Hi guys I was wondering what my chances for Cal Poly are. Would I be better applying directly to business or Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences and then transfer to a business major later.
Stats:
CSU GPA: 3.94
ACT: 31 (33 English, 29 Reading, 34 Science, 27 math) May retake in September?
MCA SCORE: 4240~4343 (not exactly sure)
Business is more competitive, but if you choose to apply to the Ag school, there’s no guarantee you’ll get into the B school with a change of major. It’s not straightforward to change majors at CP.
Have to agree with @eyemgh. If Business is your first choice major, then apply for the direct admit. There are no guarantees that you will be able to switch later.
Change of Major criteria for Business:
Freshmen MUST have COMPLETED 12 units at Cal Poly before inquiring about eligibility. Your inquiry will be disregarded if you have not met this requirement.
Transfers are NOT eligible to change majors into the Orfalea College of Business.
Basic Requirements
Students must complete at least one quarter at Cal Poly before changing their major.
The following criteria may be considered:
Change of Major eligibility – the majors for which the student was eligible at time of admission***** (very important)
College academic record (e.g., GPA, coursework, etc.), and
Remaining coursework and the student’s ability to complete degree requirements in the new major within the published unit maximum requirements for the major
I think you’ll be on the bubble, but that’s purely speculation on my part. The best thing to do is to dig through the old Final Stats threads from the last two years and see what MCAs got in. Good luck!
@eyemgh Would retaking and hopefully getting a 33 or 34 help a lot?
Increasing your ACT score can definitely help increase your MCA points. SLO only uses the Math and English scores so you need to take the ACT scores and convert to the SAT scores based on the SAT-ACT conversion table below. This could make a difference on your chances. All you can do is apply and hope for the best. There are no guarantees since you will be compared to each year’s incoming Freshman class and their calculated MCA points.
ACT CR M
36 800 800
35 770 790
34 760 780
33 750 760
32 720 730
31 700 700
30 680 680
29 650 660
28 630 640
27 610 620
26 590 600
25 570 580
24 550 560
23 540 540
22 520 520
21 500 500
20 490 480
19 470 460
18 450 440
17 440 410
It’s the second biggest part of the MCA, behind GPA. Now it’s time to go for what’s easy to impact. Make sure you max the rigor by taking the right classes senior year, get a leadership position in an EC and try to get a major related job, even if it’s only an hour or two per week, and even if it’s an unpaid position. Good luck!
@Gumbymom Is it critical reading or the English section that they look at?
English for the ACT and Critical Reading for the SAT.
I haven’t kept up on the typical MCA break for business. Like I said, we created the Final Stats threads so students in your position can scroll through them and get an idea of where the cutoffs have been historically. That’s what I’d do next if I were you. 
In Reading this and deciding senior classes for my daughter, she should definitely take Cal AB or AP Stats. Right?
There’s uncertainty as to whether or not AP Stats counts as advanced math. Some here have said it does, but the director of admissions said they prefer students take the more rigorous route if it’s an option. He used the specific example of Stats and Calculus. The safest thing to do is to take Calculus. If Stats aren’t counted in the MCA, taking it would knock her down 250 points!
And if you took high school math classes in middle school, you include them on your application. If you don’t, it will cost you many MCA points.