I was hoping to transfer to UCI or UCSD for Fall 2016, but yesterday I was offered a better position at the company where I am at now. I intend to take it, since it relates to my future degree and would also allow me to graduate loan free. I live in San Diego, so unfortunately that leaves me with a very few school choices. I am missing some prereqs for UCSD and with CSE majors being impacted, my chances of acceptance are relatively small. CSUSM is only 10 min away from my house, but I heard that their CS program is weak, professors are incompetent and that in general it’s a big step down from UC. I have a 3.77 gpa and all prereqs completed (for CSUSM that is), so I’m sure I will get in, but will I hate it there?
Any current CSUSM CS students here?
Actually, the RB companies are taking some San Marcos students.
Just make sure you intern with one of these companies later, so that they can teach you what the coursework lacks.
DD is a CS/EE employee at one of the companies in RB and is hiring CS engineers.
Get your internship applications in ASAP by going to the websites of local engineering firms: GA, NG, BAE, Lockheed, etc.
@“aunt bea” thank you! I don’t think I would need an internship, as I am already working for a large and well-known healthcare company in RB. The position I was offered is a “junior developer” with a contingency to remove “junior” after I get my degree. I guess, my question is more “Is CS program at CSUSM any good?” than “would anyone hire me after graduation?”. The reason I am asking is that I did my GE at one exceptionally highly rated CCC, but CS program there was so-so. In most CS classes I felt as if I was thrown into a lake without a lifejacket. I had to teach myself Java and C++ by reading books (the textbooks we were assigned were absolutely useless) and browsing programming forums. I got by with As in both classes, but now when I write my code I constantly question myself: “is this right?”, “is this a good choice of algorithm?”, etc. Luckily, if I except this promotion, I will be learning to code from the best (learning/training was a part of the offer). What bothers me is that if I enroll at CSUSM in fall, and CS there turns out to be the same as at my CC, I will end up teaching myself everything again, and I would rather not. I wish for some clear instruction with my questions answered. I understand that this mostly depends on who you get, but are there any good CS prof. at CSUSM?
Did you go online to check the profs who teach there?
If you only live 10 minutes away, you can go on campus and ask the students in the department what they think. Check out the campus for you information. See if the director of the CS department will meet with you so that you can get a better idea of what is happening there.