Hey all, new here but have read a lot 
… I am transferring from a cali community college into most likely a UC school for 2015.
I have solid admission offers to UCI and UCSB for Computer Science programs.
I know UCI is supposed to have a great program CS department but I have some reservations… I feel like it might be too competitive & therefor lack the fun college experience I am trying to get.
On the other hand I have UCSB (engineering school) for CS… Don’t know much about that. I have heard very conflicting things about UCSB so I don’t know what to make of it.
And then there is UCSD… my #1 choice out of my options however with the Undeclared major acceptance I don’t know what to do.
I am waitlisted to (UCLA and UCD … I feel like UCD would let me in but I don’t think it stacks up to UCI … I am not counting on UCLA accepting me despite 3.94 GPA and inspiring life story (personal essay)
Any insight, comments, etc would be appreciated.
The most important thing in my choice is getting a good education in computer science (don’t know what specialty yet) and being at a point in a few years where I won’t have a problem finding a job.
In another thread you wrote “I have no idea what to do, I am pretty sure UCI is better then SB”.
If that’s what you think go to UCI, easy decision.
I appreciate the feedback mikemac.
I should not have said that in the other thread when seeking advice myself. My knowledge of the U.C. schools is lacking, and I was just saying what I have heard from students at my community college. What I hear is by no means how things truly are. I’m just constantly trying to rationalize the “right” decision for me, so I apologize if the other thread contradicted my questions here. I by no means have this figured out!
I would appreciate feedback on what others would do in the situation I describe below. I’ll try again, objectively…
I want to major in C.S…
I have an “undeclared major” option at San Diego, meaning I was not admitted into C.S. and would have to compete for a spot after the first quarter (I believe this is how this works). I CAN declare the major of: “Math and Computer Science” in the Math Department at SD but that is the only computer science related sure thing. However, the problem is that I don’t really want to do any more math.
I have guaranteed spots at Irvine and Santa Barbara in C.S.
What would you do in this situation and why? [ mikemac, I would really appreciate your input here 
]
I would take the CS admission. Some other kids at UCSD do a bit better in their courses, even though you do just fine (and in fact better than some current CS students), they rank the list and you don’t get to change majors and get a CS degree. I would avoid that risk if I had other options, others may choose differently.
IMHO there is no significant difference between UCSB and UCI in terms of academics. How you come out depends on how much you learn in school so you can answer interview questions, how much you can show potential for CS (good grades, personal websites, contribute to open source, participate in student coding clubs, etc) in order to land a good internship, how well you impress people at that internship – not what school you do this at.
I’ll be honest here since you asked me to. This is not a sentence I’d expect to hear from someone that has a bright future in CS ahead of them. I’m not saying its nothing but drudgery, but if you talk to any CS or engineering students they are unlikely to mention “fun” as a major part of their college experience. Read the comment at http://getacollegelife.■■■■■■■■■■/post/117030504282/survive-people-need-more-coffee-tears-i-am for example. I’ve seen posts “will I have fun” before (since I’ve been here for a while) from premeds or engineers. If they keep posting for a year or two so we know what happens they usually end up changing majors. I don’t have a crystal ball; I have absolutely no idea how things will turn out for you. But IMHO you will need to give up one of 1) a CS degree 2) “the fun college experience”
You have two chances to switch your major for CS at UCSD. End of 1st year and end of 2nd year. You need to decide, if you cannot get into CS at UCSD, will you still be happy there with another major at UCSD or is it CS or nothing? I would go for the direct admit at either UCSB or UCI.
http://cse.ucsd.edu/ImpactedMajor
I’m like -89 degrees tilted towards irvine, but there’s still that spot in the back of my head as well that thinks UCSD just may be a better option, even if it was a math major. For me personally, I really love math and have considered teaching in the future as a possible career. Thing is… I want an employable degree. If I could have both employment within certain fields of industry, including software development, I would take UCSD’s offer in a heartbeat. On the other hand, I feel I will be guaranteed employment if I chose to attend UCI.
Easy answer seems to choose UCI, right? But disregarding employment opportunities, I also feel as if I’d be giving up my true passion I’ve had in my education for the past 15 years.
Kind of at a stand-still, and I hope visiting the schools my first week of summer will be the deal breaker.
Whats making you like UCI over UCSB for CS?