I am a second year at SDSU studying Psychology. After this semester, I will have all of my major prep finished and lower division GE’s completed. I am planning on either going to Cuesta this fall, apply to attend Cal Poly my junior and senior year (I would graduate a year late), OR stay at SDSU and apply to attend Cal Poly for only my senior year.
My questions:
How difficult is it to get into the Psychology or Child Development Programs at Cal Poly? GPA? Is one easier to get into than the other?
Will I get higher priority if I apply at a Junior College than at a CSU?
Is it more important to have ALL the selection criteria (required and desired) completed before I apply?
SLO projection targets puts Psychology as a transfer at around a 4% acceptance rate while Child Development around a 9% acceptance rate so both pretty competitive.
For the best chances, you should have all required and desired courses completed by Spring 2018 along with a competitive GPA.
https://admissions.calpoly.edu/psy.html
https://admissions.calpoly.edu/cda.html
If you have completed all major Prep and GE’s, there is no reason to remain at SDSU if you plan to transfer however, what is your backup plan if not accepted to SLO? Also I would be careful in taking any upper division courses at SDSU, since SLO may not accept them for credit towards your degree.
I would consider going to Cuesta and then applying for transfer for better chances: http://www.cuesta.edu/student/servs_classes/transfer/CalPolySLO.html