<p>For fall 2010, SLO’s overall acceptance rate is 29%. With freshman acceptance of 32%, and transfer acceptance of 13%.</p>
<p>They said at SOAR that Cal Poly SLO is the third most difficult public school in California to get into after Berkeley and UCLA. Go Mustangs!</p>
<p>I wonder why I didn’t get in SDSU and UCSD, but made it in cal poly.</p>
<p>32% for freshman applicants? Damn, I never knew Cal Poly was that competitive.
What’s the average applicants SAT/GPA?</p>
<p>For fall 2010, Cal Poly accepted 10,918 freshman applicants out of a total 33,626 freshman applicants, yielding a 32% freshman acceptance rate. Accepted freshman applicants had an average high school GPA of 3.90 and an average SAT Reasoning Test score of 1292 (out of a possible 1600, based only on reading and math scores). For transfer acceptance, Cal Poly accepted 922 transfer applicants out of a total 7365, yielding a 13% acceptance rate.[48] Accepted transfer applicants had an average university GPA of 3.41. The combined figures yield an overall, fall 2010, acceptance rate of 29%</p>
<p>I’ve heard how hard it is to get in tothe Arch and Engineering Programs -but does anyone know how competitive the Food Science program is?</p>
<p>You guys forget the in the centext of GPA and test scores it is still easier to get into than the middle UC’s</p>
<p>average for UCSB, UCD, UCI= 4.01 GPA, 27-28 ACT with around a 45% average</p>
<p>So in conclusion, yes it may have a low acceptance rate but this maybe due to the fact that less competitive applicants apply to CP. I am not bashing CP its a great school just saying that to say the its is the third most competitive public school in california is a bit misleading. yes, it has a low acceptance rate but its average GPA and test scores are lower than the middle UC’s and well below the top UC’s.</p>
<p>I beg to differ that it is “easier” to get in that most of the mid tier UCs. It depends upon the major. Also, you have to remember that Cal Poly just does not just look at GPA and test scores. Rigor of coureses account for alot. Also, Cal Poly considers freshman year, when many kids do not take honors. I bet most of the kids at Cal Poly were accepted to the mid tier UCs and some from even the top tier UCs. I know my son turned down a few UCs for Cal Poly-Irvine, S.B., and Davis. Additionally, some kids who were not accepted to Cal Poly were accepted to the mid and top tier UCs.</p>
<p>Freshman Applied Selected % Accpt. Avg GPA ACT
Agri/Food Sci 3302 1466 44 3.74 27
Arch/Env Dsgn 2185 483 22 3.96 30
Business 4519 1625 36 3.87 29
Engineering 8865 2940 33 4.03 31
Liberal Arts 7781 2093 26 3.85 28
Sci/Math 6974 2311 33 3.97 29
Total 33626 10918 32 3.9 29</p>
<p>Engineering school applicants consisted of 26% of the total applicant pool (#1 in volume)
Liberal arts consisted of 23% of total pool (#2 in volume)
Science and math consisted of 20% of total pool (#3 in volume)</p>
<p>Between the 3 colleges, they made up of 69% of the total applicant pool or bulk of the applicant pool. </p>
<p>Given the Average acceptance GPA & ACT between these 3 colleges ranged from 4.03 - 3.85, 31-28, respectively. </p>
<p>And with the 3 college’s % acceptance ranged from 33-26%, we can inferred conservatively that Cal Poly’s freshman selectivity is at least on par, and possibly higher, than that of the mid-tier UCs previously cited.</p>
<p>That is what the President of the university told us at orientation. (your sentence in italics below) Also, if you just look at the acceptance rate of the UCs (other than Berkeley and UCLA), they are all higher than 32%.</p>
<p>I know students last year who turned down Berkeley and UCLA for Cal Poly. </p>
<p>**FutureENT Surgeon had remarked:</p>
<p>I am not bashing CP its a great school just saying that to say the its is the third most competitive public school in california is a bit misleading. yes, it has a low acceptance rate but its average GPA and test scores are lower than the middle UC’s and well below the top UC’s. **</p>
<p>A lower acceptance rate does not necessarily mean it is harder to get into than another school. For example, UCSD has a higher acceptance rate than SDSU, but that by no means means SDSU is harder to get into. Also, Harvey Mudd has an acceptance rate of 34%… doesn’t mean its easier to get into than Cal Poly. </p>
<p>Anyway, with regards to the mid-tier UCs, I hear more kids getting rejected from the mid-tiers but accepted by Cal Poly than vice-versa. Not always the case I’m sure, just my experience.</p>
<p>I think you have a good point. So a true comparison can only be made with with admitted freshman student data for 2010 for Cal Poly and a mid-tier representative UC, such as UC Davis. So let’s examine that:</p>
<p>UC Davis admitted freshman average GPA : 4.02
UC Davis admitted freshman average ACT: 29</p>
<p>Cal Poly admitted freshman average GPA: 3.9
Cal Poly admitted freshman average ACT: 29</p>
<p>Given UC Daivs’ and Cal Poly’s relatively similar admitted freshman profile, one can, at most argue, that UC Davis’ selectivity is somewhat higher than that of Cal Poly’s.</p>
<p>If one were to be “generous” to Cal Poly, then UC Davis’ and Cal Poly’s freshman selectivity is comparable.</p>
<p>Also, since UCD’s selectivity is similar to that of UCSB and UCI, therefore, we may conclude that Cal Poly’s selectivity is on par with all mid-tier UCs (UCD, UCI, UCSB).</p>
<p>Also. remember that it differs by major. There are several very competitive majors at Cal Poly as well as UC Davis. Each school has majors that are harder to get into than others. The admitted GPA is higher in those majors.</p>
<p>Don’t forget there is no such thing as ELC at Cal Poly, which will automatically reject thousands of people. If Cal Poly had ELC as well, more people would’ve been accepted.</p>
<p>“Also, since UCD’s selectivity is similar to that of UCSB and UCI, therefore, we may conclude that Cal Poly’s selectivity is on par with all mid-tier UCs (UCD, UCI, UCSB).” </p>
<p>In recent years, these 4 schools (CPSLO, UCD, UCI, UCSB) have had VERY similar stats for incoming freshmen. The reason that CPSLO has the lowest “Acceptance Rate” is because it is the smallest of the four schools --18k, vs. 25k(D),22k(I),20k(SB)-- and therefore has fewer spots available. Also, Cal Poly is by far the least expensive of the four, so it is the best financial value, and is more attractive to many applicants for this reason.</p>
<p>Momofmv makes the point that is often missed about CalPoly: Admission is done by major and not by the univerity or even college. That means there are a hundred separate admission processes. Some majors are more difficult to get into than a top-tier UC. Others may be easier than bottom tier UCs.</p>
<p>^^^^ Excellent point, Mariner116. It’s very unique in that regard, especially among the CSUs.</p>