UCI Admissions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
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1

I’m currently a senior in high school and I’m applying to UCI as a cs major. I’ve heard the cs department is competitive but is easier for females to get in. Here are my stats.
GPA UW: 3.9 W: 4.7
Rank: 11/550
Coursework: 13, 4s and 5s (took all honors and AP)
Dual enrollment: 4 classes (all A’s)

Computing Awards: National Computer Science Aspirations Regional award winner, 2 Statewide awards for developing an app, 1 quarterfinalist in international competition, President of Codding Club, Coding Tutor, Invited to teach for a university program for middle schoolers on Computing, Paid internship in Computing

Extracurriculars: JV Volleyball, Varsity Badminton (Regional 2nd place, State qualifier, Capatin), Varsity Mock Trial (2-time state qualifier), Student site council, President of Career Club, Secretary of Scientific Breakthrough, 200+ volunteer hours

Would UCI be considered as my safety, target, or reach??

2

First calculate your 3 UC GPA’s. GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub

UCI like all UC’s does not consider if you are Male/Female etc… in their application review.

UCI admits into the University first and then into the major so there is always the possibility that you will be accepted into an alternate major or Undeclared.

UCI for 2020 had an average of a 4.22 capped weighted GPA for enrolled/admitted CS students with a 21% acceptance rate.

2021 admit data not yet available.
2020 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCI: 4.11 (3.96-4.26)

Based on your profile, I would say a Target school for CS. Best of luck and apply widely.

3

Thanks, Gumbymom!
Do you have suggestions on what other schools I should apply to based on my stats?

4

What is your college budget? Are you a CA resident?
Do you have geographical limitations?

If looking to California schools, I would look at UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside as more Likely schools. UC Santa Barbara and Davis as Target schools and the rest of the UC’s ie. San Diego, UCLA and UCB as Reach schools.

Some Cal states to consider for CS are Cal Poly SLO- Reach, San Diego State- Likely, Cal Poly Pomona- Safety, San Jose State-Target.

Private CA schools: Santa Clara-Target, USC and Stanford-Reach

OOS look at Arizona State as a Likely/Safety (if affordable), University of Washington-Seattle- Reach, University of Utah- Safety. Check out Barrett’s Honors college at ASU, definitely worth consideration.

It really depends upon what kind of college experience you are looking for and what types of schools you have interest in attending.

CS is a highly marketable major so the UC’s are great schools but you do not need to attend a “name” school to be successful. You want to look for a good CS program with a variety of electives in your specific areas of interest.

My younger son graduated from SDSU as a CS major, he is working in Cybersecurity for a high profile company and doing extremely well.

Best of luck.

1 Like
5

I don’t have any limitations and I am a CA resident. If I apply undecided would that significantly increase my chances of getting in? If so what colleges could I apply if I applied undecided. Thank you so much!
I also have a very cs based application so if I apply undecided would colleges not consider me?

6

Applying Undecided adds another hurdle if CS is your ultimate goal since for schools like the UC’s, if you do not get a direct admit into the CS major, it maybe impossible to change majors later.

All the Cal states admit directly into the major and it is far easier to change out of CS then to change into CS.

For the UC’s, each campus admits differently for CS.

UCB EECS requires a direct admit. CS in the College of Letters and Sciences does not admit by major currently but you are required to take pre-req courses and maintain a specific GPA to then declare the CS major.

UCLA, UCSC, UCD, UCSB and UCR are direct admit into the major so you need to apply for CS. UCLA does not consider alternate majors. UCSC and UCR will consider alternate majors. UCD and UCSB will consider an alternate major when applying if the alternate major is not in the same discipline or in the same College ie. College of Engineering vs. College of Letters and Sciences.

UCSD and UCI admit into the University first and then into the major. UCSD will consider an alternate major if the alternate major is not capped/impacted. UCSD also will accept many students Undeclared/Undecided and then you have to go through a lottery system with pre-req courses and GPA requirements before declaring the CS major.

For Private Universities, usually they do not admit by major but may require to get admitted into a specific college such as Engineering to be able to study your choice major.

If CS is your choice, then apply for CS. Like I stated before, the school you attend for CS will not have as much impact on you being successful as taking advantage of all the resources/opportunities available at the school you end up attending.

Plenty of great CS schools in California where you are qualified and competitive so just apply widely, make sure all are affordable and you have at least one safety school where you are willing to attend no matter what.

My younger son only wanted CS, wanted to stay in California so he focused on a few UC’s and several Cal states where he could get a direct admit.