r/SJSU

Coming back to a college campus after 10 years is a culture shock in the most pleasant way possible.

I previously attended SBCC and UCSC as a bio major before dropping out. No sob story! Just a lack of direction and maturity on my part as a teenager. This time around I've switched to business, and I knocked out my prereqs at a community college, but I did all of that fully online. So walking onto campus today was my first real "back in it" moment.

Look, I know a 32-year-old isn't about to become the group-chat MVP, and I made my peace with that walking in, lord knows I partied enough the first time around. I stand out like a sore thumb and I was ready to just be the quiet old guy in the back. Instead, everyone's been genuinely warm and if anyone thinks I'm some old weirdo, they've done a great job hiding it.

So if you're thinking about coming back to college after some poor life choices but you're scared of how you'll be perceived on campus, please rest assured, you will be accepted here.

And if you're an old business major (or any major, really), hmu! I'd love to connect. And if you're reading this and think you stand out too — hmu and we can sit in the corner together.

I’m a second year commuter at SJSU and it feels impossible to make friends. I want to participate in SJ Welcome Week and go to a party tmrw but I don’t have anyone to go with. Is it weird if I go by myself? How are the vibes? Are the people there friendly/safe? I also don’t really drink so I’d be there mostly to just socialize and meet new people.

does anyone know if attendance is taken in big lectures of 150 people? I have had the worst day possible, someone rear ended me and left now the back of my car is f-cked. And on top of that im sick. I just wanna go home but I have a lecture at 4:30 and I don't want to wait anymore.

should I just stick it out and go to class since its my first day

I have been getting the runaround from the FAO. They told me last week that it would be this week. One person told me this week before Friday. Another person just told me not till mid-week next week. Wtf is going on with these people? I have to purchase my textbooks and I need that money. Ugh. Anyone else still waiting? I’m a grad student and I’m waiting on unsubsidized federal loans, not Grad Plus or anything like that btw.

always thought it was thursday… but my classes arent published yet on canvas, and I’ve only gotten 3 out of 5 emails from profs/instructors so far. I am waitlisted #1 for a M/W in-person class, but havent heard anything yet. am I supposed to go?? I live an hour and a half away 💀 it’ll be my only in-person class for M/W 💔 it’s I/O Psyc for anyone who cares

Geography/Facilities: Small campus, can walk across it in 15-20 minutes without needing a bus.

Gym has facilities that could compete with the Olympic Games.

Dorms were surprisingly close to hotel quality, did have a cockroach or WiFi problems here and there but overall a convenient stay.

People: Hit or miss. Some ambitious ones who wanted to save money and stay close to family, but most seemed to be from working/middle class backgrounds from the Bay, whose main objective was to get a degree and find a decent job to pay the bills. Wouldn’t find many people discussing the global economy, federal reserve rates, literature/philosophy, political/historical trends, or emerging tech/startups. Focus was mostly directed toward a job rather than intellectual curiosity.

Academics: Workload wise, easier than the high school honestly, student demographic was more relaxed than the hyper competitive Bay Area high schools. Grade wise though, A- is a 3.7, so need a 93/94 to get an A, close to perfect scores on exams since most classes didn’t have a curve. EE98 is genuinely one of the hardest classes at the school, weeds a lot of people out. Most of the lower division GEs, electives, and chemistry are child’s play though, can afford to procrastinate till the day before and still walk out with a near perfect score. Upper divs might be a different story.

Clubs: FSAE was probably the biggest one, SJSU is thrifty as a CSU compared to the more funded schools but we still put together a race car every year and got good placements. Wasn’t a core member but from what I saw it’s a great place if you’re passionate about building, a lot of them went on to work at Lucid or Tesla. Software and Computer Engineering Society was another notable one, they run their own internal dev teams and internships, good chunk of the people who put in the work did land SWE internships at bigger firms. Don’t think there’s much of a quant presence but two people did found a YC backed startup.

Social Life: More than 75% of students commute so campus is pretty dead after 6-7pm on weekdays and even quieter on weekends. Instead of one big community it’s more compartmentalized, Indian first gen immigrants or FOBs hung out in their own groups, same with frats and sororities. Without a car there’s not much to do besides library, gym, or downtown San Jose.

Career/Internships: Career fairs bring in solid but not flashy companies like Cisco, Workday, Lockheed, Micron, etc. Being next to Silicon Valley does help but only if you put in the individual effort to network and apply, school doesn’t hand you anything.

Cost/Value: This is where SJSU actually shines. WSJ ranked SJSU 16th in the country for this, costs about 32k to attend while commuting with a real shot at a six figure job after, almost a 3x return. CS program ranks pretty high on CodeSignal too.

Teaching Quality: Varies a lot by professor, some are former SJSU alumni, others are from other U.S. universities including prestigious ones like the ivies , some are industry people who know their stuff but aren’t always the best at teaching. Worth checking
Rate My Professor before registering.

Safety/Transit: Never felt unsafe honestly, think downtown SJ gets blown out of proportion. VTA and BART are free for students which is a nice perk.

My first class of the day is on zoom then the next is in person. Where should I go that’s quite but also okay for me to talk if needed. I’d rather be on campus due to parking. And I’d rather not be in my car.

Has anyone gotten awarded yet for their middle class scholarship on CSAC? It is still blank for me and doesn’t say awarded or ineligible. Just wondering if it’s just me thanks!

Finalllllllllllyyyyyyy check y’all’s accounts. My loans hit but not in my bank yet just the account inquiry.

Hi everyone!

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on an AI-powered study assistant called StudyPilot (https://studypilot.dev).

As a neurodivergent student, I always had a hard time with traditional note-taking and study methods. I built StudyPilot to give students an adaptable tool that works with your learning style rather than against it.

What it does:

- Combines a bunch of study tools and note-taking systems into one

- ⁠Helps you take notes during class, and then use those notes to study more efficiently

- ⁠Automatically turn lecture notes into quizzes, flashcards, or tailored summaries based on how you learn best

I know how hard it is to be expected to do something in a certain way while the optimal way for you is completely different. That's what StudyPilot is built for: helping you study in the way that works best for you.

I just released it to the public. That said, I am still developing it and new features are added every day.

If you are interested in trying it out and you feel like you might find it useful please feel free to make an account and start using it right away. I would love your feedback, this app is meant to help people who study in different ways, so the more suggestions I get the more the app can develop. Feel free to comment here too and ask any questions of course.

Thank you, and happy Piloting!

I just got my financial aid, but I think it based off my 9 unit course load which I just changed to 12 so will they recalculate or am I stuck with only 75% fasfa?

I need some advice 😭 I’m graduating this semester and BUS1-170 (Fundamentals of Finance) is the last class I need.
I’m currently #1 on the waitlist for a Wednesday section (Wednesday fits better with my schedule since I commute), but there’s another section on Thursday from 6:00–8:45 PM that currently has only 3 seats left.
I’m planning on going to the Wednesday class tomorrow and asking the professor if they can give me a permission/add code since I’m graduating.
My questions are:
- Should I enroll in the Thursday section now just to guarantee myself a spot?
- If the Wednesday professor gives me an add code tomorrow, can I use Swap in MySJSU to switch from the Thursday section to Wednesday using the code?
- Would being enrolled in the Thursday section cause any issues with the professor trying to add me to Wednesday?
- Has anyone done this before with BUS1-170 or another SJSU class?
I really don’t want to lose the Thursday seats and then find out I can’t get into Wednesday either. 😭 Any advice would be appreciated!

Guys, if you can, sign up for HSPM 149 (Beer Appreciation). The Wednesday 6:00-8:45 pm section is in danger of not having enough students and is in danger of being cancelled. I think it's a bit ridiculous a beer drinking class is low on students but if you need an easy class and love beer sign up!

I have gotten into SJSU and Berkeley both international student. SJSU software engineering and Berkeley Data science. I will have to take out a loan of around 160k for Berkeley and almost 40k for SJSU since no living cost due to family. What should I do, is Berkeley worth the money and does it provide that big of a chance at a big tech job etc. really confused please help

If so, how do I pay? card? I’ve been going for almost 2 years and haven’t ate at the DC since orientation 😭

moving in day was so hectic having a single comes with its upsides and downsides but is it me or nobody outside the campus feels dead for a school with 30000 plus students where can i get social and find friends and what are the best food spots that are walkable distances

Legit school start Wednesday and still haven’t gotten my awards. I take out federal loans to pay for school but nothing. It’s legit my last semester too doesn’t anyone else have this issue? I have my tuition deferred but in my todo list it still says verify id for financial aid even though I did that like 2 weeks ago. Tried called the financial aid office but been on hold for about an hour in total without being able to connect to the office