What are admission chances for Cal Poly and UCSB (still deciding majors, maybe animal science, biology, or Agricultural engineering or science) with the following profile:
White, male, public school
GPA: Total weighted 4.27, Capped Weighted 4.12, Unweighted 3.83
AP classes: English, Calc AB, Stats, Bio, US history, Spanish, Psych
4 year HS Engineering/Robotics program with college credit
2 varsity sports for 4 years with leadership positions
Several years of Community service and paid work experience in related fields
ACT and SAT: was only able to sit for both 1x last winter pre-covid, scores aren’t great (SAT 1250 ACT 28). All other planned testing have been cancelled. So thinking we wont submit them at all, because they certainly wont help, and could likely hurt. What do you think about this decision, submit or not?
Here are my questions:
Are UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly a chance for him?
Any advise on major choice given the areas he is thinking (animal science, biology, or Agricultural engineering or science)?
Should we even submit the ACT/SAT scores, as the way I see it they wont help. I know CSU is test blind, but is UCSB?
Any other school applications recommendations based on interest?
Majors;
UCSB does not offer any of the majors listed except for Biology.
SLO projected admissions for the following majors (based on 33% yield):
Agriculture Engineering/Bioresource: above 90%
Animal Science: 45%
Biology: 10%
Your son should select the major in which he wants to pursue for the next 4 years. Changing majors is not guaranteed at either school.
I would say SLO is probably a Match for Animal Science and Agricultural Engineering. A Reach for Biology.
UCSB would be a Low Reach for Biology/Sciences.
Other schools to consider, UC Davis (Agriculture majors/Sciences and Animal Sciences), Cal Poly Pomona, Chico state and Fresno State.
I would recommend he apply widely since unpredictability will be an issue this admission cycle.
Thank you for this excellent information. He is applying widely, but these are his top choices.
Are your projections based on Cal Poly’s published projections for each major, with the average yield of 33%? Is the yield same for all departments or major, or just an average yield?
Do you know if there is any projections about wether admissions will be impacted by deferred freshman admits from last year?
SLO does not list %Yield for each major, just projected # of applicants and # of spots available for each major so I just used a common %yield target that many schools use for admissions.
I am not aware of SLO allowing admission deferrals for this year and also not sure about UCSB. In general for the UC’s, deferrals are granted on a case by case basis and I have never heard of any CSU’s allowing deferrals. I believe that more students opted to take a Gap year and then reapply. I really cannot comment on how large of an impact this will have on this admission cycle.
When applying for CSU, they have you list first choice and back up choices. Do you know if this means that students are automatically considered for their second choice if not admitted for the first choice? For example, at Cal Poly if he applied to College of Ag with Animal Science as his first choice and Ag Engineering as a second choice, are both majors automatically considered in the admissions process? For example, if he didn’t get admitted to Animal science is it a possibility that he would get admitted to Ag Engineering as his second choice instead?
SLO does not state their criteria for reviewing applicants for their alternate major. In General, the majority of applicants that I have seen being admitted into their alternate where Engineering applicants that were not accepted into their 1st choice Engineering major which had selected a less competitive major in one of the other Colleges.
Yes, it is possible to not be admitted to Animal Science but into Ag Engineering. No disadvantage to list an alternate major.
Wondering about my chances for Cal Poly? Is there a MCA Calculator that does not use test scores? All tests have been cancelled so I will be unable to include test scores. I’m interested in Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences. My Cal Sate App GPA is 4.3. Does Cal Poly use this GPA? My A-G requirements toal 21, with 2 history, 4 English, 3 Math, 2 Biological Sciences, 2 Physical Sciences, 3 Years Spanish, 2 Visual Arts and 2 College Pre Electives., 10 honor points. I have worked 20+ hours all through high school, philanthropy, sports & leadership.
@plquality: If you want your questions answered, you need to start your own discussion thread. It is considered rude by CC standards to hijack another posters discussion.
FYI: Cal States and UC’s are not using SAT/ACT scores in their admission decisions for this admission cycle.
I will comment about your questions once you start your own discussion.