@ucbalumnus, we had a chance to discuss some plans with a UCSC Prof/student adviser at a Q&A Session for admitted students. And with your previous assistance it has become all clear to us how things work. We were told that we could switch major from Game Design to CS even at the Orientation Day. The dept is very flexible with these 2 majors which require literally the same mandatory foundation courses for frost. Students just need to choose based upon their passion for the subject. If CS is what you really want, then all GD classes can be “skipped”; as some of them actually fulfill GE so can choose them for “fun”. The Prof told my son to decide for himself without mum interfering… ha ha. We also visited UP during spring break and felt that the engeering dept was too small. Thank you again!