Hello guys. Im writing this to help out my friend. My friend is in 12th grade right now and is stressing about colleges. I decided to help him out by writing here to get some insight and advice to give him. I believe he has a 2.82 gpa right now, around 1800 on the SAT, 29 ACT, and i believe he took a couple AP classes. He lives in California, and is thinking about applying to CSUs and maybe even UC merced ( maybe riverside as well). THe problem is that he is scared about all of the universities rejecting him. My question is where should he apply too and have a good chance of acceptance? He is a local to CSULA as well. I don’t know about his major, but i think its history? Or english. Thanks.
If he is thinking about applying, the deadline was Nov 30 for the CSU’s and UC’s. Only a few CSU’s accept Spring admits for Freshman. If he is local to CSULA, then he has a decent chance there. For UC Merced or any UC, his UC GPA needs to be at the minimum of 3.0 to even apply. Chances are not good for any UC if his GPA is at the bare minimum.
He has good test scores, so there a several CSU’s that would accept him next year such as CSU Channel Islands, Bakersfield, Stanislaus, Dominguez Hills to name a few.
As a senior, I believe he has missed the window to apply for next fall to CSUs. Someone from CA may be able to comment, though.
Oh i should proof read hahahahahaha. he isnt in 12th grade. he is in 11th grade hahaha. He is a smart student, but i believe his Aps took his gpa down. He has been stressing out a lot more than i have. sorry about that mistake.
He also said he wanted to major in History.
Thank you guys for the advice. ill be sure to tell him about it. 
This will help him out alot
If his GPA remains below 3.0, his best chances would be the non-impacted campuses that I listed along with his local campus (CSULA). If he gets above a 3.0 by end of this year, it could open up more CSU’s as possible targets. He needs to calculate his CSU/UC GPA at the end of his Junior year. If does not like any of the CSU options, there is always 2 years at a community college and using TAG (Transfer Guarantee program) for several of the UC’s or AA-T agreements with the CSU’s.
Gumbymom. I have a quick question. I clicked the link you gave, and one of the rules said not to calculate 9th grade. What about 12th grade?
Only 10-11th grades are used in the calculation for CSU/UC’s. Senior grades will not be available at the time of application, so they are also not used.
I have another question. If i got a D in intro to engineering and a D in AP Physics, i can still apply for csu right? I should just explain why i got the Ds?
Is this for you or your friend?
For me XD.
@Iwantanswerskid: I am assuming the original post is about you and not your friend?
- You need to meet the a-g course requirements for the CSU’s, so if these classes are a-g course requirements and you do not meet the minimum, then you will not be eligible to apply for a CSU.
- If you do not repeat these courses, then these grades will be calculated into your CSU GPA. You do not get any extra honors points for grades below C regardless if they are AP designated.
- Although test scores are good, if you are having difficulty in some college courses, then may going to a CC for 2 years and transferring may be a better option.
- Impacted CSU’s and majors will be extremely difficult to get into due to the D’s. The non-impacted campuses would probably overlook these grades as long as you meet the CSU a-g course minimum requirements and the minimum GPA.
Here is a CSU impacted campus and major matrix:
http://www.calstate.edu/SAS/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf
well actually the original post is about my friend, but i understand why you assume its me. We do have similar situations, the only thing different is that he took more APs. XD. i totally understand that. the questions about the D was for me since i already got your attention. thanks for the help on my questions btw. I have already let him know and he is thinking about CSULA and CSUDH.
It was also a genuine mistype when i said he was in 12th grade. Im not lying