Does cal poly reject 'overqualified' students?

<p>This has been on my mind for the past several days since i got rejected. I’m not saying im super smart, and ‘overqualified’ but some things dont add up.</p>

<p>i got rejected in the Business Administration major. My friend was accepted into the same major with lower SAT, lower GPA, and same EC’s. we live in the same city.</p>

<p>W GPA: 4.05
SAT: 1350
EC’s: church youth group, worship leader in church, AWANA kids leader, Sports medicine, Piano, Competitive Table Tennis, Mexico Weeklong missions trip (x2)</p>

<p>I’ve also been seeing many people with 3.8 and 3.9 (weighted of course) have gotten in to business administration.</p>

<p>Again, i’m not trying to say i may have been ‘too smart’ or anything, but i just dont understand.
maybe you have the same problem too?</p>

<p>Also, i have heard business adminstration, in general, is a popular major, but not the most competive major( no where as competitive as engineering).</p>

<p>they also take classes into account. I have an 3.7 but I could have had a 4.0 if I took the same classes that some of my other friends took. Someone with a 3.5 and 5 years of math, 4 years of science, lots of AP’s and honors etc will have a better chance than someone with a 4.0 and only fulfilled the required classes. This could be your answer?</p>

<p>@ Kaicosmoz</p>

<p>thats a thought but i kind of doubt thats the reason for my particular case.
Ive taken 4 years of science ( bio, Honors Chemistry, AP Biology, now in Honors Physics.)
4 years of math: algebra, geometry, algII/trignometry, and now Pre Calculus Honors
Other honors /AP classes taken: Honors English III, AP Spanish IV, AP US History</p>

<p>Also, did you or your friend take the ACT? I have heard CalPoly prefers ACT. Perhaps your friend took the ACT and you did not. Just a thought.</p>

<p>@ Mariner116</p>

<p>Sorry, i forgot to post i got a 27 on my ACT.</p>

<p>My friend didnt take the ACT, but she got a 1870 on the SAT</p>

<p>Was your 1350 on the SAT out of 1600 or 2400? I’m sure you meant out of 1600, but trying to figure out your question.</p>

<p>it was out of 1600. my score out of 2400 is 1950</p>

<p>I actually can see what you are saying. If you look at the stats of all the people rejected on here they are all pretty high… no one had seriously low stats. I think they might have done that because a lot of people with those stats can get into even more competitive schools and would most likely choose to go to one of those over cal poly. They might have been thinking that they rather accept someone they know will go to their school even if they have more average stats. Some people with really high stats did get in though so i dont know if it was just random or something. My friend was telling me too that shes heard of schools rejecting overqualified schools so it definitely is a possibility.</p>

<p>I thought only some private school would do that to improve the yield (enrolled/admitted) to “look good” on those newsweek ranking. I don’t expect public colleges do this. But who knows.</p>

<p>Do you come from HS that very few previous years admitted students matriculate in CalPoly?</p>

<p>@Watermark
I dont believe so. As of the people who graduated 2009, i know 5 that have enrolled in calpoly. It’s been a pretty popular college for students in my highschool and many peoples first choices for my class this year.</p>

<p>First, lodywang, I’m very surprised you weren’t admitted to Cal Poly. I’ve only been following their admissions patterns for a few months, but it seems to me that you would be competitive there. </p>

<p>You’re in a bigger pool this year, as you probably know:</p>

<p>[Cal</a> Poly Receives Record Number of Applicants 2010](<a href=“Press Releases | University Communications and Marketing”>Press Releases | University Communications and Marketing)</p>

<p>Cal Poly received over 40,000 applications for about 3900 spots in the freshman class. In prior years they’ve accepted about 11,750, but I wonder if they’ve decreased that number if the yield has been increasing.</p>

<p>Assuming they accepted 11,750 again this year, though, that’s still just 29%. I wonder if the news at the end of it all will be just how competitive Cal Poly is becoming.</p>

<p>The other big factor may be simple economics. Out-of-state students pay $10,000 more per year than in-state students. If admissions can find a reason to admit an OOS over a California resident, they will probably do it (especially this year), just to keep the budget together. I suspect admissions practices will be scrutinized because California tax payers like your parents are going to be pretty mad if they see their schools admitting a disproportionate and maybe underqualified bunch of OOS students. The fact is, while California might have made some mistakes over the years, one thing they’ve done very well is higher education. Residents from other states are willing to foot the bill, especially if their own states have not done such a good job with their college system. </p>

<p>Statistics on admissions for California schools should be interesting reading this year. </p>

<p>Meanwhile, best wishes on the rest of your applications. Something good will happen for you, I’m sure.</p>

<p>lodywang: Are you sure you’re looking at ur cal poly gpa only? i mean they only take certain classes and stuff so like a-g courses i think. and also what did you put down for the extra curricular hours?</p>

<p>oh and umm some of the stats may have been lower bc i think it was easier to get in with ED. which is probably how i got in.</p>

<p>lodywang: also, im not sure if ur honors classes count bc i know at my school they dont offer honors courses, but offer classes like advanced english and advanced algebra 2, which are equivalent of honors courses, except we dont get that extra grade point =/. </p>

<p>oh and i think they superscore the sat and act
so like math and english only on the act.
and math and critical reading for the sat</p>

<p>@jsturavgazn</p>

<p>yes, i calculated my gpa on the csu mentor gpa calculator. and i have taken all a-g classes with the exception of Physical education. And all honors/AP classes in my school get the extra grade point. </p>

<p>and if i super score my ACT score, then my score would be 29, because i got a 24 in the science section that brought me down. so that couldnt have been a factor.</p>

<p>and my SAT score, as i posted above, is a 1350/1600 (no writing), with a 790 in math and 560 in c.r.</p>

<p>Oh, and i think i put down around 15 hours a week. it wasnt the highest one, nor the lowest one. you think that was it?</p>

<p>…though it wouldnt make sense, because again, my friend had same hours, (as posted above) yet got in.</p>

<p>gah.</p>

<p>I got rejected for mechanical engineering</p>

<p>GPA: 4.25
SAT: 1330 (CR + M)
Number of AP/Honors classes: 9th- 2, 10th- 3, 11th: 4, 12th: 6
EC: 1-5 hr/wk
Work: 1-5 hr/wk</p>

<p>Absolutely rediculous; I got accepted into UCI with honors program for same major and how in the world did I get rejected? I thought I could at least be waitlisted.</p>

<p>thats ridiculous. what are you EC’s hours + volunteer?</p>

<p>however, usually with a 4.25 , you should get in period. especially over people who have gotten in with 3.9’s and below.</p>

<p>assuming thats your UC gpa (10-12) right ?</p>

<p>oops, sorry, i didnt see the bottom of you post, with the EC’s and work. :)</p>

<p>@ lodywang
No, 9-11th GPA
My UC GPA is 4.27 (10th-11th).</p>