Nothing that has happened because of Covid is fair. But the reality is that these tests were being debated even before Covid. I think a bigger issue is how the states and districts are not on the same page and handling things differently, hence putting some kids at a disadvantage. In CA, most kids could not even get a test date before apps were due. Another issue is some schools switching to pass/fail. My kid did not do great the first semester of Junior year. She knew she needed to do better the second, which she did. Only to find out she was getting a pass/fail. It has been an âsâ show for everyone.
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Aside from what UC decides, it will ultimately be up to the Court of Appeals as they previously upheld a lower court enjoining the UC system from using SAT/ACT scores. Case is still pending apparently:
In past years it was 10 days to two weeks for rejections after the waitlist. Which is just cruel.
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Gosh I hope I get into UC Davis since I donât have to feel bad about my likely rejection from SLO. The way they handled releasing decisions makes me not want to go there as much too.
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Well Iâm shooting for UCLA or Berkeley, but as we discussed ad nauseum here, if SLO shot me down Cal and UCLA are super reach. Davis would be less of a reach, closer to target.
Couldnât agree more. If you knew your tests scores are not going to be counted why wouldnât you use that time for other activities. I also agree that this year is going to be a roller coaster due to such a diverse set of requirements across universities. However, thatâs also one reason to spread out your applications a bit this year because yes there is a level of uncertainty. I fully understand why you would feel that youâre not given a fair shot since you put so much effort into that. There is just no resolution to this debate. Kids with 1500+ score (just for context of competitive schools/majors, could be any number) will feel they did not get the opportunity to have that considered for admissions, kids with < 1500 score would feel now they have an opportunity. I donât mind the argument at all. I was just illustrating that we need to be ok with disagreements as long as they are opinions for your own specific situation.
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I think there is a fairness issue involved. If some students (minority?) have test results and otherâs donât then how do you fairly analyze each applicant? You canât. I think the schools needed to throw out the scores, although I understand how someone who did well feels slighted. I know you said that the value of standardized tests is a different issue, but I donât think it is. The UC system is not going to be using standardized tests because of their many problems. So, why use them now when many students couldnât get to the test centers due to the pandemic, and when they lead to further discrimination. We donât need to be institutionalizing negatives, especially in this environment. Thatâs my take. Good luck to you though-it is a tough, frustrating year for college admissions.
https://imgur.com/a/5io6A9v
This amount of extra A-G classes should have gotten me competitive, shouldnât it? Or is my GPA what is bringing me down?
I feel exactly the same. Our kids were playing to a particular end game. They knew the rules. And then those rules were changed at the beginning of the 4th quarter with no time to make any changes. If we knew that my Dâs SAT score would count for nothing, would she have spent more time beefing up her GPA instead of studying to sit for the SAT? You bet! But it is what it is at this point.
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well, my son has 13APs all 5s, 4.4 GPA, didnât get in SLO yet, not even WL! not sure what is decision criterion this time
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Not sure I agree though the point is basically moot. A holistic review of any applicant should include all information available. Some kids for example might have an internship others might not. It does not mean we should throw out internships since not all students had access to one. Kids go to different schools, have different circumstances, different opportunities and challenges. Thatâs all relevant. Tests could have been considered as part of holistic review. In the case of CSU they simply chose not to.
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A few comments. 1. We drove my daughter to AZ because CA schools werenât doing testing. Her score was great but wasnât counted for in state apps. I believe that those with awesome test scores will also have awesome GPAs and HS rigor. I donât believe being test blind is going to cause much damage. 2. I do not believe that SLO used any sort of lottery system. The recommended a-g is very unique to SLO. I believe they had enough data to calculate acceptances for each major. For those that received acceptances⊠a big congrats. You earned it. 3. There are many great schools in CA. If you want to stay in-state, there is a school for you. It might not be UCLA, Cal, USC, or SLO but there are oodles more to choose from. Itâs not âbestâ school, itâs âbestâ fit. Good luck to all as we continue to wait and find our perfect place for 2021!
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What major did he apply for?
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Computer Science, all his coursework is very relevant to CS.
@Sandy2015 @simonec @thomasc12:
This article is from last year: https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/cal-poly-turns-away-12k-plus-applicants-with-gpas-of-4-0-of-higher
I understand your frustration but you are all saying the same things that I have heard about the UCâs and CSUâs for the last 7 years+. Also the admission pattern for SLO has not changed in all these years either, so Acceptances followed by Waitlist followed by Rejections, so no surprises there and I try to be encouraging vs. discouraging but in the back of my mind, history speaks for itself.
Impaction at SLO and many other schools means there are more qualified applicants than spots available so they are always going to be many students that have excellent resumes but not every school can take every student.
Go ahead and vent, you have the right but hopefully you have a well balanced thought out college list so you will have options. In the end, you can only SIR to 1 school.
Best of luck to all and you we will all thrive be it SLO or another school.
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Wow, that has to be frustrating. CS is one of the most competitive majors anywhere; if you look at CP SLOâs 2020 projections, they estimated 5000 applications for 170 FTF slots - so they may have accepted 500 give or take to fill those 170 spots. (someone correct me if my math is wrong)
The hours dedicated to ECs, work experience/if itâs related to major, and the other bonuses CP SLO gives (all part of the app) would shed light on whether he had other points to edge out competition.
My son is EE and has a similar academic profile to yours, and I speculate that his major-related work experience may have been the thing that tipped the scales, assuming many other kids had similar grades and course rigor. Without that, Iâm not sure the outcome wouldâve been the same. Of course, EE is far less competitive (991 projected applicants for 181 FTF slots) compared to CS. But who knows, really?
I hope your son finds the perfect school. Heâs worked really hard and will go somewhere he can flourish! 
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Hey, just wanted to say thanks for all your continued help here. Youâre completely right and itâs just frustrating to not know your decisions as soon as possible. All we can do is hope for more decisions over the next few weeks.
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C/O 2022 here. Donât listen to people saying there are no more acceptances after the first wave. I was accepted into business on March 13th of 2018, which was a later date then the first wave.
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Accepted off the waitlist or just accepted?
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Regularly accepted