Hello, I’ve been reading a lot of information here about the eligibility index for SDSU. I’ve gathered that 4100 is a good index to target for competitive STEM majors. What I am still confused about are my son’s chances for Aerospace Engineering. I’ve read that 4100 is competitive, or that you should shoot for 4100, or you have a good chance at 4100. What exactly does that mean? How far below 4100 can you go to be accepted or how far above 4100 do you need to be. I know it depends on the applicant pool for the current year so an exact threshold is not available, but I’m just not sure what to make of the 4100 number. Is it a threshold where if you are below it even by 1, you don’t have a chance or is that the average index of accepted applicants where many people are accepted below this average?
My son’s index is 4212 and that will not go up because he is not planning to take the SAT again (he took it 3 times). He is planning to re-take the ACT because his score was lower than the SAT. Eligibility Index with ACT is only 998. That should go up slightly.
The average index for the school as a whole according to the most recent published stats is 4233 which is above my son’s index and above the 4100 estimate to be competitive for engineering. I would think the stats for the engineering kids would be higher than the stats of all majors combined.
Thanks in advance for any input. I’m just trying to figure out what his chances are so that we can decide on what other schools to apply to.
Also, one more question. We are looking into the aerospace engineering program at ASU as well. My son would get merit aid there to offset the out of state costs. Our 1st preference would be San Diego State as we are much closer and my son loves the school. I was just wondering how ASU’s engineering program compares to SDSU’s program. I’ve heard really good things about engineering at ASU but I’m not sure if it is mostly marketing.
Thank you!
The EI threshold is a general threshold for SDSU based on past acceptances. Yes the posted average CSU GPA and average SAT scores shows an EI of 4233 but some majors are more have far more applicants then others, so it may be a bit skewed.
Being a local gives the applicant an advantage and depending upon majors can be as low as the 3900/940 EI range.
EI numbers that I have seen for the past 2 years for Aerospace Engineering has been from around 4070 (local) to 4848 for SAT and 990 to 1150 for ACT. Since SDSU does not publish their EI threshold’s at all, most data that I have compiled has been from CC posters and their stats. Overall and EI of 4100 should get you an acceptance other than Nursing. As you have stated, it will depend upon the EI’s of each in-coming Freshman class. For example, with SJSU (which publishes the EI’s by major), I have seen CS major EI’s fluctuate up to 300 points for the SAT and by 90 points for the ACT so nothing is a guarantee.
As SDSU continues to get more competitive along with over 85,000 applications each year, then the EI’s will continue to increase.
For 2015, the acceptance rate for Aerospace Engineering was around 45%, so pretty good since many majors have a 33% acceptance rate or less. I would be nice to see the 2016 numbers, but nothing has been published.
The EI for SJSU’s Aerospace Engineering last year was 3400 so a definite Match/safety school. Also look at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal state Long Beach and if you need a Reach school, Cal Poly SLO.
I cannot comment on ASU’s Engineering program, but my older son has a friend pursuing CS at ASU and is very happy with their program and has been able to land a very good internship this year with a small startup (very hands-on).
Thank you Gumbymom for the quick reply and for all of the detailed information. I appreciate your input. We are in San Diego but not local, so I guess he has a pretty good chance of acceptance as long at the numbers stay about the same as last year. I wish SDSU would publish their EI’s like SJSU does. We do plan to apply to all of the other schools you have mentioned just to be safe but SDSU would be the best fit. We are also applying to Cal Poly Slo early decision. That would be a far far reach so maybe early decision will help. We just need to decide if he should apply for aerospace engineering or general engineering where he can tailor his program towards aerospace. Trying to decide which would give him a better chance of being accepted there.
Cal Poly SLO is not offering ED this year. Not sure if it is permanent.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/education/article81223567.html
General Engineering has the highest acceptance rate in the College of Engineeing so he might consider this option since ED is not available: close to 60% acceptance rate for GE vs AE at 17%
What’s the index form from? What data and how do you translate it? Is this in state specific or a “gotcha moment” we’re different. Knowledge is a powerful tool
Oh wow. I didn’t realize Cal Poly SLO was not offering ED this year. And thanks for the info regarding acceptance rate for the different majors. That helps a lot! Thanks again.
nitro11, I’m not sure what you are asking. Are you asking how I calculated the index? If so, it’s CSU GPA (800) + SAT Math and Reading Score or CSU GPA (200) + ACT composite (10) to calculate your CSU eligibility index.
I think it’s the same for out of state but I’m not 100% sure.
@nitro11: EI is the same for in-state and OOS, but OOS applicants do not get extra Honors points in the CSU/UC GPA calculation for “honors” classes since they are not UC approved. Only AP/IB or DE courses count for the extra honors points in the calculation for OOS applicants. This is an advantage for in-state applicants. The EI is used by all Cal states except Cal Poly SLO. Each CSU applicant is ranked by their EI and major. Applicants are accepted from the top down until all spots are filled. In-state in-service area (local) applicants are given priority to their local CSU and need a lower EI to receive an acceptance.
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/