What is your weighted SLO GPA? I don’t understand the purpose of stating a GPA that has no applicability to the school you are applying. You can only count 8 semesters of weighted classes from freshman year through junior year. A 3.85 unweighted (not sure if your freshman through junior year is better than your sophomore through junior year) is not going to get you to the max 4.2 GPA so you will lose MCA points on GPA. For example, taking APUSH (before your senior year) and getting a B will hurt you (vs taking the regular class and getting an A) if you already exceed the 8 semester limit of weighted classes. The school admission criteria does not favor taking as many weighted and AP classes as possible with the understanding that a B in those classes is the same as getting an A in an unweighted class.
As others have noted, have you maxed out your rigor component (750 points)? As others have noted, have you maxed out your extra curricular and work experience?
If you don’t understand the application process, you are at a disadvantage. Cal Poly SLO admissions does not involve a human component (at least before the waitlist process begins) and therefore will not be available to correct your application mistakes.
slo gpa was 4.2, 14 weighted classes, pretty good ecs. As a student, I (was) too busy to spend lots of time researching all of the application tricks and as far as my parents are concerned, that’s none of their business. Pretty sure I woulda just got rejected if I filled it out wrong lol.
@Jahseh2020 If your unweighted GPA is 3.85 (either freshman or sophomore through junior year), math says that you will not be able to get to a weighted GPA of 4.2 (with max 8 semesters of weighted classes).
https://www.calpoly.edu/admissions/first-year-student/selection-criteria
“For the purposes of your application, we’ll consider your 9th-11th grade weighted GPA. That number is calculated from college-prep course work as designated on your application. Weight is granted for courses designated as “honors,” “college-level,” “advanced placement” or “international baccalaureate” for up to eight semesters.”
I’m having a hard time reconciling that Cal Poly SLO was your top choice and yet you didn’t research how to effectively fill out your application.
Bethiew,
It is also important that others reading this topic (especially next years applicants) have accurate information. At this point it is clear that the other poster has not provided an accurate GPA. So for the record, let’s look at a what the Cal Poly SLO GPA would be if:
9th grade GPA for 10* units is 4.0
10th through 11th grade GPA for 20 units is 3.85** (17 A’s and 3 B’s)
Maximum of 8 weighted GPA points
Total GPA units = 104.0 + 20*x3.85 + 8 = 125
Total 9th through 11th grade units = 30
Cal Poly GPA = 125/30 = 4.167
10 units = 5 classes per semester
*17 semesters of A and 3 semesters of B
I completely agree that keeping the information on this thread accurate is essential for the class of 2024 and onwards, but there are ways to go about it in a more positive manner. This is an extremely stressful time, which may or may not make a difference here, and @Jahseh2020 and many other students are able to know if they filled out the application correctly and also refer to their own transcripts to see their official GPA, which they have provided. They are also able to look back on their CSU application to double check. Even if the student was incorrect in stating their exact GPA, one person’s GPA does not alter or confuse anyone as there are many other stats prospective students can look at.
Respectfully, I would like to say the approach to this specific part of the conversation seems harsh rather than constructive whether it be on one side or another. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me.
@honeybeedoors@Jahseh2020: This is not a debating forum so although I am not a moderator, I am a Forum Champion so please keep the posts civil. I find it interesting on how the SLO website how currently states the SLO GPA calculation since I have been posting on CC for the last 7 years and followed SLO admissions closely over that time.
GPA
For the purposes of your application, we’ll consider your 9th-11th grade weighted GPA. That number is calculated from college-prep course work as designated on your application. Weight is granted for courses designated as “honors,” “college-level,” “advanced placement” or “international baccalaureate” for up to eight semesters.
Up until this year’s website update, the SLO GPA was stated to have been calculated using 9-11th a-g course grades and up to 8 semesters of weighted classes taken 10-11th grades only. It would be nice for clarification for next year’s incoming Freshman so they will have an idea of their true SLO GPA. Also the 4.2 cap may not exist since if you look at the Freshman profile for the overall campus , the 25th - 75th percentile is above 4.2 including several Colleges such as Engineering, Science and Mathematics etc…
Overall GPA: 3.96 – 4.25
All anyone can say is the SLO is a competitive campus for many majors, especially Engineering majors where the acceptance rate can be below 10%. SLO overall is an impacted campus, so that means there a far more qualified applicants than spots available.
@Gumbymom Thanks for your input. I think its weird that a school as competitive as slo would not want you to take lots of hard classes so I don’t think the mca thing is 100% accurate. I wouldn’t be too bothered with a rejection since I already committed to uci for the same major.
@Jahseh2020: College admissions is not always cut and dry so difficult to determine why some applicants are accepted over others. I also think SLO has made some medications to the MCA score calculation and just is not so transparent about it.
All the Cal states and even the UC’s will cap the weighted classes in their GPA calculation (UC’s however, also consider fully weighted GPA).
Hello, my daughter has been the waitlist for Cal Poly, yesterday San Francisco State sent her an email saying they received her application and welcoming her as a new student. She never applied to SF. Did Cal Poly automatically redirect her when she hit the button to stay on the waitlist? Her CP portal says she is still on the waitlist. Have anyone else received this? Does this mean she’s got denied even though her portal still says waitlist? Thanks for any info!
thanks for asking!