Should I go to SJSU, or try to transfer from a CC after two years? Pros and cons?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi! </p>

<p>I would REALLY appreciate it if someone could read this entire post and help me out. This is a major decision for me. </p>

<p>Senior high school student here aspiring to become an electrical engineer with a side of computer science. I live in San Jose, California, right at the bottom of the silicon valley, and I definitely don't want to leave the area due to the extremely high opportunities that there are for the field that I plan to go into. </p>

<p>Because of this, I decided to only apply to two colleges: UC Berkeley and SJSU. The latter was back up in case I was rejected from Berkeley, which I was just recently. </p>

<p>So I have two options moving forward, going straight to SJSU (and likely staying there until receiving my bachelors due to the difficulties of transferring out of a CSU), or going to De Anza Community College and attempting to transfer to UC Berkeley after two years, and again using SJSU as a backup. </p>

<p>I really would like to go with the second option. I'm under the impression that if I fail to get into UC Berkeley as a transfer, I can almost guarantee myself admission to SJSU as a transfer from De Anza since I consider myself a generally good student (2220 SAT score, 4.0 GP with high course rigor in high school, etc). In this case, I feel like I have nothing to lose by going to De Anza for two years, due to the worst case scenario being that I end up as a student at SJSU, which isn't that bad. Although I do aim to gain admittance to Cal. </p>

<p>My question is, are there any factors that I am overlooking by choosing the community college route. Will transferring to SJSU instead of going there immediately yield any consequences? Is there a reason that I should just "play it safe" and go to SJSU now and stay there? </p>

<p>Any information would be greatly appreciated. The rejection was a bit demoralizing but I was prepared for it, and I am moving forward with good ambition.</p>

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<p>bump</p>

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<p>Transferring from CC with an engineering major may take 3 years instead of 2 due to the lack of engineering classes in CC’s. Also Cal has some very specific transfer requirements so you may not be able to find the classes they want at your specific CC. Go on assist.org to see if the CC you want to go to has the classes you need to transfer to Berkeley.</p>

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<p>De Anza is not the best CC to start at if you are aiming for Berkeley EECS. There are six uncommon-at-CCs courses for Berkeley EECS: CS 61A, 61B, 61C, 70; EE 20N, 40.</p>

<p>Here are what CCs have:</p>

<p>De Anza or Foothill: partial CS 61B
West Valley, Evergreen Valley: CS 61B
Mission: EE 40
San Jose City: none
Cañada: EE 40, partial CS 61B
Ohlone: EE 40, CS 61B
Laney: CS 61A, CS 61B
Diablo Valley: CS 61B, CS 61C</p>

<p>San Jose State EE has four courses that may be unusual: ENGR 10, EE 97, EE 98, CMPE 46. Foothill, Mission, Evergreen Valley, and Ohlone have all four, while De Anza and Cañada have three (don’t go to San Jose City, since it is the one CC in the area that has none of them).</p>

<p>See <a href=“http://www.assist.org”>http://www.assist.org</a> to check course articulation from CCs to UCs and CSUs.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the responses. </p>

<p>@ucbalumnus, what exactly are “uncommon-at-CCs” courses? Are these all required courses if I want to transfer into EECS @ Berkeley? </p>

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<p>The uncommon-at-CCs courses are the ones listed above. They are not required before transfer, but would be required after transfer as “catch up” courses if you are unable to take them before transfer. Having to take them after transfer can delay graduation.</p>

<p>Course descriptions from <a href=“Courses < University of California, Berkeley”>http://bulletin.berkeley.edu/courses/&lt;/a&gt; :</p>

<p>COMPSCI 61A The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs 4 Units</p>

<p>Introduction to programming and computer science. This course exposes students to techniques of abstraction at several levels: (a) within a programming language, using higher-order functions, manifest types, data-directed programming, and message-passing; (b) between programming languages, using functional and rule-based languages as examples. It also relates these techniques to the practical problems of implementation of languages and algorithms on a von Neumann machine. There are several significant programming projects.</p>

<p>COMPSCI 61B Data Structures 4 Units</p>

<p>Fundamental dynamic data structures, including linear lists, queues, trees, and other linked structures; arrays strings, and hash tables. Storage management. Elementary principles of software engineering. Abstract data types. Algorithms for sorting and searching. Introduction to the Java programming language.</p>

<p>COMPSCI 61C Machine Structures 4 Units</p>

<p>The internal organization and operation of digital computers. Machine architecture, support for high-level languages (logic, arithmetic, instruction sequencing) and operating systems (I/O, interrupts, memory management, process switching). Elements of computer logic design. Tradeoffs involved in fundamental architectural design decisions.</p>

<p>COMPSCI 70 Discrete Mathematics and Probability Theory 4 Units</p>

<p>Logic, infinity, and induction; applications include undecidability and stable marriage problem. Modular arithmetic and GCDs; applications include primality testing and cryptography. Polynomials; examples include error correcting codes and interpolation. Probability including sample spaces, independence, random variables, law of large numbers; examples include load balancing, existence arguments, Bayesian inference.</p>

<p>EL ENG 20 Structure and Interpretation of Systems and Signals 4 Units</p>

<p>Mathematical modeling of signals and systems. Continous and discrete signals, with applications to audio, images, video, communications, and control. State-based models, beginning with automata and evolving to LTI systems. Frequency domain models for signals and frequency response for systems, and sampling of continuous-time signals. A Matlab-based laboratory is an integral part of the course.</p>

<p>EL ENG 40 Introduction to Microelectronic Circuits 4 Units</p>

<p>Fundamental circuit concepts and analysis techniques in the context of digital electronic circuits. Transient analysis of CMOS logic gates; basic integrated-circuit technology and layout.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the detailed response. It is much appreciated.</p>

<p>If taking more of these courses is key to boosting my chances for admission, what is the suggested route? All of the CC’s above seem to only have 1 or 2 of the courses listed. Do most high school graduates go to multiple colleges in order to complete these courses? How often does an applicant have most or all of those courses mentioned? </p>

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<p>No idea how common it is for students to go to multiple CCs to maximize prerequisite coverage.</p>

<p>Note, however, that some course sequences, like physics and sometimes math, are best taken all at one CC, or at CCs in the same district. Mixing courses in such sequences can be especially problematic if the CCs have different calendars (semester vs. quarter system).</p>

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<p>

How about losing $60-100K or more? That’s the salary you’d miss out on if it takes you an extra year to finish college and start working. As was already pointed out, its hard to take all the required lower-division classes at CC’s, let alone satisfy the requirements for both schools simultaneously. So you’ll have to take them once you xfer.</p>

<p>The odds are not great for getting into Cal, so you stand to lose something there too. If you end up going to SJSU anyway then you missed out on 2 years of getting to make friends in your classes, finding people to work on your team projects, getting to know the faculty, etc.</p>

<p>I wonder why you didn’t apply to more UCs. Silicon Valley companies recruit across the state, across the country, so you would not have hampered your career prospects. I guess that’s water under the bridge now.</p>

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<p>@mikemac My basis for wanting to stick to the silicon valley area was being able to work and/or contribute to projects WHILE being in school. Even as a high school student, I’ve been a part of opportunities that I’m convinced would not be available had I gone somewhere else. </p>

<p>Anyways, like you said, water under the bridge. I appreciate your response, it makes a lot of sense, and I’m definitely considering just going straight to SJSU. </p>

<p>Wish me luck. </p>