Non-resident interested in SDSU

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I attend a top-ten ranked public high school in Massachusetts. My CSU Mentor calculated GPA is 3.3. I took the ACT with no prep and scored 23. My parents are paying for a private ACT tutor and I’m confident that I will raise my score to at least 25 or 26 when I take it again in Sept. I’m undecided about my major.

So here are my questions:

  1. What are my chances?
  2. What major should I choose if I want to increase my chances. I understand that all majors are “impacted” at SDSU, but some must be less impacted than others?
  3. Is it true that my chances are better because I’ll (my parents will) be paying 3-4 times as much tuition in addition to room & board and that the State of California needs the money?
  4. Is UCSD entirely out of the question for me?

I was born in La Jolla and my dad moved us out to Boston 12 years ago for his job, but we still see ourselves as Californians. SDSU is my #1 choice!

Thanks in advance for any insights.

2

Currently your Eligibility index for CSU’s is 890 based on your current Stats. For SDSU, you need to have an EI of around 1000 to be competitive. You can select Undecided but all majors are impacted including Undeclared.
Full pay applicants are always welcomed, but you still need to be competitive for an acceptance. If you raise your ACT to 26, it still puts you below 1000 EI but you should apply since there is always a chance you will be accepted.

EI= (CSU GPA x200) + (ACT comp x10)

UCSD is out of reach with your current stats. Average UC/CSU is 4.13 Average ACT is 30.

3

[QUOTE=""]
I took the ACT with no prep and scored 23

[/QUOTE]

I took the LSAT (an admissions test for law school) with no prep and scored a 134.

Don’t take a test cold and talk about your 23; otherwise, I will brag about my 134. Please study hard for the ACT and do well.

4

Thanks, your comments confirm my fears about SDSU being a stretch for me, but I’ll keep working on raising my ACT score and apply in October no matter what.

5

jsm2015, I obviously gave you the wrong impression. I certainly wasn’t bragging about the 23. I’d planned to take the ACT at least twice, so my first sitting was to get a feel for the test.

6

Using the formula above to solve for the ACT score required for you to reach an Eligibility Index of 1000 (SDSU’s threshold) , I get 34 - a nearly impossible score.

I encourage you to apply - because dreams are fun to have but, encourage you to be realistic about your chances.

Take a look at LMU, USD and perhaps Chapman in So Cal and St Mary’s and UOP in N Cal. All are privates with very nice campuses that will probably take you.

Good luck.