I’m so stressed and I don’t know what to do. I was admitted to UCI for computer science and I love the idea of simply being in the major without having to apply to get in. However, I was admitted to UCB as undeclared the other day. If I were to go to Berkeley I could still study computer science but I would have to transfer in which could be competitive.
I loved the UCI campus and everything So Cal has to offer and I know for a fact I would probably enjoy the area a bit more than Berkeley. However, the prestige of UCB makes me want to go there but I know I would be stressed out of my mind trying to gain acceptance into the computer science major. I have little computer science experience as my high school is extremely small so I feel that I would be behind a lot of the other students competing to get into the CS major.
Obviously UCB has a bigger reputation compared to UCI which would makes internships easier to get most likely, but is that worth it? Is UCI respected by employers for CS and are internships attainable if I go there? And is possibly sacrificing my happiness worth it for attending a prestigious school? These are just some of the questions I have.
in a really weird way, you’re almost better off not knowing that much about programming if you are in CS at Berkeley. Firstly, there are beginner classes such as CS 10 that you can take to get started. You can also catch up a bit by taking a programming class at a CC over the summer before you start.
The reason why I said that you’re almost better off not knowing much is that for a lot of questions in the first real CS required class, CS 61A, you are often given a framework in which to answer the questions. Often, like in the case with my kid who had a lot of previous background already, you feel like you want to approach the solution in a different way, but are constrained by this framework. People who “grow up” with the Berkeley classes will already be used to this.
UCI has a good school for CS and for the most part I would say that there should be enough jobs and internships out there for both schools. The main difference might be that there probably are some employers who might look for “cream of the crop” types of folks and they might turn to a school like UCB as opposed to other schools.
You don’t have to transfer, you could go for CS just from L&S. You would need to get a minimum 3.3 GPA from 3 core CS classes (CS 61A, CS 61B, CS 70). Around 50% of people who aren’t the direct admits (EECS folks are considered direct admits) get into CS and declare. But even if you don’t get in, you can always do something like Data Science or Cognitive Science or Statistics.
I would honestly go to UCI if I were you. You know you like the campus/area, you are already into a major it sounds like about half the prospective CS kids might not ultimately get into at UCB, and you will certainly still be very employable coming out of Irvine. These are two good choices so I would just go where you think you’ll be happiest.
Regardless of major, the two schools can’t be more different with respect to culture/vibe. If you haven’t visited Berkeley, I would strongly suggest do so.