Hi! Because of COVID, my daughter decided to accelerate her education and graduate a year early. She just turned 16 a few weeks ago and intends to start college in Fall 2021. Because we started this process late, she just decided that she was going to go against what others said (Everyone said that Cal Poly is too far of a reach for her) and apply to SLO. Her application was a bit tricky because she compacted her Jr. and Sr. year into one, but she made it in right before the deadline. She wants to go to Biological Sciences.
When we put her grades in, her GPA was 4.25. As you can imagine, her current course load is extremely heavy and included an AP course. She hits all the A-G requirements and has sports as well as leadership. Is it really a pipe dream like everyone say’s, and have I encouraged heartbreak? Is her age a negative factor? (will they even see her age?)
Since test scores will not be considered, GPA (Cal Poly calculation is 9-11th a-g course grades with an 8 semester honors point bump for UC approved Honors, AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grades) will be a huge factor.
You also get bonus points for taking extra years of a-g courses noted in the link for SLO. Up to 8 semesters of Science, 10 semesters English, 10 semesters Math and 4 semesters VPA. EC’s with leadership and major related work also get extra points in the MCA calculation which SLO uses to determine their admissions.
Also if she took any foreign language or Math courses (Algebra/Geometry) in Middle school, hopefully these were reported on the application?
Biological sciences is the most applied major in the College of Science and Mathematics with an acceptance rate around 11%. Last year they expect 4337 applicants for around 150 spots.
I do not think age will be a factor, but other applicants will have had more time to fulfill the additional a-g course recommendations along with more EC hours.
If her SLO capped weighted GPA is 4.25, then that part of her application makes her competitive.
SLO Freshman admit GPA range (Middle 50%) for 2020 was 4.04-4.27.
Best of luck but with a low acceptance rate it still should be considered a Reach school.
Once again, I have to whole heartedly agree with @Gumbymom. Cal Poly should be considered a reach for EVERYONE. However, they accept 15,000+ students a year, so kids DO get in!
The auto calculated GPA on the CSU application is for 10-11 (12 in your daughters case). If the 4.25 is from the application it does not include include 9th year grades. This could be more or less significant depending on 9th grade performance. Also, it seems in some instances not reporting middle school grades (for accelerated foreign language and math) can be in issue in highly competitive majors where every point counts.
So… When they look at the application, they will do a different calculation? She still did well her freshman year, but did have 2 B’s in honors classes. Is there an admission advantage with a recommendation from a coach? She has been speaking with a coach.
Yes that is my understanding. CP SLO will re-calculate GPA on 9-11 grades. All the other CSUs use the application GPA. So the 2Bs could have an impact. That being said, seems like she’s still in the zone. I don’t know much about the recruitment/coach angle.