Hi, I am currently a sophomore in high school and I am interested in Cal Poly Pomona as a potential school to look into. I am very familiar with the EI score but I am confused with calculating courses into your GPA.
My first semester of math, I got a D. I plan to retake the first semester of my math course over the summer and was wondering how that would affect me. When I am calculating my GPA for my EI score, do I include my D grade or do I only include my replaced grade I took over the summer in that specific course. Answers would be much appreciated!
Just going off our experience this year, I would suggest getting your GPA as high as possible and doing whatever it takes to be sure you get a high score on your SAT/ACT. The impaction for the CSU system is very high for applicants out of their local service areas. My daughter has a 3.32 GPA but low test scores (she’s never done well on tests but the kid does all of her classwork and shows up to school every single day) so her EI number was lower than the “raised” minimum and as a result, she wasn’t admitted to Fresno State due to impaction (top choice as they’re the only school with a viticulture program besides Davis and Cal Poly) and she’s STILL on the wait list for Chico State (they continue to push back their decision date even though the May 1st deadline has passed) which are the only 2 CSU schools that have an Agriculture program, something she has planned to study for years. Going to a CC and transferring in 2 years is not a good option for us; our local CC have high enrollment and it is difficult to get classes, not to mention the drop out rate is over 50% and an out of area transfer isn’t a guarantee, anyway. We would likely be facing the same decisions in 2+ years, after keeping us waiting for 6 months past the application period. The CSU system has REALLY disappointed me; a good student with a 3.32 GPA should be able to attend the school that has their desired program. >:(
At this point, we’re likely going out-of-state. I’m committed to working a 2nd job to help with the extra costs for the next few years. University of Arizona waived the application fee for us because we took an official tour a couple years back, they gave a decision in less than a month and they continue to call and check up to make sure we’ve received certain emails, etc that are important. It’s like they actually want her to attend and pay the tuition where with the CSU, it feels like they want reason to turn students away.
Sorry this ended up being such a rant, I’m just shocked at how unprepared we were for the disappointment and devastation of those “although you’re qualified, we don’t have room” letters. Best of luck to you, please try to stay way, way ahead of their minimum qualifications.
To the OP - generally, when you re-take a class, the new grade replaces the old so, it should have a big impact o n your overall GPA. For STEM major at CPP, I’d target an Eligibility Index north of 4000, perhaps 4100 to be confident.
Good luck.
@allthatryry I understand your frustration. Waitlists can be excruciating. There are hundreds of CCs in CA so, there are many other paths if you decide to go that route. Here in the Sac area, it isn’t unheard of for students take classes at 3 or 4 campuses each semester. Not ideal but, as a transfer applicant, she’ll be judged primarily by GPA - which should play in her favor. Be warned though, you often need a 3.2 or better to get into competitive programs at popular CSUs. You should also know that each CSU has designated CCs from which you can meet a lower threshold. Here is the list:
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/onestopkiosk/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf
If you decide to look OOS - Boise, NAU and UNR are 3 WUE schools that typically keep their application window open into May - act fast though because everyone’s window is closing soon.
Good luck
The Cal States allow you to report only the repeat grade on your CSU application. If you apply to the UC’s, they require you report both grades but only use the most recent grade in their GPA calculation.
Thank you all for the information! Gladly, I am in local service area and am interested in a non impacted major. I am just going to have to do my best to get good scores and boost my GPA my junior year.
That’s a huge benefit! I hope it works out for you. My daughter started preparing early on in high school as well. Made sure to follow all the guidelines for CSU admissions, but it didn’t work out. She was finally accepted to Chico this morning, but I’m pretty sure she’s going OOS.
Congrats on Chico - it is a really an excellent program and the school/town are a great place to spend 4 years in your late teens/early 20s. Give it some serious thought. It is a much better value than UofA - which, given it’s location wouldn’t seem to offer much in the way of viticulture.
When applying, does Cal Poly Pomona look at a students transcript? Or do they mainly just look at a student EI score? @Gumbymom
@smartstudent1000: You self-report all a-g courses and grades taken up to Summer prior to Senior year. You do not send official transcripts until you have matriculated. All CSU’s will look at your courses to confirm that you meet minimum CSU requirements. You will also report which courses you have planned for Senior year.
They will calculate your CSU GPA based on your self-reported grades. EI will be calculated off your CSU GPA and official test scores. Then they rank applicants based on Eligibility index and major. They will look if you are in the local service area (get priority) and accept from the top EI down until all spots are filled.