Hey I am going to be a junior in high school that lives in Arkansas and would want to know what my chances are at getting into these schools as of right now. I have 4.3 overall gpa in high school with it being a 3.8 unweighted. I only have a 24 on the ACT right now but plan on taking it again a couple of more times. I have not taken the SAT yet. My extracurricular activities are pretty good since I participate in clubs, have over 400 hours of community service, was recognized by my state of AR for my success in high school tennis, and was recently a short term exchange student in Italy (which was actually cheap). I am well aware that the living and cost in CA is much different than where I live but I am in the mid-upper class and willing to pay. I also have a bunch of family in SoCal (including a cousin that went to SDSU and a grandad that taught and went to Caltech). Thank you for reading this and hope you give me feedback!
At this point, your ACT is not competitive for any of the UCs and for any of the Cal states.
Can your parents afford $58k per year for 4 years?
It doesn’t matter that you have relatives in California because the state only looks at your primary residence in Arkansas.
The California public colleges don’t give financial aid/scholarships to non residents.
Yes actually they can afford it, and like I said in my post, I’m going to continue taking the ACT
They are willing to pay $150,000 for your education OOS?
You’ve picked the two most applied to CSUs in California. They happen to be the most competitive. Given your current ACT and the fact that it won’t go up by much, I don’t think your chances, with that unweighted GPA, are good. The state is putting a cap on OOS students so that decreases your chances even further.
Oh when you put it that way… What would you advise then? For me just to stay away from Califronia?
There are tons of California privates that you might get into, but they are much more expensive than the publics and they will also question that ACT.
The problem is that, statistically, your ACT is hampering your admissions. At most, you might go up 2 points. Try the SAT, see if that style suits you better.
What happens is that the California colleges will wonder if your high school has grade inflation because your grades don’t match that low ACT. The coursework at most universities, with that ACT predictor, might indicate that it will be a challenge for you.
In San Diego, privates include Pt. Loma Nazarene (on the ocean) and USD-15 minutes from SDSU and great view of Mission Bay.
Orange County has Chapman and Loyola Marymount. Those are very beautiful campuses.
Loyola is in Los Angeles County near the airport.
What is your intended major?
Chapman may also question your ACT.
First the CSU you mention do not cost, 58k, they cost more like 34 per year OOS. You took the ACT as a sophomore, I’m not sure why, but you should prep and take. Take when ready. Some people are able to dramatically increase scores through systematic prepping but others cannot. CSU will look at grades as they calculate it so look at CSU Mentor for the eligibility index. For OOS they will not weight honors, just APs. Assume that you will have to be stronger to get in from OOS. They will not look at your extracurricular activities or take any personal statement or letters of recommendation.
Assuming you complete ALL required courses with a C or better, most CSUs use the same basic formula to evaluate applicants.
Read about it here: https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/eligibility_index.asp
CSU GPA200 + ACT10 = Eligibility Index
CSU GPA is just grades 10-11 and is a little funky so - your’s won’t be what you’ve stated above. read about it and calculate yours here:
https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/gpa_calculator.asp
As an OOS applicant, you need an 842 ACT index to qualify for any CSU.
With a 3.8 and 24, yours would be about 1000 - which should get you into CSULB but, makes you a marginal candidate for SDSU.
Your GPA suggests you are capable of a stronger test score so, re-take the ACT and/or try the SAT. A better score will help your chances for these schools. They are indeed surprisingly competitive.
Good luck.
Thank you everyone sorry for the late response! I did try a college formula to see if I could get into a college like SDSU. For OOS, the minimum was 800, but I had over a 1000. I have a reasonable chance as of right now I believe but of course I will try harder to get into a college I will be happy with.