I am hoping to study computer science for my undergraduate years.
Quick stats: 33 ACT. SAT II’s come in this Thursday Math is likely above 700, Biology i really can’t guess, GPA 3.95 (it is worth noting I have been all A’s since 10th grade and I think UC’s put very little weight on 9th grade), 11 AP classes on transcript. Musician, Composer, Programmer, App Developer, Assistant programming teacher. Washington State resident.
When comparing the amount of competition if you could please give it in reference to these schools:
Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science
Cornell
Northeastern
Worchester Polytechnic Institute
Colorado School of mines
I am looking for a computer science program where I will NOT get lost in the crowd. I desire interaction with my professors and peers. I hope for access access to learn about or participate in research as an undergrad. A good school would have plenty of connections for Co-ops and internships and have many cool companies (Apple, Microsoft etc) come in to visit for industry talks. A plus would be if Apple highers graduates from the school heavily.
I want to study computer science from day one, so a school where you begin your major later would not be appealing to me.
As far as student body I would hope for it to not be too polarized in any side of the political spectrum. Also I plan on eating meat at school (idk if that is a factually based stereotype of California college kids or not). Also I want a focused student body. If they focus on parties, drinking, beach days, etc more then school then I probably won’t fit in well. It is a plus if the students like to use what is learned in class for extracurricular projects.
These are the schools that have caught my attention, however I am open to suggestions for more: (For the purposes of this post I am going to ignore Stanford and Caltech’s existence)
UC San Diego
UC Irvine
UC Berkley
California Polytechnic
Please let me know if you don’t think I would like any one of these schools. Also it would be nice to know about how hard it would be for me to get into each of them… I kind of have a feel for it but some of them I cant tell if it is different for the CS department.
Berkeley doesn’t allow you to declare a computer science major until end of sophomore year at the earliest. And even then, you need a 3.3 GPA or higher for computer science. https://eecs.berkeley.edu/academics/undergraduate/cs-ba I’m not sure about the others. I suspect that none of them will give you that closeness with your profs and peers that you desire. A private school will be your best bet for that.
Are you planning to apply to UW? Microsoft hires mainly from there.
I’m a Cali Resident. All of the UC’s are impacted. They are great schools with phenomenal research and outstanding academic presence, but it will be extremely difficult to get close to professors. You will have to sit on the floor to take classes and there will be many professors whose sole purpose is to weed you out. I know many bright students who opted to go to CSU’s (the less prestigious California State schools) because it would be easier to stand out in comparison to their peers.
If you want a degree that stands out, UCSD and Berkeley will be great schools, but you will have huge classes and hard to reach professors. UC Irvine is not as prestigious as you may think. Also, it will be much easier to get into all the Cali schools you are looking into than the other schools on your list (Cornell, CMU, Northeastern) because the UC’s focus more on your stats. You have good numbers and are above their class average, so it should be quite easy for you to get in.
Cal Poly (I assume you’re referring to San Luis Obispo) is truly a state school. It is well known in California, but lacks the academic focus of all the other schools on your list. You will be hard pressed to find students who don’t party. I would highly recommend you do not go to Cal Poly. You really will just be a number there. There is a reason they don’t ask for real essays in the application to Cal Poly…they don’t care who you are and don’t have the time or resources to support the highest caliber of academia.
Also, your questions about partying are kind of irrelevant (to be blunt). There is partying at every school, so you have a dilemma. Also, Berkeley is notoriously liberal and all the CA schools are liberal, but you should be fine. We do eat meat here.
Based on your stats I think CO school of Mines or Cornell would be a great fit. They both offer the prestige, intimacy, connections, and academia that you’re looking for. I hope my comments don’t discourage you from apply to schools in California. I do think you would get a good education at UCSD and Berkeley, but it won’t be a small, intimate, polically-balanced education that you’re looking for.
Also, what’s your budget? CA public universities will not provide any financial aid to oos applicants.
Beside wpi, what about rpi or union?
You could also try for Harvey Mudd as a highly selective reach.
At this point, it is less about liking schools and more about getting in. I think you have a shot but, don’t think you’d be a strong candidate for CS at UCSD, UCB, UCI or CP SLO
SDSU, CPP, UCSC, UCR UCM and SJSU all have very reputable programs and are more likely to admit you.
Since you seem to want a smaller campus, I’d encourage you to take a good look at UCM in particular. Santa Clara may be a private option for you, as would LMU. Both have very reputable CS programs and are proximate to many high tech employers. Both can be expensive though.