No one knows if SLO is using the same rigor point system that was originally posted in 2013.
PLTW classes may be electives but they can be classified as Science (D Category) which would get rigor points.
I know that there is a computer algorithm involved in the admission process but also the CSU application is reviewed by individuals in admissions.
Thanks! It’ll stay interesting for sure…
Hi Gumbymom. I had a question about Cal Poly SLO. My daughter has a 4.04 ish GPA due to the capped Cal State weighted GPA. For admissions to engineering, is materials engineering as competitive as aerospace or electrical? She took AP Chem as a sophomore and unfortunately got a B in both semesters. Do they consider AP Scores in admission do you think? Also, is admission just a computer algorithm or does a human actually look at each application? TIA.
Is her 4.04 GPA the CSU GPA calculated on the application or the SLO GPA with the addition of 9th a-g grades? SLO does not give admit rates or specific yield rates by major however based on the Target projections, Materials Engineering is less competitive than Aerospace and Electrical Engineering. The missing piece is no one knows how competitive the applicant pool by major and admitted GPA range by major.
AP scores are not considered for admission purposes bur AP classes and grades are considered for HS course rigor.
This was posted by @sawadeeka from an admission QA a few months ago.
AP exam scores can be used in the place of taking certain classes once you are admitted, but they do not assist in the admissions process.”
Thank you! We calculated her GPA including freshman year. She has had 5 B’s (semester). I am sorry if this was answered previously, but how do they assess course rigor? It really seems like it is an algorithm and that is why no essays.
Rigor in the past was assessed based on the semesters of the a-g courses taken and given rigor points up to a maximum. The more semesters taken, the higher the points. Most of the rigor points were for Math and Science courses but also English, Foreign language and VPA. No rigor points were given for Social Science and Electives.
Rigor in the GPA calculation is accounted for with 8 semesters of UC approved Honors/AP/IB and DE/CC transferable classes.
Since 2013, the MCA (multicriteria admission) factors have not been publicly disclosed so much of the information posted is now speculation but they do have the algorithm (again not disclosed).
@Gumbymom is there a list of what qualifies as a “Lab Science”? Like does non-honors freshman science (I think it’s like a physical science class?) count as “Lab Science”? Does AP Environmental Science fall into that category? Technically it has before-school Labs that my D23 has to attend, but the topic doesn’t feel very “Lab science-y” relative to AP Chem and AP Bio. Just curious.
Presumably SLO weighted/capped GPAs are sometimes a little lower than UC capped/weighted GPA, assuming that the course denominator is bigger but the honors points are still capped. Plus fewer kids have AP/H classes in 9th grade.
Here is the CSU Lab Science (D) definition: Laboratory Science (2 years of college preparatory science required with laboratory [1 biological and 1 physical]. Integrated science and interdisciplinary courses can meet this requirement.). A Lab Science needs a Laboratory component which is commonly found in the Biology/Chemistry/Physics. If the Freshman Physical Science course had a laboratory component, then it would qualify. I know my son’s Physical Science class Freshman year was classified in the Science (D) category with Lab. It will vary by HS, but most Science courses do have labs.
Here is what Cal Poly posts as selection criteria on this page https://www.calpoly.edu/admissions/first-year-student/selection-criteria/high-school-course-requirements
Lab Science (Area D)
Two years of laboratory science are required, including one year of physical science and one year of biological science. Four years are recommended. Classes must provide fundamental knowledge in two of the following: biology, chemistry, or physics. A yearlong interdisciplinary, or integrated, or earth and space science course can meet one year of this requirement.
According to the selection criteria, and looking at category D on the a-g list, courses listed as biology, chemistry, physics, interdisciplinary, integrated, or earth and space science should count as “Lab Science.” My question would be whether Cal Poly’s “Lab Science” also includes other D courses, such as computer science. The a-g list treats courses in engineering, computer science, and applied science differently: University of California A-G Course List
Also, the a-g list has a notation for “Labs” (see example screenshot for AP CSP), but it is not clear from the posted selection criteria whether this is either necessary or sufficient for Cal Poly to count it as a Lab Science course.
Is it too late at this point to amend the application for a change of majors? D now would like to major in math but initially had applied as engineering major.
The deadline to change intended major was January 15. I do not know if they consider late requests. https://www.calpoly.edu/admissions/first-year-student/how-to-apply/making-changes-to-your-application
Here is information about the change of major process for continuing students and incoming freshmen: https://advising.calpoly.edu/change-major
Interesting—I’m guessing our school’s 9th grade science qualifies (they definitely did labs!) but I’m still unclear if APES would count.
I don’t see why APES would not count. It is listed as interdisciplinary science which is specifically included in the Cal Poly Lab Science criteria, and is marked as having labs (at least at our HS). This screenshot is from Berkeley High School’s course listing on the a-g list:
Interesting to see that the Algebra 1 taken in 8th grade counts as one of the 5 recommended years of math. That’s good! I never would have thought to look closely enough to see the 5 suggested years of English. Oops! I’ll have to remember that for kid #3, many years from now.
Ok good to see! 
APES was also considered a lab science course at our HS.
APES and Honors (UC approved honors) Anatomy and Physiology at our CA school is considered a lab science.
Hello! Current 2nd year Honors student at Cal Poly and I just wanted to provide some APES input. I got a 5 on the APES exam and it did NOT count as a lab, unfortunately. It was counted as BIO 113, which is not a course offered by Cal Poly. Because Bio 111 (General Biology) counts as a lab I assumed that BIO 113 would because it is technically a higher level course. However, after a lot of back and forth with emails with the counseling department they would not budge and didn’t count it as a lab. This may have changed since my application cycle but definitely don’t get your hopes up! Honestly, I was disappointed but I ended up taking a botany class to fulfill the requirement and I’m SO glad I did. Don’t take it as a disadvantage if it doesn’t end up counting, it still gets rid of another division B requirement and a lot of elective credits. Best of luck!
Thanks for the info! It’s very useful to know that you were not able to use the APES exam as credit for a college lab course. However I think this isn’t the question that was asked. I believe @GoldRush2’s question was about whether the APES class would have counted as a year of “Lab Science” for fulfilling Cal Poly admission requirements, which I think it does?
