I’ve looked at a lot of “top 10 lists” but I want to hear from people’s experience.
Best based on what criteria? Any specific areas of interest?
A CS degree at the majority of California colleges is very marketable.
Top Schools would be Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, San Jose State, Cal Poly SLO, USC, Cal Tech etc…
What is important is where you think you can get an acceptance? Top means nothing if you cannot be admitted.
So what your saying is that it really doesnt matter what school I choose as long as i get accepted to one?
I was actually thinking a lot of Cal Poly SLO ive heard good things about it
Is there a difference between a Stanford or UCB CS degree and one from San Jose State? Yes. BUT, the need for a more “prestigious degree” depends on WHAT you want to do (working for any CS company is different from wanting to work for Apple/Amazon/Microsoft or create your own startup etc.) You would have to provide more information about your stats and application profile (extracurriculars, GPA, test scores if you have them etc.) for @Gumbymom or anyone else on CC to provide you with schools that fit your profile.
I am assuming you are in-state, but even then, CS at CalpolySLO is one of, if not the most, competitive majors to be admitted to—the applicants admitted to CS will be very different from the general application pool.
Hope that helps! Good luck with admissions!
Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft probably recruit very widely, since they need to hire many new graduates (and everyone knows who they are and can apply directly to them if they want). In contrast, a smaller company may recruit mainly at local colleges, with an occasional foray to a distant college that its people think is worth recruiting at. For example, SJSU has a local advantage for many companies in the region, but is probably little known out of state.
If you are starting your own startup, the technical work is all about what you can do, not what college you graduated from. Getting funding, however, may be affected by college prestige or other factors that really should not be relevant.
@LevyOcampo: Cal poly SLO’s CS major acceptance rate hovers around 5-6% so very competitive.
Sure a degree from UCB or Stanford could open more doors at the beginning but after a couple of years, job experience will override where you did your Undergrad.
I can give you 2 data points: younger son attended SDSU. Able to secure 2 internships in Cybersecurity prior to graduation. Currently working at his dream job after only 2 years and making very good money.
Older son’s roommate attended UC Davis and was hired by Amazon directly out of college. Took a CS class on a whim while studying sociology as a Junior undergrad. Ended up staying an extra year due to late change of major.
CS is probably the most competitive major at the majority of colleges in California so if you post your interests and stats, CC posters can offer suggestions.
Probably Cal Tech or Stanford but neither of those is likely to be available to you.
Without your stats, budget and other interests this is kind of a silly conversation.
Sorry I just found out about the website like yesterday so idk where to show my stats and stuff
Wow sounds like your sons are doing great! I think im starting to get the idea regarding this field of study, i’ve read a few threads and comments so what people are saying is that what school you go too isnt all that important but the experience and skills you have in programming are what really count since thats what employers and companies are most interested in. Thats kind of what im assuming as im reading a lot of comments and threads.
@LevyOcampo: You can post your stats on this discussion.
Are you a Junior or a Senior?
Are you a California resident?
What is your college budget?
Which colleges in California are interested in applying for CS? UC’s, Cal states and privates?
What is your UC unweighted, capped weighted and fully weighted GPA using this calculator:
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Cal Poly SLO was mentioned and they use the same UC GPA calculation for their GPA but use 9-11th grades instead of 10-11th grades with the 8 semester Honors point cap. The UC’s and the rest of the CSU’s use the 10-11th grades for the a-g courses.
UC capped weighted = CSU capped weighted
SLO capped weighted includes 9th grades and honors points only for 10-11th qualified a-g courses.
What is your HS course rigor? AP/IB or DE classes taken?
EC’s?
Any specific CS speciliazation such as Artifical Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Soft Engineering/Programming?
Im currently a high school senior
Yes, im a California resident
Im not sure what my college budget would/should be to be completely honest. im going to be the first one in my family to even attend a college so this is all VERY new to me sorry
As for the schools im interested in, I was hoping to find a few recommendations based on my GPA and other stats because im a little unsure of which schools are even at range
Unweighted GPA: 3.16
Weighted GPA: 3.38
Weighted and Capped GPA: 3.38
SAT Score of 1160
Once my HS senior year is over I will have taken 5 AP courses.
Freshman: 0
Sophomore: 1
- AP Computer Science Principles
Junior: 2
- AP Spanish Language
- AP English Language
Senior: 2
- AP Computer Science A
- AP Spanish Literature
Im most interested in software engineering/programming for sure
In Freshman year i took a computer science principles class and Junior year took a game design class where we were taught a bit of java. So all my four years ive spent at least one class dedicated to programming/coding
Each school’s website has a net price calculator so I would start with sitting down with your family and determining how much they can contribute toward your college education each year. With your parents, you can run the NPC’s for any schools of interest to get an idea of costs.
As a California resident, the public universities such as the UC’s and Cal states are the best option based on affordability. You as a student cannot take out more than $27K for 4 years in Federal loans. Depending upon your family’s income, you could qualify for Federal Pell grants and Cal grants (specifically for California residents) that could cover college tuition and some living expenses.
Budget is going to be one of the most important aspects of making your college list.
Based on your current stats, the UC’s are probably not an option if you are interested in Computer science.
Here are the admit rates based on your UC capped weighted GPA along with test score ranges.
Some of the UC’s are test blind this admission cycle and some are test optional as of today (constantly changing due to a court ruling). I would not submit your SAT score to a test optional school unless it is at or above the 50th percentile.
2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.00-3.39 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 1%
UCLA: 1%
UCSD: 1%
UCSB: 1%
UCI: 1%
UCD: 2%
UCSC: 13%
UCR: 18%
UCM: 53%
**2020 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range: **
UCB: 4.22 (4.13-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.31)
UCSD: 4.18(4.04-4.28)
UCSB: 4.17 (4.03-4.27)
UCI: 4.11 (3.96-4.26)
UCD: 4.11 (3.97-4.25)
UCSC: 3.94 (3.71-4.16)
UCR: 3.88 (3.65-4.11)
UCM: 3.68 (3.40-3.96)
2020 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT totals:
UCB: 1320-1560
UCLA: 1350-1550
UCSD: 1310-1520
UCSB: 1290-1510
UCD: 1230-1490
UCI: 1280-1510
UCSC: 1170-1440
UCR: 1110-1380
UCM: 980-1260
Based on the above data, UC Merced might be your only UC option. Also be aware that the UC application has been open since August 1 and requires 4 essays, so hopefully you have been working on some parts of the application if you plan to apply.
Your best bet at a 4 year university would be one of the Cal states.
Below is the Cal state service area so which Cal state is local for you? You get priority as a local applicant:
https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/Documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf
Depending which Cal state is your local Cal state, I would look at the following schools. Cal states are test blind this admission cycle so GPA, HS course rigor and grades in your Math/Science courses will be the focus for a CS major acceptance.
San Francisco State
Channel Islands
Dominguez Hills
East Bay
Bakersfield
San Bernardino
Sonoma
Stanislaus
Chico
Sacramento
Monterey Bay
San Marcos
If you have any more questions, do not hesitate to post them on this discussion.
Best of luck and you need to have the money talk before you can really proceed with your list.
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Thank you for the info I really appreciate you takin the time 
and wow I guess I never realized how un-competitive my stats and grades really are. I have started my UC application its almost complete but I doubt any would accept me based on the info you shared :lol: but it is my fault at the end of the day.
I have also heard that Cal Poly Pomona is a pretty good school as well not like Cal Poly SLO but its still good. Do you have any info on this school? Should I even consider applying here?
For schools where you apply by major (which is the case at most public U’s), applying to computer science will generally be more competitive than what you see in the overall admissions stats for that school.
Median stats for admitted students at Cal Poly Pomona are 3.51 GPA, 1140 SAT. (Although as noted above, SATs won’t be considered this coming year). And admissions aren’t “holistic” so, if your numbers fall below the cutoff for your major, that’s all there is to it. If you can spare the application fee, there’s no harm in checking the box and trying, but it’s not a likely admit for CS. If you’re in the local area, that will make it less of a reach, as they’ll add a “bump” to your GPA - I think it’s +.25
Some of the schools on Gumbmom’s list above are impacted for CS (meaning the admissions cutoff will be higher for CS than for the school generally) and others aren’t. You still might get into CS even though it’s impacted at a school like Monterey Bay, for example, particularly if you’re in the local area. But you should include at at least one non-impacted campus such as SFSU or Channel Islands.
The money conversation is important. You need to know what your out-of-pocket budget would be at a CSU, after all of the financial aid you’re eligible for is applied. https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/paying-for-college/Pages/csu-costs.aspx
If you’re able to afford something between 30K-35K/year, then there are also some good options in the Western Undergraduate Exchange, some of which may not be any farther from your home than the other end of California would be. Portland State, University of Nevada Reno, Northern Arizona… and others that are farther from CA’s borders… offer reciprocity rates to CA residents and have solid computer science programs. But if you need the need-based aid that the state of CA provides, that will limit your choices to CA schools.
If you want to aim for a more competitive CA university than you can currently get into, attending a community college that offers an associate degree for transfer in CS will give you a smooth transfer pathway into a CSU or UC. You can look for programs that articulate between CCC’s and CSU’s here: https://adegreewithaguarantee.com/en-us/Find-Colleges
Also consider CS-adjacent majors that might be a little less competitive. Use this tool http://degrees.calstate.edu/ and the search terms “computer,” “information,” “data,” and “software” to dig up all the possibilities in the CSU system.
Below is a link for 2019 admit data for all the CSU’s. Cal poly pomona shows an average CSU GPA of 3.83.
Being a First generation college student will help your chances but it still will come down to GPA for the UC’s and CSU’s.
A CC to UC or CSU transfer is a great option. Some UC’s offer TAG for CS such as UCM, UCR, UCSC and UCD.
CSU’s still use the local priority for transfers so the process can be competitive. Getting your ADT will guarantee an acceptance at one of the Cal states but not always your choice campuses.
For CS, I’d apply to, San Francisco State, East Bay, Chico, Sacramento and San Marcos while you figure out the money part of the equation. If you have a commutable CSU not on the list, include them too. If you won’t qualify for financial aid, and can’t afford $20kish/year of CSU tuition/room/board, your local CC is probably your best option where you will have all of the transfer options @Gumbymom spells out above.
Lots of great options to explore!
Good luck.
OP:
If you were my kid, I’d strongly recommend attending a local community college (to save money and boost your GPA) and then transferring to a CSU or UC.
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