I’m an out-of-state applicant from Mass. My weighted GPA is a 3.33 but I plan on getting it up to a 3.4 by the end of senior year. I’m not sure what my CSU GPA is though, but I’ve taken all the a-g courses and am mainly a B average student. I’ve taken several honors courses and one AP course. I got a 1190 on my SATS which I understand is above the SDSU average (1090), and I am taking them one last time and hoping to get above a 1200. I want to major in English which is an unpopular and hopefully uncompetitive major so hopefully that will help as well. I wrote a kickass college essay, have really good letters of recs, and extra curriculars but SDSU only looks at the numbers so those won’t help. Their 34% acceptance rate, emphasis on course rigor, and GPA average of a 3.69 worries me. Can I get in?
SDSU is an impacted campus meaning all majors have more qualified applicants than spots.
SDSU uses only 10-11th grades for their CSU GPA calculation. Senior year grades are not considered but you need to maintain your grades and GPA Senior year to keep your provisional admission.
Here is the UC/CSU GPA calculation and SDSU uses the capped weighted UC GPA.
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Since you are OOS only AP/IB or DE courses count for the extra honors points in the calculation. Once you have your CSU/UC GPA then calculate your Eligibility index.
(CSU GPA x800) + (SAT Math + CR).
Aim for a 4000 EI for the best chances as an OOS applicant.
Can you afford $40K/year without financial as an OOS applicant?
So the honors courses I have taken won’t impact my GPA on the CSU scale? From what your saying, I have not taken my AP course yet (am taking it senior year) so that won’t count either?
Also, I’ve read CSUs don’t offer any financial aid for OOS applicants. Is this true? Our only family income is from my mom who is a waitress so we are a very low-income family. Is there any other way to get financial help based on my family’s need?
Out of state Honors courses do not count for the extra points and since Senior year grades are not used in the calculation, then your GPA is currently your unweighted GPA.
CSU’s do not give financial aid to OOS applicants since Cal States are funded by California taxpayers and are public schools. You would be expected to be full pay at $36-40K/year to attend.
Other than any Federal aid (Pell Grants/Stafford Loans) you are eligible for, you would get no financial aid from SDSU. I would run the Net Price Calculator if you want to know for sure.
http://studentaffairs.sdsu.edu/ofas2/NPCC/npcalc.htm
These are the stats for last year’s Freshman class so I am not sure where you got the stats you posted;
3.85 high school GPA
27 ACT (not including writing)
1174 SAT reasoning (critical reading and math)
Most school scholarships come from the universities themselves. The State provides residents with grants (via Cal Grants, B&G, etc.) and loans. California has very limited funding. They can barely meet the needs of the instate students.
The California public universities were created to provide an affordable education for the children of residents who pay huge amounts in California state taxes. FWIW: The State has huge numbers of low-income students, much like yourself, who need funding to be able to attend. It is a very expensive place to live. Priority funding and admission must go to resident taxpayers of California. I know that is really hard to hear.
Political pressure has been exerted in recent years to increase the number of resident students accepted to the California public schools. Taxpayers want their children to be able to attend their state schools.
California has some phenomenal universities and students funded by its residents. Wanting to come to California means you have to pay for that education.
You can apply to your instate schools for financial help. Massachusetts has some phenomenal schools that your parents fund with their taxes. You would probably qualify for funding from your state; make sure to ask.
probably not… your stats just aren’t competitive for SDSU.