Did you receive a financial aid package? Your aid package would show if you are considered in-state for tuition purposes. You can also email them to confirm.
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Well I guess it doesn’t matter now cause I got rejected lol. I’m confused though, they said that they didn’t accept me because I didn’t meet the impaction thing. CS takes a 4.35 GPA but that’s not possible in Egypt… The max would be 4.0, there are no APs or anything like that. I’ll email them I guess, they also calculated my GPA wrong
CSU’s use a specific GPA calculation and courses like AP/IB or college dual enrollment classes are given extra honors points in the calculation so the maximum CSU calculated is a 4.40. Unfortunately if you have no access to these type of courses, your GPA is impacted. Sorry to hear about the denial. What are your options now? Take a gap year and reapply to a different set of schools?
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You can register to vote after a very short time living in a state. Same with getting a drivers license. Instate residency for tuition purposes requires a full year living there. You don’t have that.
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You may be in state in CA, if your parents maintain a residence there and pay state income tax, are registered to vote there, etc. A person can be a state resident, while working as an expat outside the country. But if they don’t maintain a residence, and file an in-state tax return (even if they don’t owe anything), then you may not be in-state for CA.
What about starting at a CA community college with a transfer agreement to the 4 yr school you’d like to attend?
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I’m sorry I’m still confused. What do you mean it’s impacted? Like if your school doesn’t offer the AP/IB courses then you can’t get into CS? I got all As… Like if they had another reason I would understand but it’s just baffling to me how even with top grades I don’t meet the minimum requirement. I don’t know what I’ll do now honestly. I just know my parents would never let me do a gap year. It’ll depend on my dad’s job and whether we stay in Egypt or go back to the US. If I stay in Egypt, I’ll get into a great college but Egypt isn’t very good at CS and I would choose SJSU over a top school in Egypt but that’s not a choice now. Onto the US… idk, I think I’ll wait for my waitlists though now I’m not expecting much lol. Even if I get in I might not be able to afford it. I also got a merit scholarship from ASU yesterday so it’s a bit more affordable now. I think I would still should a CC over it though bec it’ll be probably be the better choice in the long run. More affordable and can transfer later. Rn I’m just gonna wait for my waitlists though maybe the accepted waitlists have already been sent out. CCs accept applications at any time right? Or do I have to apply now? Thank you all for you help.
Also, one more question, do any of you know about the process of transferring from a university in Egypt to a one in the US? Do you think taking my first year in Egypt or a CC would be better? The education would be better in Egypt but I imagine the requirements and process would be harder to transfer right? Also much easier to go from a CC to say a UC
Impaction means there are more qualified applicants than spots available. CS is the most competitive major at SJSU so you needed a minimum 4.35 CSU capped weighted GPA to meet their impaction threshold for an acceptance. I would email SJSU admissions and ask how they calculated your CSU GPA since you do not have AP classes available and you cannot reach the 4.35 without some type of AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grades.
Regarding transferring. If your target schools are Cal States and UC’s, then attending a California Community college is the best way to transfer. CA CC applicants are given priority to the Cal states and UC’s over private universities or OOS or International universities.
CA CC’s have articulation agreements with the Cal states (ADT) or UC’s (TAG or TAP) and assist.org while International/OOS universities do not and trying to articulate courses to the CSU/UC system can be difficult.
Cal State ADT: Associate Degree for Transfer Major and Campus Search | CSU
UC TAG: Only 3 UC’s offer TAG for CS which are UC Merced, Riverside and Santa Cruz. Still applying as a regular CC transfer will help with the other UC’s but CS is impacted at all the UC’s also.
TAG= Transfer Admission Guarantee where if you complete the pre-req courses with a minimum GPA, you are guaranteed admission.
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/tag-matrix.pdf
TAP UCLA: https://admission.ucla.edu/apply/transfer/ucla-transfer-alliance-program
TAP UCB: Transfer Alliance Project (TAP) | STAR: STEM Training, Activities, and Resources
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These days, if you have a degree in Comp Sci from a US school, you’re gonna get a good job. If you can afford ASU or any other school you get into for Comp Sci, take it. If you can swing a CA comm college with a transfer agreement that will allow you to major in Comp Sci, all at in-state rates, take it.
I’m afraid that you could run into difficulty transferring from Egypt to a US school, and I don’t know how US employers would view a degree from a school in Egypt, especially vs a CA degree.
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I emailed them and got a response back saying "Unfortunately there is no exception for students who were not able to take the honors course to get the needed GPA. " So basically no matter what grades I get, I can’t get in since my school doesn’t offer these courses. I wish I had known that before. Oh well. Thanks for the links! Will check them out.
Thank you! Will keep that in mind and will make a decision during the next few days.
Good luck to you!
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I appreciate that this might be a totally unacceptable solution for OP, but are online colleges at all an option? I don’t know much about this, but I think there are good schools that are totally online awarding a bachelor’s degree: List of online colleges in the United States - Wikipedia
Just throwing this out there.
Best of luck, OP. And while your parents may not be in favor of a gap year, this might be something to consider.
ETA: here is a list of US colleges offering online CS bachelor’s degrees: The 25 Best Online Bachelor's in Computer Science Programs
I just googled this quickly to give OP some ideas, but, if this is something you want to consider, please research CAREFULLY!
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This is REALLY GOOD advise. CA Community College tuition is VERY economical ~$50/credit hour and offer a clear path to a four-year degree at both the CSUs and UCs. My D did that, and she got accepted into two UCs and waitlisted at a third.
One thing that I’d note re the CSUs transfer is they seem to prioritize local CCC candidates over others. That’s why a school like Cuesta is seen as a feeder school into Cal Poly. This doesn’t appear to be the case with the UCs and I personally feel like their pathway is more clearly articulated (but then again, I’m just a parent vs. a college counselor!).
Good luck and chin up, if you really want it I am sure that you will make it happen!
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A California CC would be better because you would follow the prescribed curriculum and you would have priority to transfer to a CSU or UC. A transfer from an international university would have the lowest priority (so, probably not happening for a major such as CS).
SJSU is really very very good for CS, that’s why it’s so hard to get into.
Another option: Some colleges that miscalculated their yield are reopening admissions, let’s see if we can find the list and see which ones are good for CS. However if you have a home near SJSU and can attend a “feeder” CC, you’re probably better off attending that CC.
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NACAC list is out, here: NACAC list of colleges with openings for Fall 2022 is up!
It would help to know OP’s budget. And of course many other schools not on the list are still taking apps.
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I feel like for me that isn’t gonna work. I want to get out of little bubble and with online college I won’t really get the “college experience”. I’ve had a pretty sheltered upbringing so I want to use college as a way to “see the real world”. I think I might take some online courses though. Thanks for the idea!
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Thank you! Congrats to you daughter!
Totally understand. You seem highly intelligent and mature, so you will do fine.
Use this time NOW to start planning. The folks here are great and have given some fine advice. The CC transfer option is great if you can qualify (we’re CA residents too and know many students who have done CC and then went to “top” UCs, for example.
Explore the online aspect so you don’t lose time or credit even if you don’t attend an in-person college. And from what other posters have said, there are still openings.
All the VERY best to you!
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Ya I’m gonna apply to CCs and colleges with applications still open. Thanks for the link @Mwfan1921! I’m gonna apply to some college after I make sure that they still give financial aid if I apply this late. The deadline has probably passed. We’re a lower income family. Max we can pay would be around 15K. So I’ll have to apply to ones with good financial aid.
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