<p>with a 3.24 UW you should be able to get into almost all the calstates (as I'm assuming you took some other AP classes). The only one you probably won't get into is Cal Poly SLO as you'll probably need a 1200+ to get in there. Most of the calstates aren't selecting for A students; that's the UC's job. SDSU should be pretty safe as your SATs are still well within the range of acceptees (the average is a 1074).</p>
<p>sdsu pretty safe? are you kidding?</p>
<p>there is no way. it is a total reach just like cal poly slo</p>
<p>His SAT II averages blow any of the students out of the water at SDSU. He's also taken a fairly challenging courseload. He also goes to a competitive high school.</p>
<p>okay
1. cal states do not look at SAT II's. Not even cal poly looks at them
2. cal states only count gpa and sat (except for cal poly), they dont really look at workload (only to make sure you took all required courses)
3. they dont care where you went to high school unless its in service area
4. average freshman sdsu gpa is 3.5 and above</p>
<p>once again total reach</p>
<p>oh and i also had many friends with better stats that did not get into sdsu, its become competitive. it said over 52,000 people applied there last year</p>
<p>After telling me that they don't consider SAT IIs or the strength of a high school, your description of the word competitive has become rather skewed. I guess in the relative sense it is when you cut down all the factors. You would think that they would try and discern "better" students in order to improve the four year graduation rate (AP scores and SAT IIs are better indicators of freshmen performance); I know for a fact that they're trying very hard to get people out in the allotted time but it's proving very difficult. Even the UC's don't even break 60% and they have a cute term for it, super senior was it for the 5-6 year students?</p>
<p>well i just meant competitive for the cal state or lower uc (UCR, UCM) level kids. definately not competitive for the higher uc (Berkeley, UCLA) or private school (USC, stanford) level kids.</p>
<p>yes it is harder (gpa and sat) for one to get into sdsu then it is to get into ucr or ucm</p>
<p>In the long run does it effect someones life if they graduate in five rather than four years? College just might be the best time of our life, I'm probably going to graduate in four, but truthfully a fifth year especially with 2400 dollars a year tuition (at SDSU) doesn't seem that shabby. Trust me if you put in a minimal amount of work, you can easily graduate in four years. I'm actually majoring in finance and minoring in poly sci and I'm exactly on course to graduate in four years with honors.</p>
<p>Unskewing the words, "Becoming Competitive":</p>
<p>40 percent acceptance rate (out of 52,000 applicants).</p>
<p>The average GPA has risen .5 in 5 years. </p>
<p>The SAT scores have risen from around 1,000 to 1,110</p>
<p>Who knows what next year will have in store.</p>
<p>Although, they unfortunately have to abide by the CSU's silly regulations that does not take into account SAT II's or a few Extra Cirrucular things, but frankly, look at Cal Poly they've done very well for themselves abiding by these regulations.</p>
<p>good points as always, bell. a decade ago one could almost get into any unit in the cal state system with the minimums save a few isolated exceptions like arch at SLO. but since the 1990s the dynamic has shifted to more like the UC model with demand for certain campuses like san diego state, beach, and the two cal polys, outpacing the supply of seats (load limit). what we are now seeing is an elite campus (SLO), a clearly top tier set like the ones above, and then a rather fuzzy range of campuses from excellent like fullerton, san jose and chico to we'll take all comers like east bay, san bernardino, bakersfield, and dominguez hills. although never intended to be this way, students have voted by admissions to create a tiered campus system just as students in the UC system have done.</p>
<p>the state has responded by adding new campuses such as san marcos (1988), monterey bay (1994), and channel islands (2003), but the demand continues to be higher at the more desirable units that then are forced to impact their programs or completely shut off admissions no matter how eligible you are.</p>
<p>and so it would be difficult to answer anything but yes to both original questions about SDSU with irrefutable evidence to back it up.</p>
<p>How is the campus at SDSU? A friend of my son's visited the campus and said it wasn't attractive. There were cars all over the place. Traffic near the school was bad. You aren't close to the beach.</p>
<p>He's going to apply at the Universities of Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and Indiana instead. </p>
<p>He didn't speak highly of SDSU to my son either which didn't thrill me since my son is instate for SDSU. :(</p>
<p>When is SDSU's reputation going to go up? If you look at the common data sets for the above schools, the students bodies aren't very different at these schools.</p>
<p>dstark: </p>
<p>with possible exception of Cal Poly SLO and Chico, all of the Cal States have a commuter feel, since they are primarily commuter schools. Even the SLO and Chico have "cars all over the place" since most kids drive to campus each quarter; parking is tight at SLO, so cars are way off campus.</p>
<p>Given the fact that the UCs exist in-state, it is extremely hard for the Cal States to improve their reputation -- they are just overshadowed by the big Uni. SLO has been considered a strong school for years, due to its engineering and architecture programs. In contrast, SD reveled in the fact that it was a consistently top-ranked 'party' school by Playboy magazine. </p>
<p>Apply early to UofA since they can and do offer tuition discounts, (aka scholarships) to OOS kids, which essentially waives the OOS premium of $10k per year. But, a friend who recieved one of those scholarships, said it was first come, first served. When the $ runs out, they stop providing the discounts. UoA has rolling, so apply in Sept if you can.</p>
<p>The Cal States still accept nearly every minimally qualified local applicant, i.e., from high schools traditionally feeding that specific campus. Of course, guaranteed admission to campus does not necessarily mean admission to an impacted major.</p>
<p>"Impacted Programs - Local Admission Guarantee</p>
<p>Under the local admission guarantee, local CSU-eligible first-time freshmen and local upper division transfer students shall be admitted to a local CSU campus on the basis of established CSU system admission policies. However, admission to an impacted campus does not include assurance of admission to a specific major if that major is impacted at the local campus. "Local" first-time freshmen are defined as those students who graduate from a high school district historically served by a CSU campus in that region. "Local" upper division transfer students are defined as those who transfer from a community college district historically served by a CSU campus in that region. The boundaries of a campus's local region shall contain the entire territory of the school district or community college district in which the local high school or community college campus is located."</p>
<p>Of course, the downside in this policy is that the popular campuses, become even more commuter-like.</p>
<p>Bluebayou, great post. Thanks.</p>
<p>SDSU does not feel "commuter" like to me, i've lived on campus for two years now. Maybe because even if half the kids commute to school, that leaves us with 15,000 students which is larger than most universities. So with SDSU you have to put things in perspective. Senior year, many students move out to pacific beach and commute to school. So there are subsequentially two areas that feel campus esque in San Diego, pacific beach and the campus area. Most students that commute typically come from east county which has its drain on "college avenue" but if you're coming from the west you can go right up mission gorge typically with no traffic issues. When I visited U of A, I was absolutely not a fan. It felt dirty and desert-like. The grass was dying etc.</p>
<p>bell:</p>
<p>your comment about living on the beach is similar to UCI where some (many?) kids live in Newport Beach due, in part, to the high cost of housing in Irvine. </p>
<p>But, in any event, a SDSU student from NorCal living on Coronado Isle is no different than a local kid communting from his/her home on Coronado Isle; both, drive, bus, car pool to campus, and then leave in the afternoon and head back to da' beach.</p>
<p>haha you dont think newport beach has high costs of living? most of southern orange county and especially the beach cities have high costs of living. and especially laguna beach and newport beach</p>
<p>of course it does. But, would you rather pack 4 guys in a miniture apartment in suburban Irvine, or pack 4 guys in a small flat on the beach?</p>
<p>Trying to get a house on the balboa pennisula isn't the easiest of tasks. There is literally only one block seperating the beach from the bay.....Pacific Beach on the otherhand, has many blocks leading to the beach...you can buy a house 6 blocks from the beach etc. In newport you can only get a house/apt. 1 block away from the beach. Rergardless I can assure you the balboa pennisula (by the beach) does not feel campus/student filled at all comparitvely to PB</p>
<p>What about my chances at these other CSUs? Would they be matches or safeties?</p>
<p>Chico
Los Angeles
Monterey Bay
Sacramento
San Jose</p>
<p>if a Cal State is not impacted, it will accept (nearly) all minimally qualified applications.</p>
<p>slam dunk at LA and Sac and probable safety at MBay though they are getting more popular now. The best programs on your most recent list are at SJose and Chico, which might be at worst slight reaches. Of this group i would pick San Jose hands down. it's in a great area at the most mature campus just minutes from the ocean at SCruz or the city at SF. and you even have some mtns around scotts valley nearby too.</p>