I’d consider CP a stretch too. The median GPA in the CENG is 4.21, and there are a couple of non-selective majors pulling that down. His full points for his ECs will definitely be needed to even be in the hunt. Good luck.
My son will be applying for Fall 2019. He is still deciding on his major. His top four choices are (not in this order):
- Agricultural Business
- BioResources and Agriculture Engineering
- Environmental Management and Protection
- Industrial Technology and Packaging
He is leaning toward a Business based major but I think Business Admin will be to difficult to get in.
Any feedback on the above majors? MCAs for each? In which major would he have the best chance of being admitted? Cal Poly is his number one choice, but he is flexible with regard to his major.
His stats:
CP GPA: 9.93
SAT: 1280 (hopefully higher with his next set of scores)
MCA 4485
Thanks for your help!
@wontgiveup, those are fairly different majors. I’d have him concentrate more on what he wants to do and then narrow. It’s not worth doing something he doesn’t like just to go to Cal Poly.
It will also be hard to find a lot of MCA feedback on those majors, but you can search the Final Status threads from the last couple of years.
All that said, my son’s friend from HS just graduated in IT. It seems like it was a good major and he’s got a good job now. It’s in the B School, but FAR less competitive to get in than Business Administration. I would think 4485 would be competitive for IT, but I’m not much into “chancing.”
Good luck.
@eyemgh Thank you for your help! They are different majors for sure and I wish he could narrow it better. I hear good things about IT but I’m not sure he can get in with his stats. May be worth a shot though. I really appreciate your feedback and I’ll check out the Final Status threads.
@wontgiveup, this doesn’t tell the whole picture, but IT accepts around 60% of its applicants. I’d be surprised if 4485 didn’t get him in. As always though, a safety is important.
@eyemgh That acceptance rate helps a bunch with making his decision on major. Where can I find acceptance rate by major. I see it by College but not by specific major.
FTF Target/FTF Applicant x 3 to account roughly for yield.
https://ir.calpoly.edu/content/publications_reports/targets/index
Thank you!
I am having a hard time finding chances of admissions for the Marine Science program at Cal Poly - SLO. It is a new program and it looks like they have only admitted a small number of students. I figured my daughter’s MCA to be 4734. She has a 4.33 Cal State GPA and 34 English/26 Math ACT (730/English/650 Math SAT) and lots extra curriculars and work experience. Mostly worried about the math scores for a science major. She is good at math but doesn’t seem to be testing well in it.
@marinebioslo: I would say your daughter is a competitive applicant for the Marine science program. Since it is a new program, you will probably will not find little to no MCA data. Projected acceptance rate was 14% so not easy admit overall.
Here is the a recommended 4 year flowchart for Marine Science. It does not look to difficult Math wise with 2 Calculus and 2 Stat classes.
http://flowcharts.calpoly.edu/downloads/mymap/15-17.76MSCIBSU.pdf
@gumbymom @eyemgh I couldn’t find a separate thread for this…How should my son enter his AP Econ w/US Gov class? Our school weights both semesters and spends only a few weeks on US Gov. Should it be listed as a full year of AP Marcro and ignore the US Gov? This would give him 2 years of History for a-g, and 2 years of College Prep. Or should he split them by semester? This would give him 2.5 years History and 1.5 years College Prep, but I think only one semester would show as AP for the Econ portion and the other would show as non-honors for the US Gov portion. Do UCs or CSUs ever give a full year of weighted credit to AP Macro? Does it look better to have exceeded the minimum a-g requirements in two categories vs. one? Thanks for your help!
@wontgiveup, I think @Gumbymom is your best resource here. My gut though is that you’d need to mimic how his school will list the course on his transcript. You can always call the admissions office too. It’s (805) 756-2311. Good luck.
@wontgiveup: I would also suggest you contact SLO admissions with your question as noted by @eyemgh.
It does not matter how the HS weights the class, what is important is how it will be listed on the HS transcript so the self-reported courses on the application match.
Some HS’s do offer a full year of AP MacroEcon and some offer it as a semester course. Can he sit for the AP US Government test after taking this course or only the AP MacroEcon test?
Most applicants to the competitive CSU’s and UC’s will exceed the minimum a-g requirements by a huge amount. 15 a-g courses are required which is 30 semesters. For many of the competitive schools, you are seeing applicants with 45+ semesters of a-g courses throughout their HS career.
Thanks @eyemgh!
@gumbymom He can only sit for the AP Marcro test. The Gov portion is only taught for the last 4-5 weeks of school after they take the AP Macro test. He’s exceeded the a-g mostly in math. Lightest in both history and college prep. He ends up with 46 overall.
@eyemgh @gumbymom Do you still think extra semesters in Social Science and College Prep electives don’t calculate into the MCA or do you think that may have changed. It could make a difference in how my son enters his AP Econ/Gov class (which I asked you both about on a separate thread). Thanks so much for your help - I am infinitely grateful!
@wontgiveup: Your son is definitely competitive for ITP. Best of luck to him.
Thanks @Gumbymom! Fingers crossed!
Any thoughts on the Social Science and Elective calculation for MCA ^
@wontgiveup, Poster @eyemgh is the MCA calculation expert. I never heard of the MCA points until I starting researching SLO and saw the posts about the MCA points.
There is no definitive information indicating that they still use this calculation along with no definite information they do not. Since SLO is a “polytechnic” school, it makes sense to me that they put more emphasis on the Laboratory/Hard sciences vs. the Social sciences. It is what it is but if he is not accepted, it will not be due to the way his AP Econ/Gov class was listed on the application.