For SDSU, he is looking at an Eligibility index of 4300+ to be competitive. For SJSU, it depends upon which Engineering and can look at these 2019 EI thresholds: http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/impactionresultsfreshmen/
For the UC’s, he will want to target schools where is UC capped weighted GPA and SAT scores especially SAT Math are at or above the 50th percentiles. If Engineering is his top choice, then he really needs to apply for Engineering. Changing majors later can be problematic with the impacted CSU’s and the UC’s.
2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 10%
UCLA: 9%
UCSD: 34%
UCSB: 38%
UCD: 41%
UCI: 38%
UCSC: 70%
UCR: 84%
UCM: 95%
2018 UC capped weighted GPA averages:
UCB: 4.23
UCLA: 4.23
UCSD: 4.16
UCSB: 4.13
UCI: 4.13
UCD: 4.11
UCSC: 3.96
UCR: 3.81
UCM: 3.71
2018 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:
UCB: 1360-1540
UCLA: 1340-1540
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1270-1500
UCD: 1220-1480
UCI: 1230-1490
UCSC: 1210-1450
UCR: 1130-1380
UCM: 1020-1280
Other than the top Cal states such as SLO, CSU Long Beach, SDSU, Cal Poly Pomona and some majors at SJSU, the rest of the CSU’s would be very good options. UCM and maybe UCR are also possible. He needs to apply widely and school name is not as important as long as the Engineering major is ABET accredited.