u/After_Tune_9030

Hi guys! thanks for taking the time to read this mundane mid-tier college post over all the ivy league schools and whatnot

Soooo basically i didn't have any set "dream school" going into the admissions process but I knew i wanted to major in the CS/DS field. I don't necessarily value one discipline over the other, but I am very aware of the key differences between the 2 degrees and understand career outcomes for each. when apps came back the only meaningful school I had gotten into pre-waitlist was SJSU for data science, so i committed. Some things I really valued about SJSU was:

• campus looked cool when i toured
• Housing is really nice, since I booked the spartan village on the paseo housing (link for info here). 2 of my good friends + I were scheduled to room together, which provided some solace. Plus i was also getting pretty comfortable wiht the idea that I would be able to share the bathroom with a select few people instead of a whole floor, lol
• I really liked the culture towards jobs and work readiness

However, I was not a huge fan of the course rigor for the Data Science degree. Apparently the course rigors of the non-poly CSUS are more applied and hence less research focused than the UCS. Not a big issue but would have been somewhat useful for grad school if i chose to go.

here's where things get fun. The other day I got into UC Santa Cruz for CS over the waitlist. My dad started lightly suggesting it, hearing the UC brand name and because his friend's son goes (will be talking to him soon when i can get a hold of this guy). I'm supposed to be touring it in a couple days now, and i will have to say yes/no on the 12th. Did some research and here are some pros and cons that I thought of

• Pro: so obviously the courses are going to be more rigorous and I thought that having that would be nice
• Pro: campus is beautiful i mean look at it
• Neutral: another one of my close friends is going which is good
• Neutral: Apparently this school has a more "laid back attitude", which is a shame because im kind of a laid back guy myself, and maybe being in a more competitive environment could help me, but thats more of a me problem its college i gotta lock in
• Con: Not as job-focused as SJSU, but i mean I could make it work if im well rounded. Plus i think the NLP research i looked at can make up for the slightly smaller job fairs. Will be emailing some faculty soon.
• Con: The. Housing. Crisis. I mean this is the big one. I'm suuuuper scared that since I got off the waitlist im doomed for crappy options because everyone has already chose by now.

But yeah. If youve got this far thank you so much for helping me out. If youve been to either UCSC or SJSU and can vouch for either schools even better! Also if you happen to be having the same choice as me let me know that would be so cool!