In need of advice, thank you

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

<p>Hello, I am interested in attending cal poly SLO, but I am uncertain whether or not I have a good chance of being accepted. I’m currently in 11th grade, so I’ll be applying for 2011. </p>

<p>Current stats:
GPA: 3.912 (unweighted) and 4.55 (weighted)
SAT: 1270
Class Rigor: Took max honors/AP every year; 2 AP 3 honors and PE in 10th grade, currently in 5 AP classes and 1 honors, next year will be in 4 AP and some elective for my high school graduation requirement.
Extra-Curriculars: Clubs [environmental/community service-related], ~130 hours of community service
Will be applying for: Computer Engineering</p>

<p>I plan on continuing straight A’s until i graduate, which will hopefully put me around rank 12 for my class rank, maybe even lower (currently 18), and increase my GPA (unweighted) to about 3.95. I am also going to look for a job over the summer and will continue to work throughout 12th grade. In my spare time over the summer (which will be plenty), I’m going to gain more community service hours to hopefully break 200. This will probably sound stupid, but I am also a competitive gamer (I’ve won some money tournaments at LAN centers and even at my school). Should I even bother writing that in my application or will it make me seem like a joke? I mean, if I am able to elaborate on my gaming, I would probably write about how the collaborative skills and discipline gained through my team-based gaming has shown me the importance and principles of working together to achieve a greater goal. The gaming is what I chose over pursuing cross country at school, which was probably a bad idea (I quit in like late 9th grade due to my inability to commit to practices). By the way, I will be retaking the SAT’s to break like 1350 or 1400 (math/reading). </p>

<p>At first I was confident about getting accepted to SLO, but as I read about the people that have been rejected on these forums (especially with decent stats, although I haven’t read their class rigor/personal info.), I am starting to second guess myself. </p>

<p>My questions to those who have been accepted/are attending SLO:
Is there an essay portion in the application? (Such as a personal statement)
Will what I have stated above suffice to qualify as a competitive computer engineering student? (I understand this is impossible to determine, but I trust your judgement over my own)
Is there anything specific I should do between now and the application period to further ensure submitting a competitive application on my behalf?
In your opinion, what are my chances of getting accepted to SLO for computer engineering?</p>

<p>I realize this is a very long post, so I want to thank you in advance for your time, consideration, and advice.</p>

2

<p>you have a good shot. don’t worry too much about it, just keep up the grades!</p>

3

<p>i got into biomedical engineering with lower stats than yours… there was no essay or recommendations. I have done varsity sports and community service all fours year so from what I see, you should be fine, but I’m not in computer engineering so I’m not sure, but you seem like you have good stats and you don’t only focus on school,which I feel should help…Good Luck!</p>

4

<p>Yes - just keep your GPA up and you may want to also try the ACT - my daughter was accepted to Cal Poly SLO recently and she had a GPA like yours - and did better on the ACT than on the SAT (which she took twice.) Also, Cal Poly seems to like the ACT more than the SAT. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>All great advice^ You are looking very strong for computer engineering at CP. There are no personal statements or essays. The ECs and volunteering barely matters. If you have a job related to your major, you do get some points. I agree that you should take the ACT. You will likely do even better on that with the courses you have taken. My son got 1420 on his SAT (reading and math) and a 35 ACT. that was the more impressive score.</p>

<p>Good luck and have some fun along the way!</p>

6

<p>oh theres no essay needed… and the only extra cirrculars they ask for is how many hours per month and if you’ve had work experience with what ur gonna major in</p>

7

<p>Yeah, I was considering the ACT’s (SoonEmptyNester), and I probably will take them now. (momofmv) Haha I am having fun, the video games I play are competitive, but also adrenaline-rushing, which is very fun for me. Thank you =)</p>

<p>(islandgirl32 & naixn92) Is there a section where you may add other extra-curriculars on the application? If so, should I include the gaming factor? Or will it seem unprofessional? Thank you</p>

<p>Thank you all for your advice, it is greatly appreciated. The reassurance is very helpful, but I will remain nervous until the actual acceptance letter is in my hands, haha.</p>

8

<p>(jsturavgazn) “Hours per month”. Would I take my total hours and divide it by the months I was actively participating in community service (such as the 2-3 summer months) or all the months throughout highschool? Most of my hours come from summer time or winter break. For the job, I will try my best to look for some sort of data-entry job, that way I’ll physically be using a computer, opposed to working in a grocery store or something. Thank you for the information, I’m actually surprised that cal poly SLO’s application isn’t as elaborate as I expected.</p>

9

<p>well slo’s application is actually combined on the csumentor website. its a cal state school.</p>

<p>its basically an average of your extra curriculars i think the choices were 1-5hrs,6-10hrs,10-15hrs, 15-20hrs, and 21+ hours</p>

<p>basically just give an estimate but try to be accurate</p>

10

<p>Take AP Math/Science classes.</p>

11

<p>yeah they just ask for the approximate number of hours you did extra curricular activities and community service and worked, etc. i’m pretty sure. I don’t think there really was room to write or explain anything…(from what i remember)</p>

12

<p>Definitely take the ACTs but, before doing so, prepare for them rigorously - perhaps like you do for your video games. Nail them, maintain your grades and you’ve got an excellent shot.</p>

13

<p>Get near the max of 46 a-g core semesters. That can cause you to jump over other applicants with around the minimum of 30 a-g semesters, even if they have slightly higher GPAs or test scores. And once you decide which a-g courses to take your senior year, make sure you take them. CalPoly will reevaluate applications of students that change their a-g commitments during their senior year.</p>

14

<p>if cal poly is your #1 choice…apply early decision!</p>

15

<p>@jsturavgazn
Yeah I knew SLO was a cal-state, but for some reason I thought they would have their applications a bit more customized to the school itself. I suppose the restrictions held by the state/government require it to follow a certain template. Thank you, I’ll be sure to carefully calculate my average hours per month.</p>

<p>@momomom
Yeah I will have taken the max once I finish senior year, I’m in AP Calc AB and AP Statistics currently, and I will take AP Calc BC in my senior year. I had Honors Biology in 9th, took Chemistry over the summer (I don’t know why…), AP Physics in 10th, currently in AP Biology, and I refuse to take AP Chemistry (due to my hatred for the subject, even though I received an A in normal Chem) so I will probably take AP Psychology (it’s considered a social science though, so I don’t know how that’s going to play out). So I should finish my senior year with 6 years of math and 4 or 5 years of science (depending on what AP Psych is counted as). Thank you for the advice, luckily I took all of those classes out of my interest in math/sciences, I didn’t realize it would help me in the long run haha.</p>

<p>@islandgirl32
I see, thank you for the info, I wouldn’t know any of this if I hadn’t posted on this forum ^^</p>

<p>@gotpeter
Yeah I will, do you think studying for the SAT’s (with the SAT book) will be sufficient? Or should I purchase an ACT study book? Thanks =]</p>

<p>@Mariner116
“CalPoly will reevaluate applications of students that change their a-g commitments during their senior year.”</p>

<p>Do you mean to say if a student were to get lazy and take all easy classes in their senior year, cal poly disapproves? Next year, I’m taking AP Literature, AP Calc BC, AP Government/Economics, AP Psychology, and Art (I believe Art in high school is required to apply to UC’s/Cal-States, correct me if I’m wrong). I chose 5 classes so I can also hold an after-school job, do you think I should have 6 and take like Honors Anatomy? The only AP classes I haven’t taken at my school are AP Chemistry and all the AP 2nd language classes (french, chinese, spanish). I hate AP Chem with a passion so the only other science is Honors Anatomy, my school doesn’t have an AP Anatomy =/. Which classes aren’t counted as core classes? Is it just 2nd language (in my case, spanish), teacher aiding, P.E., health and tech? </p>

<p>This is my breakdown:
Summer before 9th grade - geometry
9th grade - Honors: biology, english 1, algebra 2; Normal (CP/college prep): spanish 1, P.E., and health and tech
Summer before 10th grade - chemistry
10th grade - AP: world history, physics; Honors: english 2, spanish 2, pre-calculus; Normal: P.E.
11th grade - AP: U.S. history, biology, English language and composition, calculus AB, statistics; Honors: spanish 3
Summer before 12th grade (expected) - graphic arts (vocational education/high school graduation requirement)
12th grade (expected) - AP: Government/economics, literature, calculus BC, psychology; Normal (CP): art (this schedule can be changed, but these 5 I am taking for sure, if any changes are made, it would either be replacing AP psych with honors anatomy or adding honors anatomy and having 6 classes)</p>

<p>I didn’t realize the number of core semesters mattered as much as you say, thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it.</p>

<p>@rlw123
As a student, am I only allowed to apply early decision to ONE college? CP SLO is one of my top choices, but I am also applying to Harvey Mudd, what are the benefits of early decision? Thank you =)</p>

16

<p>If he has taken all of these AP courses and I assume he has gotten good grades, he shouldn’t have to study for the ACT. (My son didn’t study for it and got a 35 both times he took it.) I attribute that to an excellent school curriculum and a smart kid who is good at taking tests. I know that kids study more for the SAT. It does not seem to correlate as directly to good grades and school programs/couses taken. </p>

<p>What I am saying is, don’t spend too much time and $ on the ACT. Maybe take it once and see how you do and then take it again if you want to improve. you muct be extremely busy studying for all of your advanced course already!</p>

17

<p>@momofmv
Ah, how did your son do on the SAT’s? I’ll probably just study using the SAT book then, I figure the ACT and SAT are essentially the same thing. Thank you for the advice, you just saved me some money haha.</p>

18

<p>My advice would be to apply to a variety of schools, even if SLO looks like a perfect match. Because the admits are by specific major, it seems to be somewhat of a gamble even for those with scores/grades that are way above the campus averages.</p>

19

<p>My son got 2120 on SAT I(800 math, 680 critical reading and 640 writing.) He got 740 on the BioE Sat II, 670 Literature and 760 Math. He didn’t study at all or take a class. he looked at some questions on line for the format the night before. He took the SAT I 2x and he improved in his math score mainly. </p>

<p>Some people really do improve by taking a class or getting a book. My son just didn’t want to take the extra time to study. He was busy enough with his classes and he wasn’t applying to Ivy League schools. </p>

<p>If you want to get top scores, you may want to do some prep for the SAT. I think the ACT is more closely related to what you have learned in high school. You have taken a very rigorous course load, so you should do well.</p>

<p>Take the advice of the people above and apply to many schools. CSU, UC and Private. Some kids go crazy and apply to 10+ schhols. My son only applied to 7. So far he is accepted to 4 of them and is waiting to hear from 3 more. right now, he is planning on attending Cal Poly for engineering.</p>

<p>Keep reading these posts and you will be well prepared for next year when you apply. Hopefully things will be easier next year, but you can’t count on it!</p>

20

<p>don’t worry! I think you have a 100% chance of getting in!
I got in for computer engineering with stats that were way worse than yours.
However, I’m a girl…so maybe that played a factor because not a lot of girls aspire to be computer engineers? idk lol
goodluck next year!</p>