SDSU Honors or UCSB or waitlist (for UCSD/UCI)?

College Search & Selection
1

Help, I am kind of having an existential crisis at the moment. I applied as a Computer Science major for all the CSU’s and UC’s I applied to, which many people have told me was a HUGE mistake considering how competitive computer science is. They’re most likely right, I got waitlisted at two of my top choices (UCSD and UCI) and obviously rejected from UCLA.

I got accepted to UCSB as undeclared and I recently requested to change my major to either Comp Sci or Mathematics (they gave me Mathematics because they said there wasn’t enough space for Computer Science).

I also got into SDSU Honors for Comp Sci and they said that a big part of being in the honors program is the personal advisers you can talk to when it comes to changing classes, majors, applying for scholarships, internships, etc., and that really got me interested, in addition to the study abroad requirement.

I’m just a bit skeptical because I’ve heard and seen online that SDSU’s computer science program isn’t that good. Another reason is that even though the honors program requires me to live on campus the first year (and maybe the second year from what I’ve heard), I live in San Diego, so I would have to go back to living at home the remaining 2 years, and I really would prefer not to go back to living at home because I want to be independent.

I had originally planned to double major in Computer Science and Mathematics, and I feel like SDSU honors would make that easy for me, but there’s probably a smaller chance for me doing so at UCSB because of their limited space in the Computer Science program (and in Engineering in general).

Should I go to SDSU honors with an absolute chance of double majoring in CS and Math, or UCSB with a better STEM program but with a smaller chance of being able to double major with Comp Sci?

Also, if I get off the waitlist for UCSD or UCI, should I accept either? I really wanted to go to UCSD or UCI so I was really devastated at being waitlisted :confused:

If I accept a waitlist offer, would that put me at a disadvantage compared to other students who were accepted right away? Would the process of changing my commitment to a university be difficult because of me accepting a waitlist offer given to me after May?

Thanks :’)

2

Why would you need to go back to living at home for years 3-4 if you go to SDSU?

If you get in off the waitlist the only thing you lose is your deposit. Probably 99% of waitlist offers are made after May 1, and colleges are aware of this.

3

Personal note: My younger son graduated from SDSU as a CS major last May 2018. He had no issues with the CS program at SDSU, loved the majority of the professors, was able to obtain 2 internships while as a student and is currently working in the SD area as a Cybersecurity analyst. SDSU’s CS program is ABET accredited if that eases your worries.

Regarding living at home, you can choose to live on campus or off campus if your parents willing to help in costs. My son knew plenty of SD residents that lived on or near campus while attending SDSU.

This is a no brainer, take the direct admit CS offer at SDSU along with the Honors college and do not look back. If you happen to get off the waitlist at UCI or UCSD, then consider either offer. Just check out the housing availability for UCI/UCSD since waitlisted students may not get priority housing.

4

Thank you, @Gumbymom that helped me a lot. Will most likely commit to SDSU honors for the time-being while I wait for UCSD/UCI. Though, realistically I recognize my chances of being admitted off the waitlist are relatively low considering my major + my flawed stats.

@albertsax I would most likely have to go back to living at home as I know my parents would not want to deal with the additional costs of living elsewhere, if staying at home would save a lot of money, as I live about half an hour away from SDSU. They are already not very financially prepared as it is, so I realize the likelihood that I would have to pay off most of my student loans myself in the future.

I will apply for work-study, and it looks like I would have to pay for my own off/on campus housing with little to no help from my parents. Do you think that’s possible for me? I know work-study would go mostly towards tuition, so would I have to get another job on top of that to pay for the extra housing (minus the first year dorm requirement that my parents have informed me they will cover because it is a requirement)? Can housing fees be incorporated into loans?

Thanks again

5

@easemerrily: If you live outside the local SDSU service area (The SDSU service area includes all public high schools south of State Hwy 56 in San Diego County and all high schools in Imperial County), SDSU requires 2 years on-campus. If you live within the service area, you are not required to live on-campus.

If you take the $5500 Federal student loan (Freshman year), you can use this money for housing. Are you eligible for work study? Also the money is not available until you secure and work for the money. The total amount that you can personally take out in loans is $27K over 4 years ($5500 Freshman year, $6500 Sophomore year and $7500 for Junior and Senior year). Since these are student loans, you are responsible for them unless your parents are willing to help.

Are you eligible for Cal grant and Federal grants? What is your FA package for SDSU?

6

@Gumbymom I qualified for a Pell Grant for both Fall and Spring (it was about $5,000 in total I believe) and it says that my total “estimated subsidized federal direct student loan” is about $3,500 in total and the unsubsidized is $2,000. I have yet to discuss this with my parents, as I am still a little confused about the financial aspect of college, but I will definitely work something out.

Thanks :slight_smile:

7

What is your whole financial package for SDSU? You should be eligible for a Cal grant if you received the Pell grant. That should be able to cover tuition. Since the SIR date is a few days away, you really need to discuss finances with your parents. Actually you should have discussed college costs with them before applying but at this point you need to make sure you will be able to afford the costs of attending SDSU.