My son attends our local community college in CA and he is getting ready for the fall transfer applications. We did not know how difficult it is to get into CS until now and we are worried. Any feedback from CC readers?
SAT scores: 800, math; 800, reading; 690, writing;
Calc BC:5, Physics B: 5, Chem: 4;
College classes: Multivariate Calculus, A, Linear Algebra, A, Differential equations, A, CS II, A (they had him skip CS I); Son will take Physics 1 and 2 this year, Computer Architecture, plus English and any other CS or math class his school offers. I understand Georgia Tech accepts no online classes so my son is limited to what his college offers. He is teaching himself how to make apps and websites in his spare time. He is semi-fluent in four foreign languages he has taught himself (not sure they would care). At any rate, he will apply to the CA schools in addition to Georgia Tech. Any advice on other schools he should apply to, how to maximize his chances at Georgia Tech, etc? We will fly out to visit the Georgia Tech in August. Their outstanding reputation and study abroad programs to Japan and France attracted my son.
Georgia Tech admits to the school, not to a particular major. However, as you point out, there are a LOT of CS major hopefuls, so this does seem to make it seem harder to get in if one declares a CS major. As a transfer your son may be required to declare a major and stick with it, and the number may depend on how many drop out the year before he applies, I would guess. You should find out if GT will allow your son to change majors if that matters to your son.
You may want to find out the TYPICAL number of transfer students let in year to year to get an idea of the odds for your son.
I am assuming you are a CA state resident, and if you are:
For sure ask him to apply to some California in state options! Berkeley, Cal Poly, UCLA, UCSD are just as good as Georgia Tech, although maybe a different atmosphere. My own son is going to GT, so don’t think I am negative about GT, just be realistic and have a backup plan. Berkeley is ranked higher than GT for CS, and will cost you a lot less if he can get in. UCLA is completely respectable school in CS, why not visit that school and evaluate it? San Jose State by the way is a strong school for CS and a reasonable price for you. But it is a commuter type of school.
Cal Poly SLO is ridiculously hard for CA residents to get in for CS. How about Cal Poly Pomona?
I would also look at UC Davis, a very very respectable school for engineering /CS.
As far as transfer credits, GT has a very good on line website. We could find our local CC, Front Range CC on there and then you can punch in the course numbers and see what credits will transfer.
Good luck.
Thanks so much! My son will apply to Berkeley, Davis, Santa Cruz, UCLA, Irvine and San Diego as well as Stanford. None of these schools, however, offer as extensive study abroad experience as Georgia Tech. At GT he could spend a year in Tokyo and another year in Switzerland at in-state tuition rates. I am glad to hear you say that you think that several of these CA schools are equivalent to GT in CS quality. Our community college is not listed on their website so my son will have to submit all his coursework to date for approval.
What influenced your son to go to GT? What other schools did your son consider? Do you have a feeling for what helped him gain admission to Georgia Tech?
Thank you so much for taking the time out to write to us. Any tips are appreciated!! We are at Georgia Tech right now and love the feel of campus and how welcoming and friendly the people are. The CA schools are so impacted that we could not set up a one-on-one meeting for applicants.
Hi, I am in a position similar to your son. Thanks to Georgia Tech’s website, a lot of useful information is available about what they evaluate when assessing a transfer applicant. The only factors that they consider the are your college grades, the number of transferable credit hours obtained including test credit (transfer credit catalog is linked here: https://oscar.gatech.edu/pls/bprod/wwtraneq.P_TranEq_Ltr), course selection (which it appears your son has gone above and beyond for math required of a CS major), course requirements by major (I would make sure your son has the transfer equivalent of English Composition I and II, because that is required for every prospective transfer), short answer statements (pretty simple and straightforward), and the major you chose. Unfortunately, Computer Science is one of the most difficult majors to transfer into for Georgia Tech. Since computer science is such a popular major and Georgia Tech actually has a surplus of computer science majors, not many receive acceptances. By the way, if your son applied as a major other than computer science and received admission (which is more likely unless he applies for an engineering major), he could switch major only after one year. I personally don’t believe that that is worth it, but the decision is wholly yours. I hoped this helped a little, and I wish your son the best of luck on his transfer .
On a separate note, I wholeheartedly agree with Coloradomama about the respectability of California colleges. Since it would be more affordable, I would be inclined to stick with California schools.
Hi! I am currently attending Cal Poly Pomona for Computer Science. From what I heard, it’s not that bad. However I was hoping to get into schools like Cal Poly Slo or UC Davis, which are schools that are more reputable. Unfortunately, it will take me 2 years to transfer there because there is a 60 units (semester)/ 90 units (quarter) requirement. But I was looking through Georgia Tech’s website and they require only 45 quarter units which I will be able to complete by the end of my first year. I would just like to know if it’s attainable to transfer from CPP to GATech. I haven’t heard of anyone who was successful with this.
And I was looking through their website and their transfer agreement is extremely convoluted. I am trying to see the course conversion b/c in the transfer application, there are some course requirements.
Hi roer345, I imagine GT would accept students from Cal Poly as transfers, why not? If you don’t get in the first time, they let you apply for the next semester.
Hi Coloradomama and Bisharp101, My son went ahead and applied to Berkeley, Santa Cruz, UCLA, Irvine and San Diego.He may apply to Stanford, also, even though we know that is a shot in the dark.
My son’s passion for foreign languages attracted him to Georgia Tech because of their extensive study abroad program where he could do an international focus while studying computer science. No other CS program offers an international focus program. Students in the program have a choice to study in France, Switzerland, Japan as well as other countries. My son is attracted to the universities near Silicon Valley because he is very interested in start-ups. His applications are in so I guess it is the waiting game now. Unfortunately for GT he has to wait until mid July to find out. He has a 4.0 and all the required prerequisite courses but it is easy to lose out on a technicality (at Berkeley, especially). And then there’s those pesky essays. Who knows if they will like what he wrote. Thanks to all for their encouragement.