Hi, my son got into several CS programs but has narrowed down his choices to Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz. Assuming cost is not an issue, can anyone share their thoughts and experiences about either programs?
My son’s heart is to do the game design program at UC Santa Cruz. He already has some experience creating mobile apps and is good at the technical aspects (coding) as well as the artistic and the creative aspects of it.
At Santa Clara, he got into the Computer Science program in the Engineering school.
His passion is to do game design but I’m worried he is pigeonholing himself. I’m worried about the marketability of his degree. I’m also not sure how difficult it is to get into the classes at UC’s as I’ve heard about over enrollment concerns. Finally, I’m wondering when he applies for his first job whether employers will care about whether he went to Santa Clara vs. UCSC? I know neither of them are well known, but which one would you say has a better edge in terms of prestige?
I would appreciate to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.
I don’t know if you saw this but it looks like SCU is making a big investment in STEM:
"Santa Clara University plans to build an ambitious new science, technology, engineering and math hub, backed by a record $100 million gift from Susan and John A. Sobrato, an SCU alumnus and founder of one of Silicon Valley’s largest commercial development firms.
The elegant new building, outfitted with state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment, could be a game-changer for the private, 165-year-old Jesuit university whose reputation was built on the liberal arts, creating a rare opportunity to link fast-moving technical fields with the school’s long-standing commitment to ethics.
The gift from the Sobratos, announced Saturday night, is the largest ever for the university, which was established in 1851 and is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. Construction of the new building is scheduled to start in the fall of 2018, with completion in 2020"
It’s obviously subjective, but my vote would be for SCU.
SCU historically struggled to compete with UCs and CSUs; California residents typically preferred the state schools, because of the much lower tuition costs. However, some California privates (led by USC) have turned the tables, by marketing to out-of-staters, instead of to Californians. The state schools charge high out-of-state tuition to non-residents, and cannot offer them financial aid. The privates (like SCU) have equally high tuition – but they are free to offer financial aid to non-residents. Furthermore, the state schools have caps on out-of-state enrollment; they routinely reject well qualified out-of-staters in favor of less qualified state residents. The privates are free to enroll the most qualified students, regardless of state residency.
So for out-of-staters, the privates are actually the less expensive and more accessible options in California. Turns out that there are a lot of non-Californians who like the idea of studying engineering or computer science in the Bay Area, and in that case SCU becomes a very attractive option. The SCU Class of 2021 was 49% non-Californian, and they will probably tip majority non-Californian within the next few years.
In terms of test scores, SCU engineering is now pulling some impressive numbers:
SAT Math: 690 - 770
SAT Reading: 650 - 720
ACT Composite: 30 - 33
Those numbers are probably higher than any UC, except Berkeley and UCLA. For comparison, here are the numbers for UCSC engineering:
SAT Math: 630 - 740
SAT Reading: 560 - 670
ACT Composite: 25 - 31
The Computer Game Design curriculum has enough CS in it so that your son won’t have a problem finding a plain, old CS job if he can’t find a game design job he likes.
Looks like from some other thread that the OP is in California, but can afford private and out-of-state public costs, so the high price and not-very-good FA at SCU may not be a problem (although it presumably does cost significantly more than UCSC).
For those following, here are the final results for my son.
SAT 1540 800M/740V
Chem 700, Math-2 750
W GPA 4.0 after junior year
UC GPA 3.87
UW GPA 3.66 after junior year
Senior year 1st semester - 6A’s 1 B.
Lots of volunteering, EC’s (varsity sport and clubs), and I thought his essays were great.
Accepted:
Northeastern
Ohio State
UOP
Santa Clara
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Cruz
UC Riverside
Cal Poly Pomona
Waitlisted:
Cal Poly SLO
UC San Diego
UC Irvine
Purdue
Denied:
Michigan (deferred till 3/31, then denied)
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC Davis
USC
UIUC
For each school, he applied to school of engineering for CS.
My husband and I both studied engineering at Stanford/Berkeley, so we’re disappointed that our son won’t be able to follow in our footsteps. But we’re not surprised given today’s competitive environment. We’re looking forward to his fresh start in college and hope that he will make the most of his experience there.
My son has decided to attend Santa Clara University! He will be studying Computer Engineering as an undergrad and would pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science Game Design should he still be interested. It is nice that he received some money from SCU and will only be 45 minutes from home . We are excited for him to become a Bronco!
My daughter has decided to attend SCU/computer engineering too. She was accepted to all UC’s including UC Berkeley and UCLA in Computer Science. She has finally decided to go to SCU where she can thrive compared to UCB/UCLA. For Master/ Ph.D., UC is definitely a better choice.