I’m choosing between UCSD (admitted undeclared), SJSU (Business Administration - Accounting), and possibly UCD, while also being waitlisted at UCI for Business Administration (my top choice). I want to go into accounting, so I’m worried about not having a guaranteed business major at UCSD and how hard it is to switch in. SJSU feels like the safe option, but I don’t want to regret passing up a UC. At the same time, I’m hoping to get off the UCI waitlist. Should I go with the riskier UCSD undeclared route, knowing I’d have to try to get into the business major later if I don’t get off the UCI waitlist, or play it safe with SJSU?
UCSD only has an accounting minor leading to a Master’s program. Accounting Minor
A lot of schools lead to the same outcome which is a job at the Big 4 firms.
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I’d go to SJSU. My nephew went to UNLV and the Big 4 was all over campus.
UCs have a high WL acceptance but a WL is a rejection. They have said we cannot take you but we’ll use you as an insurance policy in case we fall short of our goals. So you can’t consider them. Find another that you’d fall in love with and go from there.
If you want to study accounting, go to the direct school. Or apply to another still taking apps - ASU, U of A. Why go to a school where you might not be able to?
Do your LOCI for UCI and then get it out of your mind. It’s not a contender - so don’t keep acting as it is. Fall in love, find a roomie at another.
Best of luck.
If you’re sure you want accounting, don’t go to a UC that doesn’t have an undergrad accounting major. It’s not just a matter of being admitted undeclared, it’s that even the closest major UCSD offers would be a compromise. SJSU has a well-respected program and great connections in the Bay Area for internships, etc. A top CSU vs. a UC isn’t going to hold you back in a business/accounting career.
A waitlist is a waitlist, not a rejection (Excellent article on what a waitlist is and is not)… but there’s no assurance of an offer from UCI, as you know. Try to put it out of your mind and get excited about where you’re committing. (But also, don’t get sloppy about checking your email - the window to respond if you do get a WL offer is quite short.)
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A WL means - we have not accepted you. That’s a rejection. I deal in reality. Those words are from a prominent public in Virginia by the way. They’re the ones that told me my daughter was rejected but an insurance policy for them (which she declined).
The bottom line is the student was not admitted - but the school is saying, we have the right to come back to you if we need you.
No matter what someone writes in a magazine, this is the reality.
UCI has admitted many off the WL, which is unusual so maybe the student will get lucky but as of now, they’ve not been admitted.
Honestly, you’re not telling anybody anything they don’t already know. I’m not sure why it’s so gratifying to use this “truth-bomb” phrasing about rejection to rub salt in the wound of being waitlisted. They absolutely need to understand that an offer isn’t assured and that at many schools, it’s highly unlikely. But a WL offer means the school deems you qualified, and is keeping you in the pool to admit if spaces open up. Getting in off the waitlist at a UC is not so rare that it’s unreasonable to hope for that outcome. But the student also has to choose a school to commit to, and assume that that’s where they’re going.
(Also, that article is not “what someone writes in a magazine” - it’s from Georgia Tech admissions.)
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It’s not truth bomb. People should understand where they stand vs. being sugarcoated with false hope like many here like to do. Students may be young but they’re coming for the truth, not to be hugged.
That said, if you believe the UCI CDS - they have an exceptionally high WL #. But the concept is the same.
And I appreciate that the contact who answered my question at W&M stated it as such.
Students need to understand - emotionally, they need to move on and not being truthful simply makes it more likely they’ll cling onto the hope whereas they should do their LOCI and move on.
Reminder that debate is not permitted in this forum, that replies should go to the OP, and if you’ve already stated your position once, move on. TIA!
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https://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/cba_semester_educational_req_flyer.pdf lists the educational prerequisites for the CPA exam in California.
You may want to see if each school offers sufficient course work to fulfill the subject requirements listed there.
Note also the 150 semester unit (225 quarter unit) requirement.
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This is probably why the accounting minor at UCSD leads to a master’s program in accounting to satisfy the units. SJSU has a business school and more business adjacent majors to choose from if the student changes his mind.
But if the student likes UCSD, it is still possible with some hoops:
start undeclared major then
declare accounting minor then
admission to master’s program in junior year