UC Merced versus Cal State-Long Beach or Cal State Pomona

College Search & Selection
1

hello,
this is my first time posting. I have been following quite a few discussions and feel like I would get help for our current dilemma.
My kid has been got rejection letters from UCSC, UCSB. We were surprised with UCSC rejection, as it was supposed to be a safety school.
Out of the UCs… UC Merced is the only one we have acceptance so far. Most likely she won;t get into any other UCs. She doesn;t want to go to UCMerced… the general perception is that its not the coveted UCs and it will be looked upon negatively.

She has been accepted to UCMerced, Cal Poly-Pomona, and Cal State Long Beach for Computer Science. Trying to decide whether its better to graduate from UC, even though its not the top tier once, or go with the State Univesities, which have good reputation, but its not a UC. how do kids handle going to a college that wasn’t on their list of schools to go to?

what would be a good choice?

thanks
HopeMom5

2

Nobody except her HS friends looks upon Merced negatively. There are a lot of kids attending colleges ranked lower than the 136th National University that do just fine. But if she doesn’t want to go there then let her choose one of the others. Among these 3 schools the name on the diploma does not matter. It is going to be her effort that counts.

What is going to matter is the grades she gets in class & how much she learns, the projects she can discuss with interviewers (whether its programs she wrote on her own or as part of a CS student group), and whether she spends the time to find internships. Internships especially are a key; students often get a job offer upon graduation since the employer had a summer to get to know them, and other employers like to see the student understands life in industry.

3

I completely agree with @mikemac. My younger son turned out a UC for a Cal state and is doing very well as a Cybersecurity analyst. Having 2 internships while in school really helped.

4

I would consider two things: what it is that your daughter would like to get out of both her time in colleges, as well as her goals after college?

The CSU system was established to provide a more practical, more hands-on education and advanced job skills (teachers, CPA’s, artists, business), as opposed to the UC’s which were established to graduate those who would likely need graduate school (JD’s, MD’s and PhD’s).

It’s in error - although fairly common around my neck of the woods - to assume that “the smart kids go to UC’s, the average kids go to CSU’s and the uncertain’s go to community colleges.”

If your daughter has educational goals that include a higher degree, then a visit to UC Merced may be in order.
The primary reason that it ranks low on the desirability scale is it’s location. See for yourselves if that’s a factor.
It’s a great school and a chance for her to be a big fish in a small pond, which she would not get at other UC’s.
Other people’s perceptions don’t count. Her’s does.

If your daughter wants to study CS to secure a good and interesting job after graduation, then by all means CPP or LB would be more than appropriate, with CPP as a whole more oriented toward STEM subjects.

For all of the schools she’s considering, she should go to the departmental pages for CS and see what her requirements will be and what the goals/mission of the particular schools’ departments are.
Even though they are all CS, similar majors at different schools can differ in their approach to the subject matter.
For example some might be more business-oriented, while others geared more toward new technologies.

As far as social and the more traditional college experience, Merced and CPP both offer that.
LB to a slightly lesser extent, primarily because almost all student move off campus after their first year and the area can be expensive, meaning many student commute from lower-cost areas.
However, Merced’s location in the central valley can be a turn off to those coming from more urban areas. LB has the advantage of it’s beach community, while CPP has a more residential college feel and is close to the mountains.

Will you have a chance to visit? Your daughter should try to get a feel for what’s available to her on all campuses and determine which makes the most sense for her.

Hope this helps.
Best of luck with the decision.

5

First, computer science at UCSC was almost certainly not a safety. Second, she should go where she feels most comfortable.

Despite its lone-wolf reputation, computer science relies heavily on project work and collaboration both in school and in the real world. Being at a school where the CS environment is supportive and engaging, rather than cutthroat and showoff, can make all the difference for many students. These environments are often found on the less sought after campuses. Also, these campuses are more likely to have classes taught by actual professors even at the intro levels, and these professors may care more about teaching than those who are at research institutions.

6

I have a bias against LB because it is so big and impersonal and they string along too many applicants with their wait list but, academically -all 3 are good schools and are well respected by employers. I wouldn’t let anyone’s perception of their reputation to sway your decision. One legit knock on Merced is that there aren’t many ‘local’ tech based employers so, you have to leave the area for summer internships - that is not a big deal though, it can get kinda hot in the summer so, that may be a welcome change. You can use LinkedIn to see where graduates from each of these schools wind up.

https://hire.ucmerced.edu/employers/employers-who-hire-uc-merced-talent

There’s no substitute for visiting each of the campuses and talking to existing students about their experience. After that, go where she feels like she fits and can excel.