I am newly graduated from high school and committed myself to SJSU with a bio major. Recently, I’ve been wondering whether or not that was the best choice. For one, I don’t want to continue as a bio/pre-med student and wanted to shift gears into cognitive science but sjsu does not offer that degree/specific major, second, everyone has told me that I could ‘do better than sjsu’ and as much as I don’t want that pretentiousness to get to me, it has.
I was told to go to De Anza and transfer out to maybe a UC like Irvine or Davis or even LA, I was even considering USC since they accept sophomore applicants. Here are the pros and cons of both for me;
SJSU
pros;
relatively good school, close to home so it’s cheaper since I don’t have to dorm, all of my friends are here, in silicon valley and has opportunities for me to network with companies like facebook and google
cons;
does not have intended major, CSU so I might be seen as less competitive career-wise, close to home so I actually have to stay home instead of being independent, was not my dream school, I heard the 4 year graduation rate is really low
CC/DE ANZA
pros;
I get a second shot at my dream school or ‘better’, cheaper - I’m low income so it’s basically free, less impacted so I can actually finish my GE’s, I don’t have to stick to one major for the time I am there, makes me more flexible in terms of working and social life, will help me adapt easier into a college setting
cons;
some people do not leave in 1-2 years, I could become unmotivated to finish, the acceptance to my school is not guaranteed, I would have no ‘college experience’, I would transfer in as a Junior unless I am miraculously accepted after my first year into USC
Is SJSU worth it? Where will I get the most career opportunity? I would appreciate any transfer experiences or input on your experience at SJSU and after graduating there. Which choice would prove the most fruitful for my future?
If UCD or UCI is your end goal and you are disciplined with grades, to me it would be a relatively easy decision - go with DeAnza. TAG to one of those 2 schools.
The only real variable comes with whether you can get enough aid to cover your housing and the incremental increase in tuition by going to UCD/UCI versus SJSU.
If you have a 3.5+ HS GPA, you’re eligible for the Honors program at De Anza or Foothill. That will put you in a cohort that is aiming to transfer to UC’s and competitive CSU’s, with advising that is focused accordingly.
SJSU is a very good school, but honestly, if you’re not feelin’ it… you’ll have smaller classes and more individual attention in the first two years if you go to CC, and you’ll have a pretty similar peer group in Honors classes to what you would have had at SJSU. Plus you’ll save money and have a greater chance of graduating in four years.
Also… if you want to do a CogSci program like UCI’s or UCSD’s, with a significant computation component, it might be your best bet to do your AA in Computer Science and get a CS foundation before transferring. (You can still take psych for your social science GE requirement.) The introductory CS classes could be hard to get into at SJSU as a non-CS major. De Anza and Foothill both have the CS AA-T.
Especially given the financial constraints, it sounds like the CC transfer path makes sense for you. Good luck!!
hello, I want to thank you all for the replies, I have decided to attend de anza and shoot for USC sophomore admission. If not, I will be tagging myself to UCI.
I would love to hear about your experiences transferring or at community college if you have any @ProfessorPlum168 @aquapt @NCalRent@ucbalumnus
Good luck! I also think moving out and being independent is much better, so that’s good you’re patient about it. I’m from Los Angeles that moved to SJ, so I guess I’m the opposite haha
Hey! So I am going to give you my honest opinion. Do not quote me on all of the info I give you because it might not be 100% accurate, but from what I have learned this is what I am going to say. This is all based on my personal experience.
If you want to stay behind a year I suggest take a step down and go to community college since all your classes you are taking at SJSU are probably not going to transfer over to JC.
I went to West Valley for 2 years but I finished in about 1.5 years… when my counselors told me I would have to stay there for about 4 years according to the track I was on. I took 18 units every semester. 2 classes every winter. 3 classes during the summer… grinded out and finished on time. I decided not to go to SJSU from the beginning because I thought it was too close to home and wanted to ■■■■ of SJ… I took this for granted tbh and I feel like san jose/sillicon valley is the best place to go to school in order to become super successful. Now, that is not always the case but that is personally just my opinion.
I feel like any university you go to it is just going to be the same and yes USC will be crazy expensive if you are down to pay for it… but in my opinion I do not think it is worth it… ALSO for USC since it is a private school, you WILL HAVE TO TAKE MORE CLASSES and more harder classes at a JC in order to transfer as well as once you do transfer to USC there will be additional classes you have to take that you were supposed to take your first 2 years at JC where they were not offered at a community college, so you will have to be stuck with that as well.
I just feel like theres more connections up here and it is a great place for future jobs and what not. I moved down south for my 4 year and it has been a little bit of a culture shock for me and I do feel like I could of gotten better opportunities by staying up here but who knows.
I strongly agree with @Asterlover143 . IMO private schools are only worth it if you are moving to a different state, they have a superior national reputation (global is even better), AND financial aid is amazing. Private schools aren’t my cup of tea after all of that, but that’s just me… If you’re in-state and want to go to USC, just work harder and try to go to UCLA. It’s the same (an unpopular opinion) with Cal and Stanford.
EDIT: I should mention that I moved 300+ miles in this state (whew!) just to be independent. Looking back, if I didn’t care about being independent and growing up with all of that junk, I probably would have gone to the nearest CSU with a great rep. I don’t regret my decision at all though, personally.
I also think moving out and being independent is much better, so that’s good you’re patient about it. I’m from Los Angeles that moved to SJ, so I guess I’m the opposite haha 