My ‘25 DS has decided UCSD is his current favorite school. It looks like it is pretty tough to get into (~30% accept). Not sure about cost, think NPC came out around 45K. Any feedback? Give merit? Admission profile? Student life?
Son is 3/473 in his class with 3 APs(CS, Physics), currently a soph. Plans to do IB CP. Soft on ECs. Speaks Chinese, plays soccer, tennis. No hooks, Caucasian male. No ACT yet.
Just to confirm, UCSD= University of California San Diego?
UCSD’s overall admit rate was 23.7% for 2022. The UC capped weighted GPA for admitted students was 4.12-4.30. CS is highly impacted and the admit rate is under 10% but probably closer to 5% based on the # of enrolled students and school yield.
The UC’s are test blind, use their own GPA calculation and offer little to no financial aid (need-based or merit) to OOS students. Current COA for UCSD is around $67K+/year and estimates for 2023-2024 are closer to $72K/year.
Here is the 2021-2022 admission profile and unable to find a 2022-2023 admission profile: https://ir.ucsd.edu/undergrad/publications/21_22_StudentProfiles.pdf
The OOS admit rate for 2022 was 31.5% which is higher than the overall admit rate but this is due to the high costs and low yield from the OOS applicants.
The UC GPA calculator only uses a-g course requirements (core courses including 1 year of a Visual/Performing arts course) in their calculation. Subject requirement (A-G) | UC Admissions
So a-g courses taken the summer after 9th through the summer prior to 12th grade are included in the GPA calculation. OOS HS designated Honors classes are not weighted or UC approved. Only AP/IB or DE/CC UC transferable classes are weighted in the calculation. All grades/courses are self-reported and 9th grade courses are reviewed for completion of the a-g courses/rigor and planned 12th grade courses are reviewed for rigor. They do not accept HS transcripts until admitted and Senior mid-year transcripts are not accepted.
Here is the calculator which calculates 3 UC GPA’s: Unweighted, Capped weighted (8 semesters of approved honors courses) and Fully weighted (unlimited approved honors courses).
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
I cannot speak much about student life, but UCSD is in a beautiful location, academically challenging with a studious student body.
Also want to note that CS requires a direct admit and impossible to change to the CS major after admission.
Sorry, yes, university of California - San Diego is correct.
Really appreciate the thorough feedback, unfortunately it probably is a no go for us just based on cost. Sounds like admission would be very difficult as well.
Any suggestions for a studious CS school on west coast that maybe gives merit? California would be first preference.
Here is the UC application review criteria: How applications are reviewed | UC Admissions
Based on the way they evaluate applicants, he would standout assuming he keeps his grades through junior year. He would be taking nearly all IB classes Jr / Sr year and has 3 APs also. He got a 4 for CS on test. Maybe I’m missing something?
He looks like he would be a competitive applicant if he does well academically this year and next along with continuing with his sports/EC’s. You are not missing anything other than to realize that CS is an extremely difficult admit which would put UCSD in the Reach category. CS is a capped major. A capped major is a major that limits enrollment.
UCSD had 131,245 Freshman applicants and the majority of these applicants are in the top 10% of their HS class so there are far more excellent qualified applicants than spots available.
I am just relating the facts so if he wants to apply, he is aware of the probability of admission along with costs to attend. The UC’s have capped the OOS enrollment numbers which makes it even more difficult as an applicant than previous years. The UC’s welcome the diversity of OOS students but also the extra tuition paid since you need to assume you will be full pay.
Best of luck to him.
Your cheapest/best bets might be Honors Colleges at both ASU and Arizona as well as New Mexico and Utah.
Honestly if he’s a sophomore you are way way way way early. A lot can and will change in the next year.
You’ll need a private with merit but it’s hard to know without another full year of profile. Or a public, like an SDsU, which is a fine school but not sure the student body would be described as a studious.
I’d wait a year and have another year of grades and then revisit.
What state are you in ?
WhTs most important - cost or location?
What is he looking for in a school? Does he want something on the beach? Does he care about large school or small school?
CS is very competitive everywhere! Two suggestions for private schools in California that have merit scholarships are Santa Clara University and USC. The scholarships are competitive and a student needs to apply early to be considered.
California has two public school systems - the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU). CSUs are a little cheaper than UCs. If he is determined to do CS and wants to attend a California public school, you might look at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO) and San Jose State University (SJSU). SJSU is more of a commuter school than SLO.
The Cal states do not offer need-based FA and little merit but have lower costs than the UC’s. You are still looking at $45-50K/year to attend. Harvey Mudd might be an option that fits in the “studious” category, Cal Tech, Stanford, University of Washington but all these schools will be tough admits and merit aid is not guaranteed. Other private schools to consider would be Occidental, Loyola Marymount, Chapman University, University of San Francisco and University of San Diego (Catholic private).
What is your budget? Even if a college does not have a reputation as being “studious”, like minded students can be found at all colleges.
SDSU is a very difficult admit. The incoming students are studious and the competition for Webers Honor College there is tough. If you look at the SDSU link, (San Diego State University Class of 2027 Official Thread) you’ll see the GPA’s of incoming applicants and they still aren’t getting in.
@Peteclo, SDSU is very good for engineering and a big reason for that is the number of local corporations (big defense contractors, Biotech firms, business firms) who offer internships.
If you can afford ~$42K per year, you may want to check out SDSU. https://www.sdsu.edu
My husband prefers to hire CSU grads because they are often “ready to go” and, by the time they get to their internships, they tend to be self starters.
Didn’t say it wasn’t a great school. When people say studious though, they typically don’t mean an SDSU like school.
It’s why I mentioned it …it’s closer to the stated budget and solid.
My younger son is a SDSU CS graduate so you are welcome to ask any questions if interested and you are welcome send me a PM.
My nephews attend SDSU. They’ve mentioned that the students, that they’ve met and worked with in teams, are very conscientious about their studies and future internships. O
ne is a business major, one is Poli Sci and both go to games, and participate in EC’s but their homework and classes come first.
Are they bookish and “nerdy”? According to themselves, they are, but their friend groups wouldn’t be described as such, but appear to be strong students.
I get it. I grew up in San Diego. Went to HS Know a million who went. My niece and nephew go.
There’s obscene thousands who go. The environment is not UCSD.
Again not denigrating SDSU. I’m the one who suggested it.
But the fact is they’re still known to this day as a top party school. There are nerdy/studious type everywhere. My kids are such but I wouldn’t describe their achools as studious.
I’m not taking a shot at SDSU. I’m simply noting it’s not the same type of atmosphere one might see at UCSD.
SJSU is probably about half residential and half commuter, based on the percentage of frosh in the dorms in the last pre-COVID year common data set. CPSLO is nearly all residential.
SJSU is much more selective for CS than for most majors. While a recalculated HS GPA of 2.6 will gain admission to many majors there, CS applicants needed a 4.3 this year to be admitted. Freshmen Impaction Results | Admissions shows the thresholds for fall 2023 frosh (most are based on GPA * 800; engineering majors add + 400 * math_GPA).
This concerns me. If the NPC says that you can afford to pay $45,000 per year, then spending significantly more than that is very likely to be a problem. It is possible to get half way through a degree and discover that you cannot afford to finish it. You do not want this to happen.
Being out of state, do not expect to get any aid at all from any of the various Universities of California.
There are a lot of universities with very good CS programs. I do not think that you should take on debt to have a child attend UCSD. If you do take on any debt for one child, and if you have any more children, make sure that you could handle a similar amount of debt for them.
Other that the cost as an out of state student I do not have any concerns. It has been years since I visited but it looks like quite a nice location to me, and I have heard it is quite good for CS. However, I think that you can get “quite good for CS” at a cost that is closer to your EFC.
University of Utah has a good CS program. If you are West coast there is WUE, merit scholarships, or you can pursue Utah residency after one year. They also have an CS major emphasis with Games (EAE). If parent military you can get in state tuition. You come in as pre-major and easy to get full major with 3.0 gpa in required classes.
Not sure about cost, think NPC came out around 45K. Any feedback?
45K is the cost of tuition only as an OOS resident. Still need to include Housing/Meals/Transportation etc…. The COA of UCSD for a student living on-campus for 2022-2023 is listed as $68526. UC’s will only offer Federal aid if eligible so the NPC is not accurate. Not sure how the NPC came up with number since the UC’s give a pretty accurate estimate.
I would run it again next year before applying to confirm. Any merit aid (which is highly competitive, small amounts ie Regents at $2000) would not be included in the NPC.
For 2023-2024, the estimated cost of attending the UCs for out of state students is $73,626 (if living on campus). Tuition & cost of attendance | UC Admissions