Your son has nice stats, but what stood out to me was perhaps a lack of rigor particularly if he wants engineering. Does he have activities that demonstrate CS/Mech Engineering? My son is an Eagle Scout too and used his activities section in the UC app to talk about his project which was more engineering related.
Can he take some CC classes? I was surprised there is no AP Chem.
Honestly I donāt think he will get into Stanford (I know it is easier from California but no kid from our private school in NE would have a chance with those stats) and applying REA means he canāt use the ED card for another selective school. Of course if he is happy with UC choices, then maybe itās a why not. But if he has another private reach that is more achievable, I would ED there. Maybe ED Pomona?
I agree with the Stanford assessment. Stanford REA is incredibly competitive, perhaps even more so than other top schools, because it is filled with athletes, legacies, development cases, and other hooks. Stanford defers fewer REA students than many schools, so itās almost an all or nothing gamble. I would encourage him to ED elsewhere, if he has a school on his list for which that makes sense.
His relative lack of rigor will make CalTech a very, very high reach and possibly not a great fit for him.
He has very nice accomplishments and should have a successful application experience if he focuses on a balanced list.
Perhaps that may be more because they do not defer those who really have no chance of admission, unlike others who defer most non-admitted early applicants?
Yes thatās what Iāve heard. Same with Caltech.
Both schools also waitlist (relatively) few applicants.
For the UC application into a very competitive major (CS), you really need to look beyond GPA. The UCs evaluate 13 criteria.
Look at criteria 1-6. Several of us are focusing on advanced science classes. He may be taking the most rigorous courses that his HS offers but what are other kids at his HS doing? Are they taking DE science classes?
For criteria 7-11, he has four PIQ and 350 characters to describe each of 20 activities/awards/extra-curriculars/outside coursework/jobs. How will he showcase criteria 7-11 in his application?
This is my opinion but, as a parent of an Eagle Scout, the following are basically the same: Eagle Scout, James West Fellow, scouting leadership and service projects. Is he going to list them as four separate line items? Remind him to focus on what he learned in scouting and how he grew as a person rather than just the final project.
MUN awards, varsity letters, AP Scholar are in very common and, while they are accomplishments, I donāt believe they will make him stand out significantly compared to someone else. Again, it is how he describes what he learned, how he grew and what he did rather than the award itself.
For Site Council and the Ed Foundation, did he do more than attend meetings? He was chair of an advisory committee to the district. Is that because of his position on site council and/or the ed foundation? I would expand on what he did as chair - How he led, what the outcome was, what he learned, if this inspired his interest in poli sci, etc.
Iām not trying to pick apart your wording but I am trying to help his application. It isnāt about being selected to do something or the computer or the robot kit. It is about what he did and what he got out of the experience. If applicable, how did it spark his interest in CS/ME?
Edit, I just noticed this.
Two engineering teachers? I see PTLW CIM. Was there another engineering class or did that class have two teachers?
Thx for the correction
He had two engineering classes along the PLTW pathway (CIM Honors and Intro to Engineering). Each class had a different teacher. Heās taking one of the classes next year as a Teacherās Assistant at the request of his teachers.
No students are currently enrolled in DE science classes. His school doesnāt offer any of the advanced classes. They have also cut AP Bio, so he is currently enrolled in the most rigorous and advanced science classes offered at his school.
For his Eagle Scout and other scouting accomplishments, he plans to list those under one category with a focus on knowledge gained and how scouting has impacted his life and helped mold him. He plans to expand on that more in his PIQs (specifically PIQ #1)
For the education foundation, he was selected as chair for his achievements in the past year after being interviewed. He will be chair for the upcoming academic year but has been working with the committee for the past year and a half.
During STEM Camp, he was in 9th grade, and this was the first time he had a chance to work with code (specifically Ch). This inspired him to research the programming merit badge and start learning C++ as well as begin researching python. He also had his first experience having to think critically to build robots from scratch (which sparked an interest in ME).
I replied upthread that his HS offers only 3 honors science classes: Chem H, Physics H and Physiology H. He completed the first two and will be taking Physiology H this year.
Now he has a job (even when school starts) and has other leadership roles, he will not be taking any CC classes.
I agree that both colleges are high reaches for his stats. I also told him to check the requirements for Application including essays etc. It will be his decision whether he wants to apply or not.
We are not doing any EDs to any colleges. Only EA if available, as we want to keep options open.
Agree about minimal to none chance at Stanford. Being accepted unhooked from the Bay Area is extremely unlikely as there are so many hooked applicants there - children of donors, alumni and faculty. You have more chance from any other area unless there are major achievements on a national scale. Stanford application also requires a large number of essays. While these can be reused, I believe the effort should be directed elsewhere
What GPA is used to calculate SJSU CS index? And the formula is ?
Fully weighted, the rogerhub capped, etc?
Does Cal Poly have a formula for CS?
thanks!
The CSU recalculated GPA is like the UC recalculated weighted capped GPA, except that a semester college course counts as two semesters of courses and grades for CSU.
CPSLO uses a different variation that includes 9th grade.
So there is a cap of AP/Honors classes in the gpa? Of 8 points (4 classes?). What is the max gpa then? SJSU (this year) was a capped 4.35 required for CS? Iām assuming if all As and maxed out on AP points, should meet criteria?
If all grades are A and there are atleast 8 semesters of AP/Honors/DE then the calculation is
WCGPA= (Total(A-G) Courses*4+8)/(Total(A-G) Courses)
In this example Total(A-G) course semesters of 24 , would calculate to 4.33 [(24*4+8)/24]
Thank you. So how does anyone get into SJSU for CS if they require 4.35 and the max calculated is 4.33?
The maximum CSU Capped weighted GPA would be 4.4 that is with 20 a-g courses however many of the competitive applicants will have more than 20 a-g courses used in the calculation. I believe @raj_125 stated with 24 a-g courses, the maximum would 4.33. 22 semesters of a-g courses will get you to a 4.36 if all Aās.
It is a fine line in trying to maximize your CSU GPA vs. showing competitive HS course rigor. Also the 4.35 CSU GPA for SJSU needed did not include any other bonus points so it is just based on the minimum 800 x CSU GPA points.
Please note that the Impaction Thresholds can fluctuate from year to year based on the stats of the current year Freshman applicants.
As @Gumbymom suggested below it depends on the number of (A-G) courses.
Most people here would suggest to have a broader list with safeties ,targets and reaches. SJSU CS would be a reach unless your high school is in that area and you get bonus points.
Thank you. It is odd that taking more classes hurts oneās chances for SJSU CS. You canāt take 6 classes a year (standard load)-
Does Cal Poly calculate the same way?
Looks like if you take zero period classes, it will depress GPA. My kid has the same schedule for all HS.
I only know that Cal Poly also checks your 9th grade GPA and also if kid has taken Advanced Math or Foreign Language in Middle School.