I would love some help.
My 16 year old senior has had horrible ADD. It’s caused him to have a low GPA (not turning in homework) even though he is really smart. He has gotten much better but I’m afraid it’s too little too late. GPA is 2.5 unweighted 2.8 or 2.9 weighted. On the other hand his ACT is a 30. I was told there would be somewhere on the CSU Mentor to explain this, but didn’t see anything.
Anyone else have a low GPA with a nice ACT? Would love to hear about your experience. His GPA won’t get him into any schools, but I"m praying his ACT will help!
I have ADHD too, and my SAT score is really good while my GPA isn’t as great. My freshman year grades are really to blame for this, so I’m hoping that colleges will see my progression. While i’m not applying to and CSU’s, I think the frame of mind for any good school to adopt is that there is no gpa/score that will get you in- only ones that won’t keep you out. I, personally, am using the optional section of the common app to talk about my ADHD and my guidance counselor is writing a little bit about it in her recommendation. There should be some optional section on the CSU application, and if there isn’t i would be really surprised. Also, has he had any medication for ADD during high school? And did he ever have any accommodations? These things can make a huge difference in grades for ADHD kids, and if he didn’t have one/either then that should be something you put on your application.
I guess it’s pretty frustrating having a great SAT or ACT and a not-so-hot GPA, but i think this is something that can come with ADHD. Admissions committees probably understand that. If i were you i would call the admissions office and ask where in the application you can include info about his ADD. I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to hear about it anyway, it really adds dimension to an application. Best of luck! I know college apps can be tough with ADHD (i’m going through it right now!)
Thanks so much! I’ll look again! CSU schools don’t have letters of recommendation or essays so it’s been really stressful not being able to put any kind of explanation. I’ll call and ask the admissions office. Good luck!!!
GPA for CSU purposes is calculated as described at
http://www.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/gpa_calculator.asp
You can then calculate his CSU eligibility index as described at
http://www.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/elig_index_calculator.asp
CSUs, other than CPSLO, will use the eligibility index to rank applicants for admission within the specified buckets (based on whether the intended major is impacted and whether the applicant is in the local area, non-local in-state, or out-of-state).
SJSU publishes past threshold eligibility indices at
http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html
If his CSU GPA is 2.9 and his ACT is 30, his Eligibility index would be 880. This is a solid EI and he should have many options depending upon his intended major. The impacted campuses such as SDSU/CSULB/Cal Poly SLO and Fullerton are probably not possible, but he has a decent chance at the rest of the CSU’s. Impacted majors will have a higher EI requirement, but you can use the link as a guideline of where to apply.
https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf
Also use the link that @ucbalumnus posted which shows the EI threshold for all majors at SJSU. Again you can use these numbers as a guide for which majors may be possible at the other campuses.
Your local CSU will give priority to local applicants, so I would start there. Look at some of the non-impacted campuses for a safety school. http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impaction-campus-info.shtml
Good Luck to your son.
Look at the disability office’s websites of the specific CSU you are interested in, to see if they allow a disability related appeal. I know that CSULB, Pomona, and East Bay all offer a second look if a student has been denied and the student feels that disability plays a role. The student still had to be qualified, but this gives you the option to say that grades are result of ADD and not ability.
This is the specific link for CSULB but contact the other campuses to see how they handle this situation.
http://web.csulb.edu/divisions/students/dss/programs/stephen_benson_program/special_admission/
You also may want to check out East Bay’s Trio program which might be able to offer support services for ADD.
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/af/departments/project-impact/index.html
Wow, Thank you all so much for the great advice!!! I really appreciate it!