<p>I'm going to be a senior next school year and am going to be applying to college. I'm smart and can do the work but have a low GPA because of my time management issues. Towards the end of this school year I finally managed to shape up and manage my time better and got better grades (straight A's) but unfortunately it was too late because I won't be able to raise my grade high enough in time to apply for better schools. My GPA right now is 2.8 weighted and 2.5 unweighted. By the time college apps are do my weighted GPA should be 3.0 and my unweighted should be 2.7.</p>
<p>I've pretty much blown my chances of getting into a good university (I'm not giving up on getting good grades though) so I'm wondering what some of the easier to get into CSUs are. I would prefer to stay in Northern/Central California but I don't think I can be too picky at this point.</p>
<p>Well you can focus on the CSUs or you can go to community college for 2 years, continue to raise your grades, and then apply to your dream school.</p>
<p>Go to the California State University site and search for the list of Local Service Areas. Based on where your high school is located some of the CSU’s may give you priority in admissions. Or as noted above don’t rule out attending a community college first.</p>
<p>All CSUs (except CalPoly SLO) use the same basic formula to rank students for freshman admission. They use only your a-g courses and sophomore and junior year grades and your SAT or ACT to create a CSU Index. The formula is really simple - CSU GPA*800 + SAT Math and Reading. The base CSU requirement is a CSU Index of 2900. All California high schools have a ‘local’ CSU that gives preference to their applicants. </p>
<p>CSUMentor.edu lists non-impacted campuses - i think you’ll be happy to see - with a 2.5 to 2.7 GPA and a mediocre SAT score, you can get in to many CSUs.</p>
<p>Monterey, Sacramento are two N Cal schools that will probably take you for most majors. </p>
<p>Here’s a list based on some research I did last year. Hot majors will have a higher threshold.
SDSU 4000+
Long Beach 3800
Pomona 3700
Chico 3650
Fullerton 3800
Sonoma 3300
Humboldt 3300
Fresno 3300
Northridge: 3200
SF State: 3100
Sacramento 2900
Monterey Bay 2900
San Jose - all over the place by major</p>
<p>I missed the ACT deadline (I know, irresponsible) so I’m only taking the SAT. I’ve never taken the SAT before and I haven’t taken the PSAT so I doubt I’ll be able to score that high.</p>
<p>I live in a very nearby suburb of Sacramento so I’m mainly focusing on Sac State but I was under the impression that Sacramento was one of the higher ranked CSUs.</p>
<p>Sit for the next SAT - give yourself time to take it again in the fall. Collegeboard.org (the guys who administer the test) provides great on-line study tools.</p>
<p>If you want to make this happen, it needs to be a priority. You can’t miss deadlines or you are SOL. Seriously, your time for excuses is over. </p>
<p>I myself had a similar issue in high school. I got a 2.8 gpa but was on the upward trend with grades but again it was alresdy too late by senior year. Don’t rule out community college. Its a good stepping stone. Also what’s your family’s income level? The reason I ask is because there’s a program called Eops that is involved with the CSU’s that provides service for income and socially disadvantaged students. If you can get into that program then you can get into the CSU. I have a friend who got into SDSU that way.</p>
<p>My total family income is around 220K so I don’t qualify for any special programs. On the positve side, I just took the SAT and have to say it was pretty easy; I’m confident I scored at least 2000.</p>
<p>I had about a 2.6 GPA transferring out of a community college. I applied to Humboldt State, Sonoma State, Fresno State, and CSU Monterey Bay, and was accepted to all. Of those I think Fresno State was the more selective, but I’m local. Congrats on your SATs and good luck with your applications!</p>
<p>I did even better on the SAT than I expected to, I got a 2340. My scores were 780 math, 800 critical reading, and 760 writing. How much should this raise my chances of getting into a decent school?</p>
<p>With those scores and a 3.0 CSU GPA, (assuming you’ve completed ALL a-g classes with a C or better) you all the CSUs except SDSU and Cal Poly SLO are probably within your reach. It sounds like you want to be in N Cal so, apply to Chico, Sonoma, Sac at a minimum.</p>
<p>Here’s a CSU GPA calculator. They don’t include non a-g classes (like PE) and don’t include +/- in the calculation.</p>
<p>One more thing on the UCs, you’ll need a compelling explaination of the discrepency between you SAT and GPA.</p>
<p>Admission decisions at CSU and UCs are made primarily on grades 10 and 11 so, your qualifying grades are already set. Calculate your CSU/UC GPA and see where you stand.</p>
<p>Yes, the CSUs are definitely within reach. And some are very good. Your GPA will probably knock you out of the UCs. </p>
<p>You are obviously very bright but maybe have difficulty getting organized. It may be worthwhile to take a couple of years at a CC in order to gain some maturity in your organizational abilities (possibly getting an assessment for learning disabilities), then you can transfer to a UC.</p>
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