I am a senior in High School and I am planning to attend college. I have 2.68 weighted GPA on my high school transcript because of problems I had my 9th and 10th grade year. However my I am going to make up my D in English 9A, 9B, and 10A through Credit recovery. Im also going to take Spanish at a community college during my senior year. I understand in my college applications for CSU’s I don’t have to have 11 UC-Required College-Preparatory courses completed like a UC. Therefore I calculated my GPA through CSU Mentor and added the following grade for the following courses:
English IBHL 1A - B
English IBHL 1B - B+
History of the Americas IBHL 1A - A
History of the Americas IBHL 1B - B
Visual Arts IBSL 1A - A
Visual Arts IBSL 1B - A
Chemistry IBSL 1A - A
Chemistry IBSL 1B - C
Chemistry A - B+
Chemistry B - B+
Biology A - C
Biology B - A
Theory of Knowledge IB - B
Basic Robotics (Taken @ El Camino) - A
The CSU Mentor GPA Calculator calculated a 3.92. I got a 1370 on my SAT because my SAT prep told me to take it with out studying (to understand my weaknesses) and retake it again (which I will do on Novemeber 7). I want to know what are my chances for Cal Poly SLO, or Cal Poly Pomona for Computer Engineering ,Computer Science, and Software Engineering with regards to my transcript GPA and my calculated A-G GPA for my college applications. Are there any other top CSU’s that I may also have a chance that are known for these majors.
My senior Schedule is
History of Americas IBHL 1A - In Progress ( Planning to take IB/Exams for all IB/AP courses in my schedule.)
History of Americas IBHL 1A - In Progress
AP Calculus AB A - In Progress
AP Calculus AB B - In Progress
AP Physics A - In Progress
AP Physics B - In Progress
Mathematics IBHL 2A - In Progress
Mathematics IBHL 2B - In Progress
Chemistry IBSL 2A - In Progress
Chemistry IBSL 2B - In Progress
English IBHL 2A - In Progress
English IBHL 2B - In Progress
*Credit Recovery/Adult School/Apex for my Senior Year
English 9A - In Progress
English 9B - In Progress
English 10A - In Progress
Spanish 2B - In Progress
Community College Courses
Spanish @ El Camino
Other things about me:
Played Varsity Football from 9th-12th Grade (In which I got a grade of an A for 9th-11th. Still in the middle of my senior season)
IB Club from 11th-12th Grade
Captain of my Golf Team for 11th grade (Still playing in Spring)
In SHPE Club
In Engineering club
Took PLTW Engineering course for Digital Electronics
Took Basic Robotics/Manufacturing Techonology course at El Camino
President of my AP Physics class
Please help me and let me know my chances and give me some advice.
SAT is too low if out of 2400.
Yes I understood that a 1370 is very low however I took the SAT with out any preparation. I “bombed” the test in other words. The plan was to do that to understand where I am weak in my score breakdown. I have ever since been preparing for my next SAT retake on November the 7th.
Cal Poly SLO uses 9-11th grades in their GPA calculation so you need to recalculate using all these grades. You also have include grades for classes that you are retaking or Credit recovery until they are officially replaced. I really do not see how you got a CSU GPA of 3.92 from your original 2.68. You only get 8 extra honors points which bumps up your GPA by 0.3-0.4.
Engineering at SLO is as competitive as many of the Mid-tier and Top Tier UC’s. You need an SAT Math + CR around 1420 to be competitive. To be truly honest, you have a very slim chance for an acceptance if you are stating 9-10th grades are not on par. Repost with your true CSU GPA and CP CSU GPA for further suggestions on schools.
Well the courses that I am going to add on my application are the grades that I posted on hear which are classes I took 9th-11th grade. The reason my GPA is a 2.68 was because of other courses which I’m not adding to my application for the a-g courses such as Film Studies, Spanish, and Geometry. I understand that Spanish and geometry is a requirement which is why I’m taking Spanish at a community college which is equivalent to 2 years of Spanish and I’m taking AP cal and IB Math which validates 3 years of math. So I only added courses for the a-g requirement with good grades and the bad grades I got for the a-g is going to be added on my application as “in progress”.
You cannot pick and choose which grades to use for the calculation. Until your grade is officially replaced on your transcript, you have use them in your GPA calculation. If they will be replaced by Nov 30, the deadline for the application, then you can use the new grades. Also for grade replacement, the class has to be exactly the same as the original class or the grade is not replaced.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/csu-uc-a-g-comparison-matrix.pdf
Quoted from the CSU/UC a-g matrix:
::
HIGH SCHOOL GPA
Calculate GPA using all “a-g” approved courses completed during the summer after the 9th grade through summer after the 11th grade. All “a-g” courses and grades must be reported.
::
Exception for SLO which uses 9-11th a-g courses and grades.
Also from the CSU Handbook:
::
If a high school course has been repeated, only the higher grade need
be recorded. However, if the student currently repeating a course or plans
to repeat a course, the original grade
must be considered in the section of the application for admission on high school preparation with a notation indicating when the course repetition is planned. The original course grade is used to calculate the GPA if the course to be repeated has not already been completed.
::
I see but my counselor and my college/career counselor both said that I only do that for classes that I am validating? They also said that all I need to do is submit “In Progress” for the class I’m planning to retake my senior year. So I take it that what they have said is wrong?
Another question I just read the CSU Handbook of 2015 and it stated that if I got a C or higher in a baccalaureate course for English that meets the General Education Breadth requirement in written communication or the IGETC English Composition requirement the English requirement would be satisfied. Would that mean I wouldn’t have to add my English 9 and English 10 grades? Or do I NEED to add every single a-g course that meets the requirement from 9th-11th.
You cannot pick and choose which courses you put on the application. They will get a copy of your transcript and will wonder why you are omitting coursework.
Every course goes on your application.
IGETC is for transfer students. This is not for Freshman applicants.
You have to list every a-g course taken with grades on your CSU application. Upon acceptance, you will be required to submit your final transcripts and if there any discrepancies then you could be rescinded. As stated above, you self report your grades for all classes and then note which courses are being repeated. You also self report all classes in progress for your Senior year.
Bottom line is that the bad grades are still part of your application GPA until they are repeated. Validation does not remove the bad grade it just allows you to complete the a-g course requirement.
Thank you both very much. So I now understand my only choice would be a CCC and then transfer.
If I maintain a high GPA in a CCC that would give me the opportunity to apply for a higher tier uc like Berkeley or a school like Harvey Mudd?
Keep a high GPA in your CCC and use your work as an EC, and/or your activities.
Then apply to your schools. You never know until you try.
Sorry, the IGETC (at a community college) can be used to satisfy 1 year of an English requirement if you did not fulfill all 4 years of HS English. It still will not replace your grades in your HS English courses.