<p>Help! My DS (11th grade) is a gifted slacker, and I was wondering if his low High School grades will keep him out of Cal Poly SLO. He has a 2.7 GPA with CSU weighted GPA of 3.1. If CPSLO counts freshman year, it will be a little lower. </p>
<p>On the positive side, he should make Commended status for his PSAT score of 204 (97th percentile) and his SAT scores are higher than needed for CPSLO.</p>
<p>CR 690
M 740
W 640
(CR + M) = 1430</p>
<p>What are his chances for Computer Science? Any recommendations?</p>
<p>Having good SAT scores can improve a low GPA.. but 3.1 is pretty low. I have a friend who got in with a 3.4 GPA and 1350 SAT for nutrition. However, my friend who got in for computer engineering last year had a 3.8 GPA with 1000-1100 SAT.</p>
<p>Although, 1430 is reallyyy good, so i think it’s possible. I’d suggest taking courses at the local junior college. On the application, Cal Poly just askes for your sophomore and junior grades with up to 8 Honors/AP points. After you submit your application, Cal Poly goes back and adds in freshman year grades and adds any college courses completed to get their “Cal Poly GPA.” A class at a community college is considered like a whole year of an honors high school courses. So completing a few classes at a community college will definitely boost that GPA. Plus, he’s still got this semester so if he can show that he just screwed up in the beginning, but is finally on the right track, I think he’ll be ok. Personally, I don’t think GPA proves anything other than whether or not a student is willing to put time into their work. It really doesn’t show how smart they are. Your son is obviously smart, it shows in his SAT scores, but he needs to prove that he’s going to actually do his work in college and not just slack off. </p>
<p>Hope this helps and best of luck to your son next year :)</p>
<p>Thanks, SoccerChick. He won’t have time this spring semester to take any junior college courses in the evening because he is participating in a spring sport and has church related activities 3 nights a week. Maybe I can convince him to take a JC course over the summer. By fall semester, I assume it will be too late for a college course to affect his GPA since he has to submit the application in Oct or Nov before the semester ends. Right? Hopefully, he will take your advice and actually do his homework this semester to prove he can be a successful student. (His low grades are almost always because of negligence with homework or silly things like not turning in Chapter notes).</p>
<p>Anyone know of someone who got into Cal Poly College of Engineering with stats like my sons?</p>
<p>actually, it won’t be too late to take some in the fall. on my application, i put classes that i was in progress of taking at the junior college and i put classes that i planned to take in the spring. i guess these classes won’t boost the GPA, but it’ll show that he’s getting a head start and making up for the slack of his previous years.</p>
<p>Taking CC classes shows initiative and can also demonstrate interest in the area your son applies to which is important to CPSLO. I would not apply to engineering with that GPA. It is too competitive. Instead I’d opt for something less popular like fruit science. Switching majors is hard but it can be done.</p>
<p>his GPA is too low for engineering, but like collegemom16 said try something easier. plus, it’s not easy to switch as long as you completed the required courses with good grades. i know quite a few engineer students that there that switched in from an easier major. i know a guy that went from soil science to aeronautical engineering. Cal Poly makes it seem really hard to switch majors, but it’s really not that hard. The only one that is a little tricky to switch into is architecture, just because it’s so impacted so it’s hard to get the required courses (so most people end up taking arch courses at Cuesta, while completing their current major courses at Cal Poly.. that’s what i plan on doing if i can’t add in to a class) and you need to make a portfolio. Other than that, it’s not that hard.</p>
<p>soccerchick, i talked to my counselor about that…her son is a biomed engineering major at cpslo.</p>
<p>you can’t change majors into arch like at all, until you gain enough experience in the field that you can make a portfolio usiing arch programs. the best way is like you said, to go to cuesta, then transfer. i am planning on doing that if i can’t get in. most cuesta arch students end up in the program after two years or so.</p>
<p>you actually could do it, but it’s reallyyy hard. i talked to the Inclusive Beginnings (Arch 130 series) director and he said that the 130 series is closed to anyone other than arch students, but you can add into the 120 series. however since there’s so many arch students and limited space, it’s really hard. if, by chance, there’s a spot, you can add the class. he said that i’d be a lot easier if you take the classes at cuesta while completing your other courses at Cal Poly. that’s what i plan on doing if i don’t get a spot in arch 121 and i’m a city and regional planning major.</p>
<p>and i visited cuesta a few months ago, and one of the counselors said that cuesta students are pretty much in for arch because the arch professors at cuesta also teach at cal poly. plus she said that cal poly and cuesta have an agreement together so that arch students at cuesta don’t have to produce a portfolio upon admission. however, i’m not really sure that part is true.. it just seems odd since students who want to switch majors or double majors (that’s what i want) have to make one even though they’re already in cal poly. i don’t know about that.. but i know for sure that the teachers are the same for arch at cuesta and cal poly.</p>
<p>Does Cal Poly let you apply to both a 1st and a 2nd choice of major? I can’t remember. My older son (now a freshman at CPSLO) got into Engineering with 3.3 (or 3.4) GPA and an SAT of 1420, but I think it gets more competive every year. Does anyone know if General Engineering is as competitive as Computer Science and Computer Engineering? I think changing majors within Engineering is not so hard. Maybe my son should apply for General Engr as 1st choice and something agricultural for his 2nd choice (if he gets one.) The average SAT of enrolled freshman in the College of Engineering is 1216 (78th-79th percentile), so we’re hoping his SAT of 1430 (>97th percentile) will be convincing enough (especially if he pulls a 3.8+ this spring semester.)</p>
<p>Cal Poly does give an option of an alternative major (second major). </p>
<p>i’m not sure how competitive general engineering is, but i don’t think computer engineering is that competitive. my friend (senior in '07) who got in did had a 3.8, but had a 1000-1100 SAT. i think if your son pulled out a 3.3 with a 1430, he could get in. especially if he gets good grades in his final semester and takes jc classes. i think having a 1430 is wayyy better than a 3.8.. but i guess that’s just my opinion. </p>
<p>what type of engineering did your older son get into?</p>
<p>Yeah I have heard that too about Cuesta arch professors.</p>
<p>Can you double major in Arch? That is one HUGE workload. Arch and C&RP. That’s cool though, think of all the job opportunities!</p>
<p>And portfolios aren’t that bad. You just take pictures of classwork you have done basically…I did one for college apps. Granted, it was just freehand drawings on a way lesser scale than one that huge with models and everything, but it was really quite easy and sort of cool to see all the work I have done in one collection…</p>
<p>ya, a portfolio shouldn’t be that bad, but that’s just what she told me. i wasn’t too sure about it though. </p>
<p>and it’ll be really hard to double, but i’m going to try. if not double, then i hope to major in arch and minor in crp. and if i don’t end up getting to switch/double into arch.. then i plan to major in crp.. probably in 3 yrs since i already have a lot of units completed.. and then master in arch. i’m pretty sure i’ll end up mastering in arch regardless.. but i don’t know. i really want a barch though so we’ll just have to wait and see i guess.</p>
<p>yeah that’s defnitely an option, mastering in arch. a lot of people do that. especially if you have the background in crp it won’t be as difficult to get into the march program.</p>
<p>i’m really riding on getting in cpslo for arch though haha, like that’s my only option. i am really feeling it though, i think i’m gonna get in! :)</p>
<p>i think i will probably scream and hyperventilate if i get accepted.</p>
<p>same here. that’s what happened when i found out i got in for crp. and i was jumping up and down like crazyy and screaming! i was wayyy excited! </p>