My daughter got admissions into the following colleges so far.
We applied different majors based for different colleges though mostly opted for Computer Science.
CPP (Biotechnology)
CSULB (Biomedical Engineering)
SJSU (did not mention anything in the letter, but we applied for Data Science)
CSUF (Computer Science)
CSUN (Computer Information Technology)
CSUCI (Computer Science)
Waiting to hear from
Cal Poly SLO
SDSU
All UCs
She got admission at UCM in Data Science and Analytics B.A. and waitlisted in Dat Science at UCR. This seems to be less math incentive unlike their Data Science and Computing program, probably right fit for my daughter.
Read online that it is a new program that is introduced recently at UCM. Can someone confirm?
So far, my daughter’s preference is UCM, CPP, and SJSU in no particular order.
Thanks again for all of your help with suggestions and advice. You folks are amazing.
Yes, the Data Science and Analytics major is new for Fall 2024 admits.
Congrats on the admittances so far, and thanks for continuing to update us! Looking forward to finding out where your D decides to attend.
Seems like they have this comparison chart:
Detailed lists of courses in the major do not seem to be available yet. The following page is blank:
http://engr-advising.ucmerced.edu/majors/data-science-and-analytics-ba
Thanks ucbalumnus! I saw that comparison chart a few days ago. Looking at that comparison chart, since my daughter wants less math intensive Computers related program, this might be the right program for her in comparison to ‘Data Science & Computing’ program.
I also found this while googling today. https://datascience.ucmerced.edu/
Congrats on having great choices!!
Does she still want to do band/color guard in college? SJSU is far stronger than the other two in that respect. It’s a really great program. Marching Band | Music They did a Hawaii trip this year. The director is fabulous, and the kids have a great experience.
Merced and CPP both have student-run pep bands, which look fun but in no way on the same level.
Bobcat Band
Bronco Band
A close-knit activity like marching band can really end up forming the core of a student’s social experience on campus, so EC’s are something to think about too. (And I’d be confident that SJSU’s data science program would be at least equal in quality and reputation to the others, although there may be differences in emphasis that would make one more appealing than the others.)
Good luck with the decision!
Thanks aquapt!
I skimmed through this draft proposal of this program created in 2021. The more I read about it, the more I like it https://gallo.ucmerced.edu/sites/gallo.ucmerced.edu/files/page/documents/bs-dsa_major_proposal_20211109.pdf
I am thinking a new program like this will have lot of attention from folks running it as UCM wants it to succeed, which leads to more demand for it in future. So probably, the teacher-student ratio, helping students get jobs, etc. must be good in these initial formative years of this program. On the other side, I wonder about impact of AI on such jobs in future.
However, I will leave the final choice to her though I would provide advice. So far those are her 3 choices unless she gets into a higher rated UC by a miracle.
Here is the update of her admission status after all colleges informed about their decision.
Admitted
UCM (Data Science & Analytics)
CPP (Biotechnology)
SJSU (Data Science)
CSUF (Computer Science)
CSUN (Computer Information Technology)
CSUCI (Computer Science)
Waiting List:
UCR (Data Science)
Cal Poly SLO (Business)
CSULB (Biomedical Engineering) - posted it incorrectly earlier
Declined:
All remaining UCs
SDSU
Congratulations ! Six acceptances for someone who wants to study CS related majors is terrific. 
Does she have favorites at this point?
(You’d mentioned UCM, CPP, SJSU).
Congratulations!
Are those schools listed in what looks like it might be her order of preference? Is she looking to go away to college? If so, would CSUCI be too close to home?
Have you/she had the chance to visit any of the schools?
Although only two are for the CS major (CSUF and CSUCI) and two others appear not difficult to change to CS (UCM and CSUN). But how do the other majors compare in desirability?
UCM and CPP is where she is leaning now. That is why I created a new thread for it. CSULB Biomedical is also something she is interested in. Cal Poly, SLO is her favorite college. She has been talking about it for the last 2 years. That is why we applied Business major as she has no chance of getting into Computer Science. Business is not something she is interested in (her elder sister went to UCR for Chemical Engineering and then shifted Business major after 1 year. Most of you helped that time too, when I created a created a thread for her here), but she has another 45 days or so to make a decision.
Yes, that is the order of preference excluding waitlist colleges. She wants to go away to a college, away from parents, so does not want to go to any commuter college :-). So CSUN and CSUCI are her last preference.
We are going to BroncoBound Open House on April 13th at CPP (60 miles away for us). It seems most CSUs, if not all, have it on the same day. I saw SJSU, CSUN, CSUF with the same date.
We are also going to Bobcat Day on April 20 at UC Merced and booked hotel for it. UCM is 280 miles away for us.
Can financial aid be different from different colleges? I am wondering how much difference it makes in choosing a college. Does a relatively lower rated college tend to give more financial aid to attract students, or it is purely based on parents ability to pay based on FAFSA application and its assessment?
I think that’s something you’ll have to examine very closely. It’s not just about dorms but also about where the students come from. We had a friend whose kid went to UCR and found most of her friends were local from close knit first gen families and went home at weekends. She eventually dropped out and moved back home. I’d worry about how many students are local and first gen at UCM, even at UCSC more of my S’s friends go home than was the case for his older brother at UCLA. At least at Santa Cruz, most of the Central Valley kids find it too far to go home much, even though that’s possible for Bay Area families. Of course SLO is miles from anywhere so it’s hard to go home.
Absolutely.
My daughter chose CPP Biotechnology.
We visited BroncoBound Openhouse on April 13th.
She applied for honors program at UC Merced after they invited her to apply for it, and she got admitted into Data Science & Analytics honors program. It came after she accepted CPP, but even if she knew earlier, she would have gone with CPP.
She spoke to a few students that are at UC Merced. Did her own research, spoke to some people, and decided to go for Biotechnology major.
Thanks you all for everyone who chimed in. I told about this Website, especially forum, to numerous people mentioning how great you are all in helping students and parents. The world has become so commercial, some even asked me “why they do all that freely?” 