I have 3.6(UC weighted GPA) with SAT score of 1470(1510 superscored). My sophomore year was disastrous and that is what is bringing my cumulative GPA down. But I picked myself up and have been performing quite well for the past two years(3.7GPA). At first I was optimistic that I can get into UCSB or UCD as a CS major, however, people are telling me to be more “realistic” and that my chances of getting in are low. Others tell me I have a good shot, but most of them still tell me that I should look at lower-tier colleges which I find truly disturbing. Exactly what stats do you need to have a good shot to at a UC as CS major?
(Btw ik there are many people with this kind of discussions and I am sorry to be one of them but I really want to know since I have been getting depressed lately.)
For the second tier UCs the average UC capped GPA is in the 4.0 to 4.15 range and I would guess that at UCI, UCSB and UCD Engineering that average goes up more for CS.
At 3.6 you’re realistically looking at UCR and UCM as far as UCs goes. UCSC average GPA is around 3.9 IIRC.
I agree that since UC’s tend to be very GPA focused, your GPA will be tough to overcome especially for CS. If you have a compelling reason that attributed to your low Sophomore grades, I would address it in one of your personal insight essays. Your SAT indicates you are a capable student so that should help along with an upward grade trend.
I will post some UC admission data just to give you an idea of your chances. This is not major specific and as stated above by @ProfessorPlum168, for CS the averages will be higher for CS with the admit rates Lower.
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79 (capped weighted);
UCB: 1.8%
UCLA: 2.2%
UCSD: 7.2%
UCSB: 10.1%
UCI: 11.1%
UCD: 16.6%
UCSC: 43.8%
UCR: 63.3%
UCM: 88.7%
2018 UC capped weighted GPA averages:
UCB: 4.23
UCLA: 4.23
UCSD: 4.16
UCSB: 4.13
UCI: 4.13
UCD: 4.11
UCSC: 3.96
UCR: 3.81
UCM: 3.71
2018 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:
UCB: 1360-1540
UCLA: 1340-1540
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1270-1500
UCD: 1220-1480
UCI: 1230-1490
UCSC: 1210-1450
UCR: 1130-1380
UCM: 1020-1280
You do not have a attend a UC to do well in a career as a CS major. You have many Cal State options such as San Diego State, CSU Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, San Jose State (SE) and CSU Fullerton.
My younger son graduated from SDSU last year with his CS degree. He was able to obtain 2 CS related Internships and found a job right after graduation in the SD area as a Cybersecurity Analyst.
It is not the name of the school you attend that will get you a CS job (sometimes it could help get your foot in the door) but how well you do in the school’s program and the internships you obtain that give you the job related skills employers are looking for.
UCR, UCR, UCM and any number of Cal States can give you an great education and help you succeed.
Best of luck.
Hello!
Thank you for your answer!
I knew from the beginning that my GPA was low, but what gave me hope was that schools really like to look at upward trend. My GPA in my sophomore year was 3.0 unweighted. I brought that up to 3.7(unweighted) in my junior while taking decently hard classes (2 AP, 1 college course, 1 honors) and being involved in many ECs. The reason I suffered in my sophomore year was because I lacked proper time management skills to manage my immense workload(I was involved in many extracurricular activities while still taking hard classes. I will mention that I learned to manage my time better in my essays)
Won’t UCs value such a huge improvement?
My son has a weighted UC GPA of 3.7 and a 1490 SAT. He is applying as a History major. He has about a 25% chance of getting into UCSB and an even lower chance of getting into Davis.
I think your chances of getting into CS or engineering are even lower so you should have a back up plan…
@KamandaLobomo: Yes an upward grade trend will be helpful but since the UC’s only use 10-11th grades for their GPA calculation and no Senior grades in their admission decision, a one year increase may not be enough. Definitely apply to these schools, just realize that they will be tough admits for a very competitive major.
Apply widely, find some safety and match schools based on your current stats that you would be happy to attend and see how things pan out come Spring after the admission decisions are made. No one person can predict anyone’s true chances but if you do not have a balanced college list, you may end up getting shut out if you set your sights too high.
Data point of 1: Son had 3.73 UC GPA with 10 AP classes, 2 Honors classes and ACT 31/SAT 1430 and was only accepted into UCR for CS. This was 5 years when CS was competitive, but not as highly competitive as now.
UCR and UCM will be your best bet, I agree, you should look at several CSUs as your primary targets. SDSU, CSULB and CPP have outstanding CS programs and are worth a look.