Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.

eh.. I find it's worse here in DC area.

I lived in SV for 15 years. When we were going to move here, my neighbor in CA who was from this DC area, told us we should not move here, that people here were snooty. Granted, she didn't want us to move LOL. While I have met some nice people here, they are mostly not originally from the area, but I do find the long time residents here are a bit snooty. Of course, there are snooty areas of SV, too. But the area around SJSU is pretty "middle class" (for SV). I went to SJSU for a couple of years, lived in a few different cities in the Bay Area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.

The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.

And a quick train ride up to one of America’s greatest cities.

Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.

The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.

PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.

My husband grew up in the Silicon Valley. SJSU used to be more of a commuter school, like GMU was back in the day. I get the impression the true locals still view it that way. It's the place you go to night school for your MBA or professional cert while you work full time. The California state colleges are not UCs. Not sure what it's reputation is now. If we lived there, I'm sure my spouse wouldn't be pushing that school hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for all the info! Intended major is animation. Also applying to USC and CalArts, both of which are much, much more competitive and $$$$. Also considering CU Long Beach, though LB doesn’t have a direct admit to the program, students have to apply their junior year so there’s a risk of not being accepted after spending two years at the school.

Why all these CA schools? Is the major only offered by CA schools?

No. Applying elsewhere too, but I was asking specifically about CA schools since we’re unfamiliar with CA and the cities they are in. We’ve already visited the other schools.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for all the info! Intended major is animation. Also applying to USC and CalArts, both of which are much, much more competitive and $$$$. Also considering CU Long Beach, though LB doesn’t have a direct admit to the program, students have to apply their junior year so there’s a risk of not being accepted after spending two years at the school.

Why all these CA schools? Is the major only offered by CA schools?

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for all the info! Intended major is animation. Also applying to USC and CalArts, both of which are much, much more competitive and $$$$. Also considering CU Long Beach, though LB doesn’t have a direct admit to the program, students have to apply their junior year so there’s a risk of not being accepted after spending two years at the school.

Sorry, meant Cal State Long Beach

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for all the info! Intended major is animation. Also applying to USC and CalArts, both of which are much, much more competitive and $$$$. Also considering CU Long Beach, though LB doesn’t have a direct admit to the program, students have to apply their junior year so there’s a risk of not being accepted after spending two years at the school.

The SJSU animation program is highly respected.

Op here. Thanks for all the info! Intended major is animation. Also applying to USC and CalArts, both of which are much, much more competitive and $$$$. Also considering CU Long Beach, though LB doesn’t have a direct admit to the program, students have to apply their junior year so there’s a risk of not being accepted after spending two years at the school.

Many went or still go for grad school. job placement is thumbs up. but you know how SV and tech is doing these days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc is interested in San Jose State University for a very specific major. We are from the DMV and have never been to California. Anyone familiar with the school who can offer some insight? Is it mostly a commuter school? How would an east coast student fit in? What is the campus like? We plan to visit over spring break if dc gets in. TIA

https://www.ktvu.com/news/racist-threatening-graffiti-discovered-sjsu-campus
A recent incident. Are you Asian, Jewish, or Muslim? This may be a concern.

Nonsense

Mostly a commuter school. Off-campus housing is in Silicon Valley == expensive. Downtown SjC is relatively safe but it is a city.

Historically, good job placements at graduation with local tech forms.

Lots of 1st gen to college and a fair number of immigrants.

PP here. I live in San Jose (adjacent town) same thing and used to live in DC.

1. Is it safe? Yes, very safe but it’s a city. Much safer than DC but things like car break ins and some homeless (pretty harmless) exist. Weirdest crime that I’ve seen out here are side shows, which are these illegal drag races that attract crowds. These don’t usually occur downtown.
2. Is it a commuter school? Yes and no. In general all CSU schools are commuter schools except Cal Poly and maybe SDSU for freshman and sophomores. Rent prices in SJ are so high that students who don’t want to live at home opt for the dorms. Have a plan for housing as I don’t think it’s guaranteed.
3. Campus is really nice, lively and SJS keeps downtown alive. It’s close to the train station. The buses are clean and easy. Uber is common etc. I love SJ airport! It is so easy. Very close.
4. Internship opportunities are great! Getting a part time job is also great especially if you are willing to do a short bus ride. Restaurants and stores are always hiring, can’t find staff. Minimum wage is 20 in SJ, a little less in the adjacent towns.
5. Weather is amazing! If you later have a car, it’s about 45 minutes to Santa Cruz. Unless you go during commute or weekend rush hour then it’s 3 hours lol. You can take BART or Cal Train to SF. You can take Amtrak to Truckee /Tahoe.

Also consider Santa Clara University. They sometimes give good merit. They care about demonstrated interest.

Ok so first of all always ignore the general acceptance rate at any CSU.

1. CSUs admit by major and are strict about not backdooring. Engineering/CS will be in single digits, education and hospitality will be close to 90%.
2. It’s been several years but if you google a bit you should be able to find SJSU admit data. It is very valuable as it shows GPA by major.
3. If you search more you can find the formulas for where SJS gives bumps. For example, they give extra rigor points for lab sciences. This includes Project Lead the Way courses. Whether you get the bump depends on how your school codes the courses.
4. There is a local bump for being in service. There are tons of tippy top kids in the area who get shut out of UCs. Many get the engineering admits for SJSU. I’m not sure about OOS. While you would be at a disadvantage compared to local kids you may be above other CA residents outside the Bay.
5. A-G requirements really are non negotiable. Make sure they map, talk to admissions to confirm. Math can get wonky. CA is less accelerated but most engineering/CS kids will self accelerate through DE. Sometimes OOS students get stuck where they took Algebra or IM2 too early and can’t meet the math requirement even though they are years ahead.
6. It’s an easy app. No essays, recommendations, etc.

Good luck!