I don’t think it is subjective. There isn’t any material (e.g., essays) to make such an assessment. From what i’ve heard it’s always been formulaic with a “cut line” based on majors. Computer Science is such a popular major, in many engineering schools it comprises more than the cumulative of all other engineering majors put together.
But what do they do when they have more applicants who meet the highest metric than spots which seems to be the case?
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So historically applicants published their MCA - and there was a spread, or put another way it wasn’t the capped MCA for computer science. So there is differentiation under the MCA rubric. I know it’s hard to imagine. Also while most people publish their GPA’s many think of it as 10-11th grades, remember they go back further and many people forget that 8/9th grades can count.
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I am aware. But it still seems like some applicants who would have been close to the max using the MCA rubric were waitlisted this year.
@FlyYellow: Middle school courses count, not the actual class grades for Math and Foreign Language but yes Freshman HS 9th grades are important since they are the only CSU that uses 9th grades in the GPA calculation.
@jntwinmama: MCA is still referred to in the application review literature but there is no indication that the MCA’s that have been reported in the past few years are even valid. 2013 was last time the MCA calculation information was ever posted and 8 years later so many students are gauging their admission chances on something that may not exist?
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I know. I was just responding to @flyYellow about the MCA but I would guess if they no longer use it, they still use a similar metric.
When is the earliest people may start getting accepted off the waitlist?
Generally SLO likes to wait until May 1st because lots of students have to choose between SLO and the UCs. I’ve seen some schools like CSULB wait until August to announce decisions. Although this year with record applicants across competitive schools, it might be difficult to gauge when and how many students SLO will pull off the waitlist given the low admission rate of their competitor schools (I.e. UCSB, UCSD).
@Goolia66 Great perspective and post. Over the years we see the same complaints and questions and that’s just how CP does their admissions. In the end what college we go to does not determine the rest of your life. In the end, its just being patient as the decision will eventually come out.
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Has anyone heard of an acceptance off of the waitlist this go around?
SLO still has not sent out rejections, I seriously doubt they will go the waitlist yet.
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Some parents from SLO Facebook groups said that their students was taken off from waitlist after 3 weeks, and it turned out it was the individual departments were waitlisting them. So don’t lose hope!
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are parents allowed to join that group if their kids are still on a waitlist? if so do you know what the group is called?
I believe only parents of admitted students are allowed. They ask your kid’s name and major.
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I hate to be this parent but I really wish that they would just send out rejections. All of these kids who are waiting for an answer to move on. Today is UCSB- so good luck to all who are waiting on this. This is a shame. I attended Cal Poly and this just makes me feel ugh
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I totally agree with you…I wish they send out whatever decision it is soon. Not nice to have kids keep waiting. We are still waiting on SLO and SDSU.
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I completely agree at the same time the waitlist decisions this year are like some kind of awful purgatory. My S21 is already on three waitlists. These are some of his top choices so essentially a waitlist decision means no decision till as late as August. It’s essentially like these schools are saying…”we don’t know yet, we will get back to you in a few months”.
I don’t know that UCSB is a top choice for my son but something tells me if they straight accepted him he’d commit immediately.
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The waitlist situation sort of feels worse than a yes or no. My daughter is also on multiple waitlists to her top choices and they were not considered reach at application time. Obviously we knew that nothing was a guarantee but we are riddled with uncertainty after over a year of uncertainty because of the pandemic. Really looking forward to committing and being able to breathe easier.
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Completely agree. My son is going into Aero and we knew SLO was always a stretch, but he’s holding out hope. He got into his 2nd choice school for Aero, WPI in MA, but doesn’t want to commit until he knows for sure about SLO. I get it. I loved SLO too, but it’s torture. I just don’t see the reason not to tell those who are rejected up front so they can move on.
I’m hoping some news comes from UCs this week other than SB today.
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Are schools just using the waitlist to see who is left after May 1? My daughter (Bay Area) is also on three waitlists, one of which was supposed to be a safety, and two of her top choices (including CPSLO). She goes to a highly ranked public school and so many of her friends are also getting waitlisted at schools that were intended as safeties/targets. This is so nerve-racking.
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