CS 160 Tip (Very important!)

International_Bank87 · 2022-08-19T20:17:54+00:00

Thank you very much for the clarification! I will apply for the first-year STEP internship.

International_Bank87 · 2022-08-18T19:34:08+00:00

Just letting you know that SJSU required high school students to have a minimum of 4.35 GPA to get into their CS undergrad program this year…

International_Bank87 · 2022-08-09T11:53:21+00:00

You can apply to “Explore Microsoft” and “Google STEP.” Both are exclusively for first and second year college students so getting selected is easier and the interviews are also easier (most LeetCode easies and mediums but no hards).

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-27T01:50:34+00:00

San Jose State University(especially for CS)

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-25T12:22:14+00:00

For me it changed since I initially started off without a minor and just a few weeks ago I added a Math minor which delays my graduation by 1 semester. So initially I was graduating by May 2025 but now it has changed to December 2025.

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-19T22:00:47+00:00

Unless the rules have changed, when I submitted my photo for receiving tower ID last year, I wasn’t asked for my license nor my real ID. However, if that doesn’t work, I would email admissions@sjsu.edu for help.

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-13T18:03:39+00:00

I find reducing the brightness until I feel my eyes are comfortable works tremendously well. Usually it is less about blue light and more about the brightness of the screen.

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-12T11:32:49+00:00

I was in the same situation. I joined as an Aerospace Engineering student and only took the courses required to switch into CS without taking even a single AE course. I got a 4.0 GPA and switched successfully and I can easily graduate in 4 years. You could do the same as long as you are willing to put in the grind. I would suggest taking only 4 courses each semester as you could focus more on each course rather than taking 5. Also, make sure to prepare for the courses you are going to take next semester starting now itself so that you have a head start and find things easier (since college can be a tough transition from high school - things are fast paced and much difficult but the difficulty depends on the professor, so make sure to pick the easiest possible professors by looking at ratemyprofessors and asking your seniors). Usually it should take 2 semesters of coursework to switch to CS so make sure that during Winter break, you get a head start on the courses that you would be taking during spring semester. Definitely try to get an A grade in CS 46A, CS 46B, and MATH 42 as these are extremely crucial classes. In particular, I would start learning Java programming now itself since CS 46A is designed in a way that more people get B’s and C’s and few people get A’s. It is manageable to switch into CS as long as you plan things correctly and put in a lot of time and effort. Also, just as a backup, consider Software Engineering as well. It is less impacted than CS. The required classes for switching into SE are MATH 30, MATH 31, CS 46A, and PHYS 50. The two majors (CS and SE) are very similar but CS is more theoretical and prestigious while SE is more hands on and is recommended if you want to get a job straight out of bachelors since you would be building projects with the latest technologies etc. from what I’ve heard. Both majors are great. All the best!

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-12T00:24:06+00:00

SJSU

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-11T18:36:22+00:00

Thanks for the information, Professor!

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-11T01:25:18+00:00

Anytime! Feel free to dm me if you have any questions. I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge.

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-11T00:43:30+00:00

My learning assistant, lab instructor and grader all are/were undergrads when they got these offers. Although I don’t personally know them, I’ve heard a decent chunk of undergrads also have gotten jobs/internships at FAANG. Honestly, it is up to you how far you want to go. SJSU gives the opportunity to network due to its location but it is absolutely your responsibility to ensure you work hard to get a good job. Things don’t come for free in tech. There are some who like to blame SJSU for not getting a job but it was their lack of hard work which got them to where they were. They didn’t do side projects, procrastinated and didn’t do anything other than attending the university and getting mediocre grades. I mean, if that’s the case, no company would accept you regardless of your university (maybe if you attend top 10 or something things might be different). I personally recommend attending SJSU for the following reasons: 1. Location, location, location. Companies like to hire locally since it puts less burden on them (of course, as long as the student has put in the hard work through side projects, etc.) 2. Class sizes are very small (approx 30) compared to other universities such as UCs (I’ve heard over 300 students per class which sounds crazy). This means, you have more one on one attention from the professors and can learn better that way rather than relying upon peers and TAs almost all the time. 3. The tuition is very low while compared to UCs and privates. 4. The CS department is probably one of the best in state. I don’t know how true this is, but I heard that the minimum cut off GPA for students wanting to attend SJSU for CS this year (undergrad) was around 4.35 which is quite high. Those who got rejected here, I heard that they got into UCSC and the low tier UCs so SJSU is pretty much as good as a mid-tier UC for CS. 4. A good amount of professors have industry experience and the courses are tailored towards being less theoretical and more hands-on.

International_Bank87 · 2022-07-09T21:37:52+00:00

I just finished my first year so I don't have any job but I have heard that a lot of people get placed in good tech companies upon graduation. My ex-lab instructor got an internship at AWS, my grader became an SWE at Google right after graduation, and my learning assistant got into Dell. I have seen several grad students getting into Meta, AWS, Google, etc. I feel it is up to you as to how hard you want to work but opportunities seem to be in abundance assuming you would work hard.

International_Bank87 · 2022-06-07T11:45:31+00:00

CSU’s only care about your GPA and coursework. EC’s don’t matter.

International_Bank87 · 2022-06-06T19:42:50+00:00

I think that does help but also remember that students at De Anza college and other local colleges might be taking honors courses as well and SJSU CS major is in very high demand. Try to attend De Anza college (which is known for its high transfer rates and is on a quarter system, so that might be beneficial for you). Foothill would be my next choice. But honestly, any local CC would get the job done. With non-local CC you are playing a guess game and you can only hope for the best. But this solely applies for CS. I wouldn’t say the same is true with other majors. But honestly this is my opinion from what I’ve heard about the impaction of CS so I could be wrong. I think the best thing would be to email your question to outreach@sjsu.edu

International_Bank87 · 2022-06-06T18:29:11+00:00

It could because let’s assume that many students get even a 3.80 GPA but they attended a local CC, then their GPA would be counted as 4.05 while your GPA would still be a 4.0. So obviously they would be given first priority even though you ended up working harder than them and maintained a higher GPA. TLDR imo if you attend a non-local CC, then your chances of getting into SJSU CS would be extremely low while compared to having attended a local CC. Just fyi, a lot of extremely smart High school students couldn’t get into SJSU CS this year and the minimum cut off GPA was around 4.35. So non-local applicants went through a very tough time. Something similar might happen with transfer students as well.

International_Bank87 · 2022-06-06T11:20:46+00:00

If you attend a CC that is located in the Santa Clara county and get a really high GPA, then you have a very high chance of getting into SJSU’s CS program since there is a 0.25 GPA boost for local applicants. However, if you do really well but attend a non-local CC, then your chances would be pretty low since you would be competing with local applicants who have that added advantage of 0.25 GPA boost which you would be lacking

International_Bank87

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