Hello, I was just wondering, if I get SJSU as an undeclared major, how hard is it to get transferred into the Computer Science major. Also, if I get accepted into UC Merced for Computer Science major, would that be better? I am from San Jose.
http://www.sjsu.edu/cs/practicalities/major-change/ describes the change of major criteria for CS at SJSU.
Software engineering is sometimes seen as a backup major for aspiring CS majors at SJSU. Changing to that major is described at https://cmpe.sjsu.edu/Undergrad-CoM-FAQ .
Frosh and transfer admission past thresholds for CS, SE, other majors, and undeclared can be found at http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/ .
Here is how to change your major at SJSU to CS:
Details of the policy are:
-Students must be in good academic standing to be considered for a Change of Major.
-Applicants must have achieved both a sufficiently high SJSU Cumulative GPA and a sufficiently high GPA in courses that are required for the major at the time that the application is submitted. For 2017-18, a GPA of 3.4 of higher is sufficient in both cases.
-Applicants must have completed the following courses with a C or better by the end of the semester the application is submitted:
-CS46A, CS46B, CS49J*, Math 42, (students with fewer than 60 units)
-CS46A, CS46B, MATH30, MATH31, MATH42, one upper division CS course (students with 60 or more units, but less than 90)
-Applications will be accepted twice per year, with deadlines of December 1st for Spring semester (notification by approximately January 20) and May 1st for Fall semester (notification by approximately June 15). A complete --Change of Major application consists of the appropriate University’s Change of Major form (fewer than 90 units) and a transcript as well as a transcript of courses not yet posted on MySJSU, if any.
-Review of applications will occur only after the application deadline.
-Applications for Change of Major should be submitted to the College of Science Advising Center
-Due to impaction, even if the student has met all the requirements, there is no guarantee of admission to the Computer Science major. Final admission will depend on the capacity of the new major and the ranking based on the Computer Science GPA and the SJSU Cumulative GPA. For 2017-18, students with a 3.5 GPA in both cases are very likely to be admitted.
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Being local to SJSJU does not give an advantage when applying for CS or change of major to CS. You might want to consider Software Engineering which has a lower Eligibility index threshold.
I would apply to several schools for CS since it is highly competitive for many of the Cal states and UC’s.
UC Merced might be a better option if you get a direct admit into CS.
I’d go for the sure thing at Merced if you’re absolutely set on CS.
You wouldn’t have a hard time finding a job with a Software Engineering degree from SJSU, though.
Apply both to Software Engineering at SJSU and CS at Merced (as well as a couple others, because anything CS is very competitive).
In the spring, once you have your offers in hand as well as Financial Aid offers, make your decision.
There are more than 2 schools offering CS degrees these days. What are your stats interests and budget?
Stats: SAT: 1170, 10th-11th Grade GPA=3.7
Interests: Computer Science, Software Engineering, Business (Maybe), Finance (Maybe)
Budget: Not really an issue.
I would advise my kids to go with a direct admit to their program of choice. I know many kids who end up not getting into CS when they are ready to declare. If my D had not been a direct admit, I’m not sure she would have been able to declare as a pre-major due to struggling in some classes freshman year. She’s in her final year of EECS, likes what she’s doing, but it took her a while to figure it out. Luckily, she had no pressure to declare.
UCR, SDSU, CSULB, USD, CPP, and Loyola Marymount should certainly be on your application list. Apply and see where you get in. Then make the call.