How competitive is business school?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
1

DS visited the campus this year. He really liked the size of the school and was impressed with the business school. He’s not 100% what he would like to major in college, but most likely, it will be a business related field. I know engineering is extremely competitive, but what about business majors? His unweighted GPA including 9th grade is 3.77. UC weighted GPA (10-11) is 4.17. SAT (old) super score is 660 (M), 700 (CR), and 720 (W). I noticed that 8th grade is supposed to be included in the calculation, and he did receive a few B’s so I’m not sure how that would factor into the equation.

Also, can you apply as undeclared?

2

Here’s some Orfalea College of Business admissions data for Fall 2015 to give you an idea of the level of competitiveness: 6,712 applied, 2,336 were accepted (34.8%). Enrolled Freshmen had an average high school GPA of 3.90, average SAT Reading score of 602, and average SAT Math score of 643. SAT Writing is not considered.

Source: http://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/ir/1/images/Fall%202015%20Fact%20Book%20FINAL%205_16.pdf

3

The easiest way to calculate SLO’s GPA is to use the Roger Hub UC GPA calculator. Take the Math and Language grades from 7-8th plus the a-g course grades from 9-11th and plug into the calculator along with the # of semesters of UC approved Honors/AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th up to the maximum of 8 semesters. This will be the SLO GPA which is capped at 4.2 for the MCA point calculation. Compare this to the averages post in the above post. Also note that SLO admits by major so the acceptance rates vary.
Business Admin has about a 30% acceptance rate, Economics around a 66% acceptance rate and Industrial Tech around an 85% acceptance. All these majors are in the business school.

https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

4

OK. He took Algebra 1 and latin in 7th and 8th grade. Unfortunately, these were all Bs. I’m just familiarizing myself with the MCA calculation. Would he get any extra points for taking algebra in middle school? He will complete 4 years of math in high school along with another 4 years of foreign language (not latin) by graduation.

5

The MCA point calculation will give bonus points for taking beyond the minimum Math/Science/Language/Art classes. This is where course rigor is important.

Here is the MCA point calculation information:

The maximum GPA they will use is 4.2, even though you can have a higher calculated CP GPA. A 4.2 is worth 2250 MCA points. Thus, multiply your CP GPA by 535.7 and you’ll get your MCA points for GPA.

The next biggest thing is test scores. The odd thing, likely because they wanted it to total a nice round number, is that the max score is 1650, even though the max SAT score is 1600. Multiply the total of your best SAT CR and your best SAT math by 1.03125 to get your MCA test points. If you took the ACT, they convert and vice versa.

The third largest section is the class rigor score, worth 750 points. In this section you get zero points for meeting the minimum admission requirements and adders for more than the minimum. The bonuses in order of power are (min semesters/max total semesters/bonus per extra semester/total possible bonus): math 6/10/125/500 (note: stats and finite do not count), lab science 4/8/50/200, English 8/10/50/100, foreign language 4/8/25/100, visual performance 2/4/25/50, no bonus points for social sciences or electives. As with GPA, you can actually score higher than the maximum, but 750 is the most they will count.

Finally, work and ECs, worth 350 points. Work (hours per week/bonus): 0/0, 1-5/20, 6-10/40, 11-15/60, 16-20/80, 21+/100, add 50 points if work is major related. ECs (hours per week/bonus): 0/0, 1-5/30, 6-10/60, 11-15/90, 16-20/120, 21+/150, add 60 points for leadership role.

There you go. Good luck.

GPA = 2250
Test = 1650
Class rigor = 750
EC / Work Hrs = 350
Subtotal for accademic points = 5000

Parents education = 600 (no college/1st generation)
Veteran’s benefit = 700
Zip code= 500 (local area preference)
High school = 700 (Hayden school partners)
Parent employed by CPSLO = 700
Subtotal for Demographic points = 3200

Max attainable points = 8200

Scores are capped at 5,000

6

Classes he took prior to 9th grade that are counted for rigor in the MCA do only that, count for rigor in the MCA. They don’t figure into the GPA.

7

Thanks. Are the bonus points just for high school then? I take it he wouldn’t get extra points for the Latin and Algebra he took in 7/8th grade?

8

@eyemgh: Just to clarify, when my niece went for a tour and information session, she was told her grades for Middle school Algebra where included in the SLO GPA calculation along with counting for course rigor. I do not want to post incorrect information. I know another poster also stated similar information in regards to Middle school grades???

9

@eyemgh- Sorry, I just saw your post. It would help his gpa immensely, if his grades (all Bs in math and language) in 7th and 8th grade were not included.

10

I can’t claim to have the definitive answer. I thought they weren’t used in GPA, but were used to start the rigor sequence in math and languages if they were HS level coursework. I’d call if you want to know for certain.

In an ironic twist, counting them is a bit of a mixed blessing, even if the student got A’s. They get the rigor points, but the impact of honors courses on their GPA is further diluted by more hours.

11

I just spoke to someone in admissions at SLO about this yesterday. The woman on the phone said that prior to 9th grade it would be listed as a “pass” and not calculated into the GPA. She said that they don’t ask for junior high transcripts. As far as the weighted classes, those can be in 9, 10 or 11th grade and can be approved honors courses, AP, IB or college classes. She said to put it all down and they will calculate the best scenario for the applicant.

12

Do you know what the acceptance rate is for Business Information Systems?
Thanks!

13

@Gumbymom
Where can I find the acceptance rates you mentioned for bus admin at 30%, Econ at 66% and Indus Tech at 85%?
This is a huge variation and I am curious as to why there is such a huge difference. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

14

Those are projected acceptance rates, based on an expected yield of 33%. You can find them under projections on the CP Institutional Research page.

Projections are simply based on how popular a major is, basically, how many apply versus how many spots are available. We infer that is a direct correlation to how difficult a major will be to get into, but it isn’t 1:1. Each major has a different level of applicant pool. It’s probably safe to say Software Engineering is a tougher admit than Business Administration, even though they were both projected at roughly 30% acceptance rate.