I’m super into Computer Science and I’m pretty confident I want to major in it. I’m just finishing my second semester in AP Computer Science Principles, looking at an A both semesters. I messed around my 9th and 10th grade year, and therefore I have a lowish GPA. I’m have 100% picked up and looking at straight A’s this semester, but the damage has been done. Are there any good schools with good Computer Science programs for someone with a 3.5-3.6 GPA, and a 28 on the ACT (still working to get hopefully a 32 cause that’s the goal). Please let me know! I live in California and the UC System is impacted to heck, but I have been looking at San Jose State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, most UC’s besides UCLA and UC Berkeley, U of Washington, etc. Are there any good schools that are not hard to get into for safety? Thank you! Out of state or in state, private or public. I just need some names to look into.
What is your local in-service area CSU and CS impacted there? If not, then you could probably consider it a safety.
Any non-impacted CSU if they offer CS would be good safety: Stanislaus, Channel Islands, Bakersfield, Dominguez Hills.
The reality is that under a 4.0 CSU/UC GPA plus and ACT score of less than 32, UC Merced and possibly UC Riverside might be your only chance at a UC.
SJSU and Cal Poly SLO will be Reach schools along with all the other UC’s.
I would concentrate on the Cal States such as CSU Fullerton, CSU San Bernardino, SFSU, Sac State, Chico State, CSU San Marcos, Humboldt.
For Privates: LMU, Univ of San Francisco, Azusa Pacific, Univ of Redlands, Univeristy of the Pacific.
Clarkson, if you end up looking on the East Coast.
i agree that that all your target schools are going to be reaches. In addition to the list above, You have an outside shot at UCSC - it is a very good program and certainly worth an application. CP Pomona is another one where you could go either way and it is one of the few CA schools to look at alternate major.
I think you will find most OOS options to be cost prohibitive, though there are several WUE schools that offer solid CS programs. (Boise and Reno among them).
Keep an open mind and good luck.
Can you recalculate your GPA at https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/eligibility-index (click “GPA Calculator”)? That will allow others to make a better guess about what UCs and CSUs are realistic for you.
If your recalculated GPA is less than about 4.2, then your most realistic chances for CS among California publics would be UCR, UCM, and CSUs other than CPSLO and SJSU.
Washington should be considered a reach for direct admission to the CS major. It is less difficult to get into the school as undeclared pre-science or whatever, but subsequent admission to the CS major is highly competitive.
Be sure to talk to your parents about what they will contribute, and run the net price calculator on each school’s web site.
SJSU’s recent admission thresholds are at http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/ .
The fall 2018 threshold for CS was 4725 on the CSU eligibility index; the similar software engineering major had a threshold of 4200. The CSU eligibility index is calculated by GPA * 800 + SAT. GPA is calculated by the method given in the link in reply #4, and ACT scores are converted to SAT scores by concordance.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1903428-faq-uc-historical-frosh-admit-rates-by-hs-gpa.html can help you with past UC admit rates by GPA (again as calculated by the method given in the link in reply #4). However, CS is a more popular major, so you should assume that admission will be more difficult than the overall admit rates for your GPA may suggest.