I think one thing to remember is that according to the information I have seen, the algorithm just computes grades and test scores first and fills 2/3 of the major slots based on that. Then it goes through and computes the MCA using all the other items (rigor, EC hours, etc) and fills the remaining slots. Someone may just miss being in the first group, and then be passed over by someone with lower grades/scores but higher other factors.
@socalmom007 The problem is the application program is the general Cal State application. Cal Poly is the ONLY Cal State that asks that information. The information about 7th & 8th grade grades was on at the Cal Poly additional information page. Yes… it was important to pay attention to this page. And it wouldn’t be easy for anyone to move this into the general part where they ask for classes grades.
I’ve suspected that some high stats kids that don’t get in because they either filled out the application incorrectly such as missing the extra information on the end, or were actually missing a requirement. It is a stats based admission but it’s also a follow the directions VERY carefully one as well. And for OOS it’s not made clear that only AP classes count for the +1.
As I posted before I believe many of the self-reported GPA’s aren’t calculated correctly. GPA’s from school to school can be as different as apples to banana’s.
Okay. So Cal Poly requires 2 semesters of visual arts but indicates 4 semesters are “desired”.
Where does it indicate only AP classes have the 5 point max for gpa calculation for OOS Cal Poly applicants?
Because people have already been waitlisted, does that mean acceptances are over?
Ha, I thought my kid did it right, and maxed out Math. I just looked at her app for SLO. She did it wrong. (She did get in so no biggie) See her mistake:
MATHEMATICS COURSES
Fall Spring Sumr 1 Sumr 2
8 2011-12 Algebra 1 H Quarter A A — —
(HONORS)
8 2012-13 Geometry H Quarter B+ B+ — —
(HONORS)
9 2013-14 Algebra 2/Trigonometry (H) Semester A A — —
(HONORS)
10 2014-15 Trigonometry/Math Analysis Semester A- B — — —
11 2015-16 Mathematics IB SL (IB) Semester A- B — —
(IB)
Total Mathematics semesters: 8
I personally think Cal Poly’s system is a lot better than most CSU’s which only look at GPA and ACT/SAT. I also think these “adders” should give kids a boost and be able to push them over the stats of kids that do not have them. There is a lot more to life and learning than just grades. Much can be learned from team sports, volunteering, leadership, etc. That being said, I agree with @eyemgh that there are too many “unknowns” to really compare. On another note…I am just curious, does anyone know if there is a list of the Hayden Partner Schools?
So glad she got in @VickiSoCal , that stinks!
@socalmom007 the next kid will get all the benefit of this experience.
No doubt @VickiSoCal , if one of my younger kids apply to Poly I will for sure do the app!
My D took extra precaution with CP SLO. She had her school counselor help her with that application because she had heard of high stats applicants getting outright rejected in previous years simply for failing to fill out the app correctly. I just now checked her app and for Math she has 14 total semesters. Glad she was on top of it.
@Goolia66, no, there is no public list of the Hayden Partner Schools. I was also told by a CP admissions person that the list is not static and can change from year to year.
Looking at the application now, I realize I left out Algebra and Geometry from the application…
I asked my counselor if I should include it (when I was applying), and she said it was no big deal.
If that’s the reason I’m still waiting for a (probable) rejection, then hopefully my mistake can help those in the future, since I was on the higher side, in terms of MCA (~4600).
Anyway, I think a school as prestigious as SLO should have some sort of safeguard against this, but who am I to say?
I think the omission of middle school grades happens to many applicants. In watching the tutorial on how to fill out the csu application it mentions nothing about 7/8th grade classes (it does show in a box in very small print) but verbally mentions nothing. I looked at the application and it is awkwardly placed at the bottom of all the classes after you have input all your grades. In filling out applications, it should have been placed at the top of the grading, in chronological order and in a drop down box…With a 4600 you will have plenty of options…just seems unfair.
If you forgot 7th and 8th grade algebra/geometry you can subtract 500 points off your total rigor, that’s suicide for most apps.
@pufframs , I knew something had to be wrong, that you didn’t get in yet. That stinks. As @calirain said, I’m sure you’ll have lots of other good offers, but it’s a shame to have your options narrowed for something that was so easy to miss (and so pointless, because who wouldn’t have taken those classes to get to where they are?). I remember noticing this and entering the middle school math when I was helping my D with the app, but I’d bet good money she would have missed it if she’d done it on her own. It takes years of dealing with petty bureaucracy to develop an eye for this sort of nonsense. :-w
Does anybody know how Cal Poly SLO’s Theatre Studies major is … how does it compare to some of the other “well-known” Theatre programs?
I didn’t list algebra 1 or geometry on my application because I took them in middle school, however I took ap calculus so is it assumed I took those classes? Or is my mca messed up?
The same goes for Spanish. I took Spanish 1 in eighth grade, but never listed it on my application. Is it assumed I took it since I started at Spanish 2 in high school?
@11akalei11 Nothing is assumed. The courses the applicant listed on application are what is counted. The instructions were to list relevant courses even those taken while in middle school (not for any GPA calculation) for but the rigor points. Apparently completing the application incorrectly has caused qualified applicants to be rejected.
They have to be sending out a lot more acceptances in the next few weeks. I checked my schools naviance and only 9 have been accepted when in the past it’s usually around 30 people. Hopefully there will be another wave of acceptances soon.