My daughter just checked her portal for Cal Poly and got denied admission. By CalPoly advising this early does that mean there must be absolutely NO chance of getting in anywhere else? Obviously she wasn’t even borderline to get considered. Just stressing now about her chance for other schools - some more difficult and a couple of easier ones. Just as a measure and I know everyone will ask - she had a 31 ACT, full fee paying overseas student, no GPA but in top 10% of state and excellent EC and recommendors.
It absolutely does not mean she wasn’t even borderline. Sometimes they just pass on a kid in the early round. My kid was outright denied at his ED, but got into many great schools.
You say overseas, but US citizen?
Correct - US citizen. Fingers crossed for other schools.
This is very unusual for Cal Poly SLO since in the past years, acceptances come first, followed by waitlist and rejections. Since they do not have ED this year, maybe they are starting earlier than normal? When the admissions office opens on Monday, I would call to see if there was any missing from her application that would have resulted in being denied this early.
What was her major?
What other schools did she apply to? These early denials do shake their confidence. But it will be fine.
Engineering and realise it is competitive. She has been accepted into CU Boulder but not that keen. Some UC colleges, UWashington, Purdue, Clemson
Did she meet all the a-g course requirements for the Cal States and UC’s?
Engineering at SLO can be as competitive as the top UC’s so which UC’s did she apply?
CS has about a 10% acceptance rate, BME around the same, ME around 14% just to give you an idea…
Other than CU Boulder, any safeties?
That does seem really early. My daughter’s portal still says “Thank you for applying to Cal Poly. We have received your application. No determination has been made at this time.” I don’t know, I’m thinking maybe she somehow didn’t meet the requirements.
Agree ^^^ with @socalmom007. Something does not seem right since she heard so early and no one else has posted that they have received a decision. Usually the CC posters are on top of things and you start seeing posts in the decision threads pretty quickly.
No other safeties and it’s ME. UC Davis, SD, Irvine, SB and I think she put in UCLA and Berkley (but she gets it!) She did highest math and physics courses but I do wonder whether they understand her courses even though the school sent through explanations etc
I would definitely contact admissions to see if you they can give you any idea of why she was denied. It may be a problem that could come up also with the UC’s. Although she looks competitive (difficult to tell without a GPA), she applied to tough major for all the UC’s and with an ACT of 31, there are definitely no guarantees and a chance she will be shutout. UC Irvine might be the only solid Match school for the UC’s.
Did she get an LOR request from Berkeley?
No LOR request from Berkeley but that was always going to be the way. Are admissions open to giving feedback? She was dealing with a contact who requested extra results (which she supplied) so do you think it is something admissions are willing to do? I guess nothing ventured / nothing gained. Thank you for your feedback. It is a stressful time in the household
Cal Poly SLO admissions from my experience has been pretty good about answering questions. Not sure if they will comment on admission decisions, but it is worth a try especially if there is some misunderstanding in terms of her courses. You do not want this to be a problem for the UC’s although they are more open to appeals if she is denied and can prove their was a mistake made by the university. SLO is not very open to appeals.
For us it still says, “Thank you for applying to Cal Poly. We have received your application. No determination has been made at this time.”
If you don’t mind me asking, did she score higher in science and reading on the ACT than English and math? SLO only looks at the English and math sections of the ACT.
OK - may explain something English and math at 30 - everything else 31.
Forgive me but I don’t understand a few things you said. She’s a U.S. citizen but lives overseas and thus has no GPA - so the school she’s attended doesn’t give grades in a way that can be converted to a GPA? What does it mean top 10% of state - which state, California? And what is in the top 10% of state - her grades? Thanks. By the way, my daughter’s portal hasn’t changed either, still says same as @lkg4answers posted in reply # 14.
Yes - US citizen being schooled in Australia. In Australia school does not do a GPA although they have school reports throughout highschool etc - all ranked A B C D etc but it does not equate to US GPA. My understanding is an international admissions officer is assigned to a region and they are familiar with the students local testing/schooling etc. And top 10% of state means that the assessment she sat for end of year exams are ranked and she was in the top 10% of her state (within Australia - Victoria). A very good achievement. Hope that clears it up and good luck to your daughter
Edit: to put in perspective - top 10% in state out of 70,000 students.
This seems odd to me. Not knowing anything else, an ACT of 31 already makes it an uphill battle, as the average for accepted students within the CENG was 33 last year. Still, the timing doesn’t seem right. I agree with the above poster. I’d call admissions just to see if they can enlighten you about anything that might snag her at all CA schools, for instance, missing a-g requirements. Good luck!
P.S. Be aware that Univ. of Washington admits VERY few students directly into their major. Most start in pre-engineering and have to compete for their respective majors based on their college performance. Without a direct admit, there’s a high risk of disappointment.