture and Environment Emphasis B.A. (UCSB)
Construction Management B.S. (CSUEB)</p>

<p>Not all of them are NAAB accredited programs at the bachelor’s degree level. [NAAB:</a> ARCHITECTURE PROGRAMS](<a href=“http://www.naab.org/architecture_programs/]NAAB:”>http://www.naab.org/architecture_programs/) indicates that only the two Cal Polys’ bachelor’s degree programs are NAAB accredited. Both are nominally five year bachelor’s degree programs.</p>

<p>Berkeley, UCLA, and CPP have 3 year NAAB accredited master’s degree programs.</p>

<p>There are lots of good choices in the UC and CSU systems for CS. But he should apply widely, because even SJSU is not a slam dunk for the CS major for him. His CSU eligibility index is 3.6 * 800 + 610 + 670 = 4160, which just barely clears the 4100 threshold that SJSU had for CS for fall 2013 (threshold can change this year, of course): <a href=“http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html[/url]”>http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;