Hello
How selective is the psychology major at SLO? I honestly have no idea so that’s why I’m here!
Let me know what you think! Don’t be afraid to be harshly honest
So here are some things on my app (not everything, of course)
(Letters & Science)
-Mexican, female
-CA resident
-GPA: 4.47 weighted and 3.94 unweighted and 4.27 CSU
-SAT: 1930 superscore (critical reading: 600, math: 680, writing: 650)
-ACT: 26 (bad, i know)
-AP scores: spanish lang: 5, english lit: 3, chem: 3
-No work hours, but 6-10 weekly extracurricular hours
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to give me their opinion, I appreciate it!
Calculate your MCA score. It will help with chancing you. Look up the thread “Confused about MCA score” or something close to that title. It will explain how to calculate it in detail.
Okay. Does anyone know how competitive psychology is though?
Psychology has a projected acceptance rate of around 13% so very competitive.
Thanks for that info! That’s a pretty low number, how do my stats compare for that 13%?
Also, @Gumbymom I have no experience with psychology, will that affect me a lot?
Did you calculate your MCA as stated in post #1? With that low of an acceptance rate, I would say SLO would be High Match/Low Reach due to your lower than average SAT/ACT scores. If the MCA score is around 4600+, then you Might have a good chance. It is really difficult to chance for SLO unless you know what the average MCA score is required for an acceptance and thanks to poster @eyemgh, data is being collected on the MCA’s.
Having job experience in the Psychology field only only nets you an additional 50 points in the MCA calculation so not too much of an impact.
Just because the acceptance rate is low does not mean that students need strong credentials to get in. I would expect that the majority of those planning to major in psychology are not stellar. It is no longer a major that attracts the stronger students although it used to be.
@Gumbymom I got 4389.94 so not quite up to par… and what I meant by having psychology experience is do you think I would struggle with this major (if admitted, of course)?
Based on previous year Stats, Psychology is the most applied major in the College of Liberal Arts so I believe just on sheer numbers, the major will be competitive.
Regarding doing well in the major, it will be up to you and your work ethic. I would take a look at the 4 year course schedule to see if there will be any classes where you feel you may have trouble. Have you taken AP Psych in HS? Doing well in this course may give you some perspective.
http://flowcharts.calpoly.edu/downloads/curric/15-17.Psychology.pdf
http://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofliberalarts/psychologychilddevelopment/bspsychology/
Your MCA looks pretty good, but since there is no historical data on the MCA score threshold, no one can know for sure if this is high enough to get you an acceptance.
i have never taken a psychology ever in my school career! so yea… i appreciate all your well thought out answers!! very helpful @Gumbymom