<p>I keep hearing how hard it is to get into CSULB with the high number of applicants. The average SAT scores however, are something like 960/ 1600. That's waaay lower than the national average. What gives? Anyone know? What's the caliber of the freshmen class this year?</p>
<p>When reporting data, they only care about the math-verbal/reading sections on the SAT. That means, it’s scored on a 1600 point score. Scores like 1000 would put it <em>at or around</em> the national average.</p>
<p>CSULB received about 70,000 freshman applications this year. Out of all of them, approximately 35-40% make it in each year, with at least 5,000 choosing to attend.</p>
<p>You have to keep in mind that CSULB is a back up for many–me included. It’s a great school, close to the beach (hence the nickname) and it’s smack dab in the middle of LA and Orange Counties. It’s also cheap–which makes it a popular choice for most low-income kids with high qualifications. With Long Beach, there’s a huge medley of applicants–so much so that it’s almost safe to assume you’re going to hit the national average anyways due to the distribution being so large.</p>
<p>In layman’s terms: don’t take too much store in state school’s SAT averages. They attract a different group of people than would Vanderbilt or some other hoi-poloi school.</p>
<p>Wow. That was long. And I also forgot–they use an eligibility index too. If you have a high enough gpa, like a 4.7, and a really low score on your SAT or ACT, they’ll still take you. This is also especially if you live within the service area. <em>They cater to those within the area first because it’s funded by the state for the people in that particular area.</em></p>
<p>I recieved a 24 on my ACT in December! I wonder for the eligibility index which GPA do I use? My high school GPA is a 3.37 but when I did my GPA on the CSU GPA calculator I got a 3.85. So which one do I use when calculating eligibility index?</p>