Accepted at UCSC
Waitlisted at UCR
Accepted at RIT with a nice scholarship
How good is CS at UCSC?
What are the real chances of getting CS at UCR from waitlist?
Any feedback on RIT?
Appreciate your input.
UCSC CS is fine, and just over the hill from a large number of employers.
However, if you do not have direct admission to the CS major, you need to earn a 2.80 GPA in prerequisite courses to declare the major: https://registrar.ucsc.edu/catalog/programs-courses/program-statements/cmps.html (note: UCR’s threshold is 3.000: http://student.engr.ucr.edu/policies/requirements/majorchange/cs.html ).
How does cost compare at each?
UCSC - admitted to Jack Baskin School of Engineering. I believe you need to declare the major by 2nd year. Does UCSC have direct admission to CS major?
Cost wise, they are very similar based on financial aid.
Not sure if UCSC has direct admission to the CS major. If not, or you did not get it, you need a 2.80 GPA in prerequisites as described on the linked page.
Another difference - UCSC follows a trimester system with 3 courses per trimester @ 5 credits each, for a total of 45 credits per year. UCR follows a quarter system with 4 courser per quarter @ 4 credits each, for a total of 64 credits per year. Not sure what it translates to though. RIT on the other hand is 5 years, because of co-op requirement, and you have co-op opportunities from freshman summer. But the weather is brutal and the distance is a bit too far for comfort!
UCSC and UCR are both on the quarter system. However, both may offer courses of different credit value. It may be that 5 credits is the most common credit value at UCSC, while 4 credits is the most common credit value at UCR.
You are right.
From: http://registrar.ucsc.edu/catalog/undergrad-acad/
At UC Santa Cruz, the academic year is organized on the quarter system. Three quarters—fall, winter, and spring—constitute the regular academic year. Most UCSC courses are equivalent to 5 quarter credits and require approximately equal amounts of work: about 15 hours per week per course. You are normally expected to enroll in 15 credits each quarter… You are normally expected to graduate in four years. To do so, you must pass an average of 45 credits per year, for a total of 180 credits.
UCSC course plan: https://ua.soe.ucsc.edu/sites/default/files/CS_BS_16-17.pdf
UCR also follows quarter system but shows 4 courses @ 4 credits. Is this the 4x4 system?
UCR course plan: http://student.engr.ucr.edu/2016%20ENCS.pdf
Does that make UCSC a bit less competitive/stressful, since the norm is 3 courses instead of 4? In either case, graduating in 4 years sounds doable, if you stay focused and do what you are supposed to!
How easy/hard is it to maintain a 2.8/3.0 GPA, assuming you have decent academic stats & work habits to get into UC?
A 5 quarter unit course as is typical at UCSC should be expected to be more work than a 4 quarter unit course as is typical at UCR. So a full load at UCSC with 3 5-quarter-unit courses should be similar amounts of work as a full load at UCR with 3 4-quarter-unit courses and 1 3-quarter-unit course (or other combinations of 15 quarter units at either school).