My D is a high school senior and is looking for a pre-vet type of major, such as Animal Science, Biology, or something in between. I noticed by selecting “Sciences” in the drop-down boxes on the left under “College” on https://asir.sdsu.edu/applications-by-major/ that:
- 33% of the Biology applicants (2533 of 7739) were accepted at SDSU,
- 42% of the microbiology applicants (113 of 271) were accepted, and
- 44% of the biochemistry applicants (695 of 1590) were accepted.
*** Would my D have a better chance of being accepted to SDSU if she applied for either microbiology or biochemistry as opposed to biology? (We are CA residents, but non-local)
*** Or is SDSU like CSU Fullerton, where the tour guide told me there’s no advantage of getting in by applying to a certain major, and that it is very easy to switch majors.)
*** Follow-up question: Does CSULB offer an advantage if you apply to a certain major, or is it like CSU Fullerton?
All CSU’s admit by Eligibility index and major. Applicants are ranked by their EI based on major and you cannot go by acceptance rates since it really depends upon the EI’s of each pool of applicants for each major. In general, Biology is not only one of the most popular majors, it is usually also more competitive than Microbiology and Biochemistry. I would lean towards either Microbiology or Biochemistry but you are looking at an EI of around 4300+ SAT to be competitive for any major at SDSU.
All applicants (with very few exceptions) are placed into a Pre-major and have to meet course and GPA requirements before continuing in their major for upper division courses. Some majors are easier to switch into than others, but switching means you need to meet the Pre-major requirements.
IMPACTION
Microbiology is impacted. After admission to SDSU, students are initially placed into the Microbiology premajor. Premajors must meet department-specific criteria in order to be admitted to the major. Admission to the Microbiology major requires:
• completion of all Preparation for the Major courses
• combined GPA of 2.7 or higher in Preparation courses • a minimum grade of C in each Preparation course
• an overall GPA of at least 2.6 (for all courses taken)
• satisfaction of the lower-division writing competency requirement • no coursework for the premajor or the major may be graded Cr/NC
After completing these requirements, meet with the Biology advisor to be admitted to the major. Students who do not meet one or more requirements should meet with the Biology advisor each semester to determine an appropriate course of action.
Biology is impacted. After admission to SDSU, students are initially placed into the Biology premajor. Premajors must meet department specific criteria in order to be admitted into the major. Admission to Biology Major requires the following:
Ø Completion of all the preparation for the Major courses and a combined GPA of 2.8 or higher in these courses (excluding Phys 180A, 180B, 182A, and 182B).
Ø A minimum of C or better in every course (Recommended A’s and B’s). Ø Courses in the Preparation for the Major cannot be taken Cr/Nc.
The chemistry/biochemistry major is an impacted program. To be admitted to the chemistry major, students must meet the following criteria:
a. Complete the preparation for the major;Preparation for the Major. Chemistry 200, 201, 232, 232L, 251; Biology 204, 204L; Mathematics 150, 151, 252; Physics 195, 195L, 196, 196L. (43 units) Recommended: Physics 197 and 197L.
b. Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.
To complete the major, students must fulfill the degree requirements for the major described in the catalog in effect at the time they are accepted into the premajor at SDSU (assuming continuous enrollment).
Same situation with CSULB which is an impacted campus. My advice is always apply for your choice major unless another major will work for ultimate goal, but do not assume that changing majors is easy.
@Gumbymom Thanks for the response!
So, if I understand you correctly, the CSUs put all of the applicants in buckets based on the major that they applied to, and then pick a separate “cut-off” EI for each major, where only those above the “cut off” get in?
For example, if Biology has a cut-off EI of 4400, and Microbiology and Biochemistry had a lower cut-off EI of 4350, a student with an EI of 4375 would not get into SDSU if they applied for Biology, but they would get in if they applied for Microbiology or Biochemistry?
Yes, different thresholds for different majors based on the EI’s for the current applicant pool so if they do not meet the threshold for their choice major, then SDSU will not accept them. SDSU does not consider alternate majors. CSULB if local, will place the applicant in Undeclared if they are not admitted into their choice major. Each CSU handles their local applicants differently in regards to priority and if alternate majors are considered.
SJSU is only CSU that lists past EI thresholds by major.
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It would be helpful if all CSUs with campus or major impaction would do that.
It does look like CSUN also lists past frosh EI and transfer GPA thresholds: https://www.csun.edu/admissions-records/impaction
Interestingly, SDSU shows transfer GPA thresholds but not frosh EI thresholds: https://admissions.sdsu.edu/transfers/apply/gpa_requirements
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@ucbalumnus Thanks for the links!
So, if I understand it correctly for CSUN for CA residents you need at least an EI of 2950 (if your local) and 3800 (if your non-local) to get into CSUN.
- Biology: However, if you are applying for the impacted Biology program, you need the higher EI of 3800. However, local applicants get a 100 point EI boost. So, bottom line is that you need at least an EI of 3700 (if your local) and 3800 (if your non-local) to get into Biology at CSUN.
- Chemistry: Chemistry is not impacted, so you need an EI of 2950 (if your local) and 3800 (if your non-local).
*** Is the above correct?
The SDSU transfer GPA link is interesting, because it shows that Chemistry (Biochemistry) requires a 2.00, but Biology and MicroBiology requires a 2.80. Thus, this seems to hint at Biochemistry being an easier major to get into for FTF. Agree?
@Gregmacd: The above means that as a Pre-Major in Biochemistry (FTF) at SDSU you need a lower GPA to advance into the major which could also mean more difficult pre-req courses than Microbiology and Biology Pre-majors.
Compare Biochemistry Pre-req courses: Chemistry 200, 201, 232, 232L, 251; Biology 204, 204L; Mathematics 150, 151, 252; Physics 195, 195L, 196, 196L. (43 units) Recommended: Physics 197 and 197L.
Biology Pre-req courses: Biology 203, 203L, 204, 204L, 215; Chemistry 200, 201, 232, 232L; Mathematics 124; Physics 180A, 180B, 182A, 182B. (37 units)
Microbiology Pre-req courses: Biology 203, 203L, 204, 204L, 215; Chemistry 200, 201, 232, 232L; Mathematics 124; Physics 180A, 180B, 182A, 182B. (37 units)
@Gumbymom Thanks again! All excellent points!
- It seems that the BioChem math classes (Math 150-151 & 252, which is Calculus 1 , 2, and 3), would be more demanding and result in a lower GPA, than the Bio majors who only need to take (Math 124 - Calculus for Life Science).
- Calculus classes killed my GPA in college. I took one of them twice and transferred in another one. Luckily my grades in my engineering classes were much better.
Re: #6
Unless CSUN says that the thresholds will stay the same, be aware that past thresholds may not be the same as future thresholds, depending on application demand in the future.
@ucbalumnus That’s a good point!
*In 2018, CSU Fresno had a non-local EI of 3800 for “Animal Science - Pre Vet” , then raised it by 200 points to 4000 for 2019! https://web.archive.org/web/20180811062834/http://www.fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/are/impaction.html
http://www.fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/are/impaction.html
- So, if CSUN did the same for Biology, it could raise it from 3800 to 4000, which could put Biology out of reach for my D who has an EI of about 4000 (but it may be a few points lower). Anyhow, I was thinking that my D may want to apply for Biochem at CSUN to get a better chance of getting into the school.