Cal Poly SLO’s high school requirements recommend 5 years of English. It suggests you double up in high school (our high school doesn’t allow this) or take a college class while in high school. Are there people who have been accepted with only 4 years of English? My STEM kid isn’t a big English fan. Thanks!
(This is my first post. If it belongs somewhere else, please let me know.)
There are apparently bonus points in CPSLO’s MCA formula for extra semesters of various subjects beyond the minimum, including English, math, science, foreign language, and arts. Math reputedly has by far the most bonus points, so it is desirable for this purpose if the student reaches calculus at least while in high school, and reports all math courses (including algebra 1 and higher courses taken while in middle school) on the CSU application (high school level foreign language taken in middle school should also be reported).
An older version of CPSLO’s MCA formula has been reverse engineered into a calculator, but is no longer current (since CPSLO, like other CSUs, no longer uses SAT/ACT scores that are included in it).
As noted by @ucbalumnus that Math and Science have historically had the most bonus points for rigor based on the old MCA calculations. That said, yes there are many students that are admitted into Cal Poly SLO without the 5th year of English. There was a discussion about this subject in the Class of 2027 Discussion thread and the result was not definitive since no one except SLO really knows the what is currently used in their algorithm for admission. Also the old MCA points calculation did have a maximum limit which could be achieved by just the Math and Science rigor points. Again, not known if there is still a limit. Your son should do what is best for him.
Many students are accepted with 4 years of English. Two of my children were accepted to SLO (one in CSAM and one in CENG) with 4 years of English.
Did you look up your high school on the A-G course list? Some schools have electives that are listed in the English (B) category.
I see this is an older thread, but I have a specific answer. My son was accepted to CS in 2022 with only 4 years of English. He didn’t even have any AP or IB courses in English since he didn’t want to take them. He was accepted with regular grade-level English classes.
He had 3 years of foreign language. He had no interest in going for a 4th, but I did insist on his having a third because I knew about Cal Poly’s bonus points for different A-G courses.
He did have other areas that really stood out though. He had very high numbers of math (6 or 7 years) and science (5 years) through Calc B/C and Physics along with his engineering and Comp Sci classes. He completed his high school’s 3-course pathways for both Engineering and computer science (some of those granted additional math credits, others granted science). His work hours were very high (over 20 hours) and were major-related, and his ECs were also very high (about 20 hours) with leadership.
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