The UCs and the Cal States are not on the common app, so presumably even though the OP applied via the common app in January, they followed the correct deadlines for the (earlier) UC and Cal States.
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If not, that’s the explanation for the CA schools as they’re all Nov. 30. Good catch @tsbna44!
SDSU is not one of the CSUs that posts prior year admission thresholds for all to see (SJSU, CPP, CSUN, and a few others do).
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I don’t think one technically can apply to the UCs and Cal States after their deadline?
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If the OP qualifies in the top 9% statewide they should have been offered admission at Merced since UC says
The updated Statewide Index will continue to identify California-resident students in the top 9 percent of California high school graduates and offer these students a guaranteed space at a UC campus, if space is available.
see https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/freshman-requirements/california-residents/statewide-guarantee/
AFAIK Merced always has space available for these offers which almost nobody accepts. Still it allows the OP to start this fall at a UC with a MechE program
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Some of the less selective CSUs have extended deadlines, at least for majors that have extra capacity.
As of now, Application Dates & Deadlines | CSU says that CSU Stanislaus is still accepting frosh applications for fall 2022 for biology and kinesiology majors.
However, CPSLO and SDSU generally do not have space to accept applications after the initial deadline.
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You may want to call our newest Polytechnic University in CA, they may still have open admissions:
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Based on your stats you should have been classified in the top 9 percent of California applicants and been offered a spot at UC Merced— if you are a California resident. If that didn’t happen, call your high school guidance counselor and also call uc Merced admissions office and ask about that. It may not be too late.
Edited to add that this offer occurs even if you didn’t apply to UC Merced.
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Based on OP’s stats:
And
There is something amiss here, as @Gumbymom and @eyemgh have mentioned above.
If OP is aware of the issue s/he may want to disclose it here to receive better guidance. If not comfortable doing so, or s/he is genuinely unaware of what may me wrong I suggest reviewing the apps with the school counselor or a private consultant (if OP’s family is willing and able to pay) to get appropriate guidance.
If it’s a correctable issue taking a gap year and reapplying may be better for OP IMO vs trying to get admitted to colleges with openings that OP likely has no interest in nor sees a fit.
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They also said they were waitlisted from UCSD.
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Honestly, I think this is just California now. He was applying for a competitive major with no real safeties on the list. I know several top students/valedictorians shut out or nearly shut out the last two years.
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That’s likely. But they still should have been offered UC Merced — unless the UCSD waitlist invalidates that offer. But since the waitlist turned into a no, I would think/hope that is still a viable option, if they want it.
UCM would have given OP a referral even with them on the UCSD waitlist unless no room was available for his major. They however give referral students other major options.
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Yes, Merced should have been offered.
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I really don’t think so. AE is competitive, but not as competitive as many others as it just isn’t as popular. An unweighted 4.0 with math through BC should be competitive at every non-holistic CA school on the OPs list, even in a non-testing environment. I agree that there aren’t any safeties, but many of these schools have algorithmic based admission. Something isn’t adding up. Until that rock is turned over, the OP risks repeating this outcome in a year.
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The waitlist offers prove that there wasn’t a fatal flaw in your application. If you can use a gap year productively, and reapply with a better strategy (especially applying early everywhere that you can, and including true safeties), that seems like the best idea to me. I appreciate what a lot of posters are saying about going with the CC transfer pathway. But my gut says that for a student like you, who isn’t fully settled on an engineering specialty, the time in CC just fulfilling prerequisites without gaining meaningful exposure to the various engineering disciplines would be frustrating; and then you’d need to transfer into an intense program, with all of the real engineering coursework crammed into the last two years, and no opportunity to explore. You sound to me more like someone who would do well in a four-year program with a First Year Engineering program that gives you time and insight to pick a specialty (like Purdue or UW-Seattle) or at least a school that allows students to move between programs easily, like Northeastern. CPSLO’s General Engineering option might be a good application path for you next time, since that makes it relatively easy to move into the various other engineering majors.
This major at Colorado State might combine your interests in a way that could appeal. (And it’s in the same department with CE.) Their website says that the fall 2022 application is still open, and you could apply for Spring 2023 starting in August. It’s a WUE school, which could make it quite affordable. https://www.engr.colostate.edu/ece/undergraduates/degree-programs/aerospace-concentration/
Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | Admissions | Colorado State University
Sorry you’ve had to deal with this setback. Going test-blind has made the UC’s even more unpredictable than before. I’d definitely seek some feedback about your essays as well, just to make sure there’s nothing in there that could have tipped the balance the wrong way. It sounds like you’ve learned a lot from the last cycle and have a good plan.
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So I combed through my spam and found I did receive an offer from Merced back in April. But even if I did see it before, I wouldn’t have accepted it anyway as I wouldn’t like to attend there and my parents would not be willing to help me pay for a school they see as “crappy.”
I turned in all my apps before the deadline, I just didn’t remember the correct month off the top of my head when writing my original post.
There is a previous post from a UC Merced skeptic whose kid was in a similar situation as you and had similar thoughts about UC Merced, but felt very differently after attending their accepted students day. You might find it interesting/helpful.
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Thanks for the advice so far, everyone. I have been considering the community college route, but I am still very apprehensive about it. I’ve heard that community college kills internship chances, and I’ve looked at internships opportunities for large engineering firms, and they all require enrollment at a four-year university, so I feel like community college would limit my engineering-related work experience by two years. I also don’t see a lot of research opportunities available at community college either.
About a fatal flaw in my application, my parents are able to foot the bill for any four-year college, it just depends on whether or not they see the school as “worthy.” They told me not to fill out any financial aid related things because I would just be taking money away from an applicant who actually needed the money. Would not having a FAFSA or CSS profile potentially have been the fatal flaw in my application?