@eyemgh Do you or anyone else have an idea of what MCA score will get you accepted for instate Early decision Mechanical engineering?
Thanks
Major: Biomedical Engineering
CSU GPA: 4.25
ACT: 33 composite, 35 math, 35 english
Lab science: 8 semesters (bio, chem, AP phys 1 and 2, AP phys C)
math: 8 semesters
2 years of Project Lead the Way
Applying regular decision OOS
No one can answer that question because the pool varies from year to year and we never know the actual cut offs in any case. It’s really educated guesses. So, take this with a grain of salt. I’m guessing you’d need 4600+ to be in the hunt and would have a very good shot at 4800. Again, that’s a complete guess based on what people posted in the past. Our understanding of the MCA on CC is fairly recent so we don’t have a lot to hang our hats on.
I found myself wishing that Cal Poly had more info on their app—more like the Common App. My son looks amazing on the Common App. Cal Poly’s app is so spare. Crossing fingers. He applied ED.
Major: Computer Science
SAT: 800 Math, 620 Critical Reading
Cal Poly GPA: Either a 4.2 or a 4.3. My unweighted was a 3.83 / 4.0.
Math Classes: 10 (Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Pre-Calc, and AP Calc)
Lab Sciences: 6 (Biology, Chemistry, AP Physics)
English Classes: 8 (English 1 & 2, AP Lang, AP Lit)
Foreign Language: 6 (Latin 1 - 3)
Visual Performance Arts: 3 (I think - not completely sure what I put on my application as some of these classes were ambigious as to whether they could be counted)
EC hours per week: 6 - 11
Leadership: No
Work hours per week: 11 - 15
Related to major: No
California Vet: No
Partner School: No
Dependent of CP Faculty/Staff: No
high School in Cal Poly Service Area: No
1 parent did not finish HS: No
both parents did not finish HS: No
Not sure if this is taken into any consideration, but I’m out of state - a white male living in Massachusetts!
Could someone explain how to calculate this “MCA” score and how it’s relevant to application? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks 
@trevbook Check out the thread in this forum, started by @eyemgh , titled “Confused about MCA score”, or something similar. It gives all the details. Basically, all of your stats are boiled down to several numbers, which are then incorporated into the MCA score. The thread gives you the details on how to calculate your score. This score appears to be the sole means of ranking applicants. For CS, scores of 4700+ are typically required for admission.
Does anyone know if in-state and out-of-state students are evaluated together or separately / are the MCA scores required for in-state and out-of-state students the same or different?
@usamom In reviewing the admissions threads here on CC, it appears that they are evaluated separately, and based on anecdotal evidence, OOS seems slightly easier than IS. Take this with a large grain of salt however. The sample size of data we have here on CC is very small.
@usamom, IS and OOS are separate pools. As @ocgolfdad, said, word here is that OOS is slightly easier. On the surface, it makes intuitive sense. IS is a SCREAMIN’ deal, especially considering its reputation. I only have one data point, my son. We’re OOS. He’s an ME and his MCA was above 4700.
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Management
24 Math 17 English for ACT
3.92
10 semesters of Math (Alg 1, Geometry, Statistics, College level Alg 2, College Algebra)
8 semesters of Lab Science (Biology, Chemistry, AP Environmental, Anatomy&Physiology)
10 semesters of English (Pre-AP English 9, Pre-AP English 10, AP Lang, Newspaper, AP Lit)
6 semesters of foreign Language (Spanish 1, 2, and 3)
4 semesters of VPA (College level Art Appreciation, College level Film Appreciation)
EC: 6-11
Leadership: Yes
Work: 6-11
Work was Major Related: Yes
CSU GPA: 3.94
SAT : 1260 (Math 610 + CR 650)
Major: Business Management
11-15 extracurricular with leadership. 11-15 Work experience not related to major
In state
10 AP’s including senior year with highest level of math reached being BC Calculus and taking AP Stats senior year
Chance me?!
MCA is 4370.
Please Chance me!
Does anybody know if a MCA score of 4300 would be good enough for Business Administration?
@NJDevilsFan2012 Hard to say. It sounds pretty competitive for a non-engineering/architecture major, but I just don’t know. I would recommend going through last year’s ED and RD threads. That’s what I did for engineering. You can make a little Excel spreadsheet with the MCA factors and get a rough idea of each posters MCA (assuming their posted stats are correct) and get a range of MCA scores that got in or got rejected. Good Luck.
A 4370 MCA would have a good chance especially when applying ED for business administration based on my student’s experience-- now a senior. Best to have a back up plan as it gets more competitive every year.
@ocgolfdad is there any way you could share your spreadsheet? I tried creating one from last year on paper, but lost the paper with all my notes and calculations on it. Thanks.
I have a question about my A-G courses that I put on my early application. In my school I’m taking AP Macro to fulfill my G requirement, but it’s only 1 semester long. The other semester is filled in by AP US Gov and Politics. I put AP US Gov and Politics in the History/Social Sciences part of the Coursework and AP Macro in the “College Prep G Course”. On my application it will show that I have only taken 1 semester of “G” courses, but in reality I’ve taken 2 because of AP Gov and Politics. Is this going to be a problem if I need 2 semesters of “G” courses in the “G” section? If so what do you guys recommend I do? Please Help!
Intended Major: Architecture
CSU G.P.A: 4.10
SAT(math+cr): 1270
Semesters of Math: 10
Semesters of Hist: 5
Semesters of Eng: 8
Semesters of Sci: 8
EC: 21+
Leadership: Yes
Work: 6-10 (Not Major Related)
Instate
@falco88: G courses can be any of your A-F courses beyond the minimum requirements. For example, since you have 4 years of Science, one of your science classes can be used for the G category. Did you take AP Psych? that would fit under G. Freshman Physical science class could go under G.
Are you a in-state applicant? If so you can look up your HS a-g courses and under which categories these courses are categorized. Here is the link: https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist#/list/search/all
I haven’t taken any other “G” courses listed like AP Psych, but I have 9 semesters more than the minimum requirement in all A-F courses combined. So I should be OK right? (Thanks for the fast reply!)