First off, I’m new to the forum and this is my first post, so I apologize if this is not the appropriate sub-forum. I have searched and haven’t been able to find an answer to my question.
Here’s my situation.
I’m a fourth year at UC Santa Barbara. I’m on track to graduate on time (taking winter quarter off) with a BA in Communication. My GPA is quite low (2.4ish) due in no small part to anxiety and depression, but that’s not really the point of this post.
I really do not like the communication major. I chose it in a rush midway through sophomore year because I felt pressured, but I never wanted to be a communication major per se. I am not interested in any of the courses, and I do not see myself working in any career path I could pursue with the major. Frankly, I don’t want a communication degree. I’ve always been extremely strong in math and language and I instead want to earn a degree in computer science, and maybe eventually a Ph. D. in math.
I didn’t apply to the computer science major because I didn’t know it existed when I was 17. I didn’t do well in math courses my first year at UCSB for many reasons and I know that I’ll be able to do well in a more appropriate environment and now that I’m on a better path in regards to my mental health.
I’m wondering whether it would be better for me to finish my communication degree and pursue a second bachelor’s degree in computer science, or to cut my losses, start at SBCC, and try to transfer to another four-year for a first bachelor’s in computer science. Or, perhaps, if it would be better to finish communication and try to get into a master’s program after rebuilding my GPA at a community college.
I don’t see how the communication degree would be of any use whatsoever to me, and I worry it and my abysmal GPA will severely limit my options when it comes to earning a BS degree in computer science.
I don’t care about the time or money I’ve invested or the additional time and money it will require to get myself on the career path I want. I just want to know which option is most feasible.
@dasdrums, do you know if you can take CS courses at your current school if you’re not in the major? Your grades might be too low to get accepted to the major, but if you can take the first few CS courses as a non major, you might be able to switch majors or do a double major after taking those courses and getting good grades
I think this would be a much better plan than starting over at a new school. You’ll probably lose credits if you transfer.
If you really need a change of scenery, you should see if you can attend a different school as a visiting student and transfer the credits back to UCSB. You should get the courses at the other school pre-approved before leaving UCSB.
Start by talking to the CS dept and math dept advisor at ucsb. They are going to be familiar not just with what ucsb requires for a 2nd degree and for grad admission, but what other colleges look for. I think you’ll find they are willing to help you as much as they can.
What I think they’ll tell you is the 2nd bachelor’s is not the way to go, nor is leaving school and going to a CC. Instead raise your gpa as much as you can (so taking winter quarter off is probably a mistake), get the Comm degree, and look for a program where you can get a MS. For example I know that CSU has something called “conditionally classified” in which you are accepted as a grad student to the university but not officially admitted to the MS program. This is usually a much easier bar than getting into the official program. While in this status you can take missing prereqs for your MS. However I think you need a higher GPA than 2.4 to even get accepted as a grad student to CSU and I expect other colleges are also going to have a gpa requirement.
It may be better (and cheaper) to start by taking lower-division courses you are missing at a CC after finishing at ucsb, that is a detail to work out. And among those details is whether colleges will consider lower-division courses in calculating your GPA after you have a BA degree; it is going to vary by college.
I do feel compelled to ask why a CS degree? It’s one thing if coding is something you have enjoyed and have been doing on your own, or taken a class and found you really “got” it. But I get a sense of desperation here, of striking out at the “hot” field the way a few years ago posters were always asking about how they could get a job on Wall Street or go to a top law school. I hope I’m wrong, that you have strong reasons to believe CS is a fit for you.
I was a 26 year old returning student already accepted to grad school and about to get her BA (I was in my last semester) when my husband was transferred for work.
I’m now 46, still trying to get that undergraduate degree-several more transfers and two kids later. Trust me, you want to have that degree in your pocket rather than going through the rigamarole of transferring in credits, getting classes applied to the core curriculum of your new school, and meeting minimum hours. It’s a total pain.
I should graduate next spring (FINALLY!!!), but wow, if I could go back in time, I would have put my foot down and said “no transfers until I graduate”. I had no idea how tough it would be to get back on track.
If you can get that degree, even if you don’t love it, you will be ahead of the game in many ways.
I totally agree with @MotherOfDragons. Finish the Communications courses if you’re close, and then take the Computer Science courses that you’re interested in.
They’re not going to kick you out of the school because you’re done with your Communications courses. Just don’t apply for graduation, and keep taking courses until you find something you like. Even if you never get admitted to the CS major, taking the courses will give you the knowledge you need to be a programmer. If you end up with a degree in Communications and ten courses in CS, but no CS major, you’ll still be able to get a job as a programmer.
UCSB has a limit of 200 credit units (not including credit earned before high school graduation) a student can take, if s/he takes longer than 12 quarters since frosh entry or 6 quarters since junior transfer entry: https://my.sa.ucsb.edu/catalog/2010-2011/CollegesDepartments/ls-intro/200UnitEnrollmentLimit.aspx
180 is the usual number of credit units that UCSB requires for a bachelor’s degree.
Wow, thanks for correcting that @ucbalumnus. I’ve never heard of a credit cap like that. I don’t think my school had that.
The OP is already in his 4th year, so I guess he really only has one more quarter, and maybe 2 courses after that. If he can register for CS courses as a non-major, he might be able to get 3 or 4 courses in.
Too bad he didn’t realize this earlier, because it looks like the Communications major only requires around 108 credits.
OP, if you’re still around, I would try to take as many CS courses as possible at UCSB, and then just take whatever CS courses you’re still interested in at another 4 year school as a non-matriculated student. Not all schools will allow it, but I’m sure you can find one that does.
You don’t need the second Bachelors. I would just take the core CS courses and then whatever electives you’re interested in. Just list the CS courses on your resume as “Computer Science Courses Taken”.
Some other California public universities also have policies intended to prevent students from taking a lot more (subsidized for in-state students) courses than needed to finish their degrees. Some other public schools have other policies with similar goals (e.g. the Texas public university tuition rebate if one graduates having taken the minimum number of credits needed plus 0 to 3 more).