Cal Poly SLO Class of 2023 Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
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Does the MCA score take into account middle school Alg 1 and Geometry? I took up to AP Calc BC in high school ,but because I did geometry in middle school, that led to only 3 years of math in high school (since AP CS doesn’t count as a math class).

Without the middle school classes, my MCA seems to be 4300 ish, but with the middle school classes it seems to be 4800 ish (since that would bring me up to a total of 5 years of math i.e. according to another CC post, an extra 500 points)

Can someone clarify which would be correct? And how both of those scores work for ME?

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@amd2019: Yes middle school Math courses count for the Math rigor points in the MCA point calculation if you listed them on your application, which would give you the maximum 500 points for 10 semesters. An MCA score of 4700+ can be competitive for Engineering but much depends upon how you compare to all the ME applicants.

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@Gumbymom Oh that’s awesome. Thank you! Does anyone know if any in-state acceptances have been sent out?

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@amd2019: I have only seen a few International applicants that have gotten acceptances. Out of state acceptances usually come first followed by in-state so hopefully in the next days to weeks, the decisions will be posting.

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Gumbymom: My son omitted his middle school classes when completing his application. In lurking on this site, it would appear that this error was pretty common in 2017 and 2018. It would also appear that in 2017 SLO took a hard line position and did not include middle school classes (when calculating rigor) if they were not listed on the application. It would also appear that in 2018, due to the sheer volume of kids who made this mistake, that SLO may have decided to grant leniency and include middle school classes even if not listed. Do you know what SLO’s position is for 2019? Thanks in advance!

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@GoDogsGo: I do not know what stance SLO will take regarding the omission of middle school grades this year. Last year, the Cal State apply application was newly formatted so I think that is why there was leniency. This year the instructions were pretty clear for entering the Middle school courses.

From the Cal state apply instructions:
** If you completed courses in 7th or 8th grade to fulfill A-G subject requirements, please select the appropriate grade level, along with your first high school attended in 9th grade and your 9th grade academic year.**

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Well, looks like we’re screwed! Thanks for the info, though.

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Same here. My son did not enter middle school math score either. He called the admission office recently if he could do anything about it and was told that nothing can be done. Would have been a great MCA score, but as he says “no point crying about it” :slight_smile:

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My son has 4.71(W) and 3.98(UW) GPA, 34 (ACT) 1500 SAT. But MCA will be like 4500+ (because he forgot middle school math). Applying CS. Does it even matter about his GPA, test scores, and 12 APs with all 5 but one, since the MCA is low?

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My daughter made the same mistake. downloaded the application and carefully filled out all the information. Who looks at the website? Her MCA would have been 4850. She took Algebra 1, Geometry and Spanish 1 in Middle School. You think if this mistake continues year after year they would make it a point to fix it! How hard would it be to add a simple box for related middle school classes.

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I could have helped them adding that box LOL!

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what’s the penalty for not including middle school classes

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That’s what I am trying to find out too. If they simply come from the top MCA score (5000?) then it will stop at a certain point (say 4750) before the seats are exhausted. Anyways I commend all the kids who entered the middle school scores. Good job!

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Agree that CSU app was not clear!

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This confusion about Middle school grades is not new as it relates to Cal Poly SLO. 5 years ago when my first daughter applied, this was a topic of discussion. Don’t assume you wont get in because you left of the Jr High School information. My middle daughter didn’t have any Jr. High grades to enter and she was still admitted. Mind you, she wasn’t applying to Engineering, Biology etc…

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Just checked portal. For in state, no decision yet. I have no fingernails left!

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My D’s high school counselor reviewed her 2017 app to SLO to make sure all her courses including applicable middle school entries were listed correctly. She cautioned back then that 1 in 5 was filled out incorrectly. As a result many high stats kids were denied admission. Hopefully last year’s leniency approach continues.

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The middle school course entries have been an issue for many years, but if the application instructions are read throughly, the information to list them on the application is there. Although the application changed last year, the instructions are still there and have been for at least 7 years when my oldest son applied. I always recommend to have 2-3 pairs of eyes looking over all college applications to make sure nothing is overlooked. Due diligence is important especially when you constantly see year after year of applicants panicking over mistakes they made. No one is perfect but asking someone to review your application is a simple request.

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If you took 4 years of math and 4 years of language in highschool, does it matter if you forgot to enter your middle school grades? I guess we missed that portion as well

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@farcreek Here are the MCA calculation guidelines from @eyemgh so you can do the math. You might be OK as you lost 1 year of math but may have gained most/all back with science or English to get the max 750 rigor points. You’re good on foreign language.

10-12-2014 at 10:38 pm
The maximum GPA they will use is 4.2, even though you can have a higher calculated CP GPA. A 4.2 is worth 2250 MCA points. Thus, multiply your CP GPA by 535.7 and you’ll get your MCA points for GPA.

The next biggest thing is test scores. The odd thing, likely because they wanted it to total a nice round number, is that the max score is 1650, even though the max SAT score is 1600. Multiply the total of your best SAT CR and your best SAT math by 1.03125 to get your MCA test points. If you took the ACT, they convert and vice versa.

The third largest section is the class rigor score, worth 750 points. In this section you get zero points for meeting the minimum admission requirements and adders for more than the minimum. The bonuses in order of power are (min semesters/max total semesters/bonus per extra semester/total possible bonus): math 6/10/125/500 (note: stats and finite do not count), lab science 4/8/50/200, English 8/10/50/100, foreign language 4/8/25/100, visual performance 2/4/25/50, no bonus points for social sciences or electives. As with GPA, you can actually score higher than the maximum, but 750 is the most they will count.

Finally, work and ECs, worth 350 points. Work (hours per week/bonus): 0/0, 1-5/20, 6-10/40, 11-15/60, 16-20/80, 21+/100, add 50 points if work is major related. ECs (hours per week/bonus): 0/0, 1-5/30, 6-10/60, 11-15/90, 16-20/120, 21+/150, add 60 points for leadership role.

There you go. Good luck.