So junior year is almost over (thank God), and soon it will be time to apply to colleges (fun!). My goal is to get into a state school, I have my eyes on Cal Poly (yes I am aware this is very competative but mostly just for engineering which I don’t plan on declaring I’m in), San Jose State, San Francisco State, Sanoma State, San Diego State, Monterey Bay State, but I’ll take whichever one I can get. I don’t know how to calculate my GPA but I know it’s higher then a 3.5 plus I am going to take two 3.0 credit summer courses at my local community college to raise it even further. Where was I going with all of this? Oh yeah! Do state school use weighted or unweighted GPA? Or does it varry? Please specify thanks!
Cal states use a capped weighted GPA. You use the grades from your a-g course requirements taken 10-11th grades only and you get one extra honors point for each semester of a UC approved Honors, AP, IB or DE course taken 10-11th grades. The maximum honors points is 8 semesters or 4 year long classes.
Here is the CSU GPA calculator link: https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/eligibility-index
You can look up your HS’s approved Honors courses for the extra honors points in the calculation here, just type in the Name of HS and any approved Honors course will have a yellow star.
https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist
Cal Poly SLO uses 9-11th grades in their GPA calculation with a cap of 8 semesters of honors points for those UC approved Honors, AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grades only.
If you need help calculating, you can PM me your grades and classes.
Cal Poly SLO is competitive in many other majors besides Engineering so what do you plan to study?
How Cal States admit except SLO:
The Cal states admit by major and eligibility index. They really only consider GPA/Test scores/Geographic location and HS course rigor. Other than Cal Poly SLO, your EC’s are not considered.
Cal states and the majority of the UC’s use the capped weighted GPA.
Then calculate your Eligibility index:
If you took the Redesigned SAT:
(CSU capped weighted GPA X 800) + (SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing (EBRW) + Math Score) = Eligibility Index
Eligibility index for ACT:
(CSU capped weighted GPA X 200) + (ACT Composite x10)= Eligibility Index
You will then be ranked based on EI and major and they accept from the top down until all spots are filled.
You will get priority at your local CSU which you can look up on this link. Local applicants usually require a lower EI to get an acceptance unless the program is highly impacted.
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/onestopkiosk/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf
Impacted majors and campuses: https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/ImpactedProgramsMatrix.pdf
SLO admits by MCA points and here is the link to calculate your MCA points. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/cal-poly-san-luis-obispo/2128874-understanding-the-mca-plus-calculator.html
sounds like you are on the right track - have you taken the SAT or ACT?
Just an FYI: Any college courses taken will be on your permanent college transcript so make sure you get very good grades especially if you plan to apply to Medical/Dental/PA/Pharmacy schools or Graduate schools.
SJSU publishes their EI thresholds by major each year. Here is the link so you can see where you stand before applying;
http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/impactionresultsfreshmen/
I registered for the ACT in June
I know, I’am aware of this.
Gumbymom, do you know of any other CSU’s that publish such a valuable and easily understood EI threshold report? I have found all sorts of breakdowns in my searches of freshman profiles and EI indexes, but this was the easiest to digest posting I’ve seen so far. Thanks for sharing.
CSUN also publishes historical thresholds for eligibility index for frosh and prior college GPA for transfers: https://www.csun.edu/admissions-records/impaction
The non-impacted CSU campuses will admit frosh to non-impacted majors with eligibility index of 2950. https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/degrees-certificates-credentials/Pages/impacted-degrees.aspx can tell you whether a CSU campus is impacted, and which majors (if any) are impacted.
Note: SFSU is not an impacted campus, but several majors are impacted.
Thanks, ucbalumnus. I have grown to truly appreciate universities that make their thresholds as accessible as possible. I like to give my own children and my students solid numbers on which to base their expectations. One person’s safety school is another’s reach.
Interestingly, SDSU gives prior college GPA thresholds by major for transfer applicants, but does not do the same with eligibility index for frosh applicants.
https://admissions.sdsu.edu/transfers/apply/gpa_requirements
It would be better if every CSU published past thresholds by major like SJSU and CSUN do (and CPSLO can publish past MCA thresholds and the MCA formula). Then prospective CSU students can get a much better idea of their chances before applying.
@AMCdad: Several CSU websites do state EI thresholds for local vs. non-local applicants but other than SJSU, none break them out by major. @ucbalumnus mentioned SLO which does give target projections for admission by major but no MCA thresholds by major.
I also like to use the Freshman impaction summary published for all campuses which gives average CSU GPA and test scores. This at least gives you an EI target in which can calculate and assume the more competitive majors will probably have a higher threshold.
@Gumbymom, thanks. I have found some of these resources, but it is nice to add to the list. As a high school English teacher and father of two (19 year old college sophomore and 17 year old high school junior) it’s beneficial to have as much information as possible.