<p>The single biggest factor for kids who have done everything “right” (made good grades, took all/most of the recommended courses, and scored well on SAT/ACT reading and math) is what major they applied to. Cal Poly offers 62 majors and in-state and out-of-state applicants are considered separately. So Cal Poly applications are divided into 124 separate applicant pools based on major and residency status. You only compete for available spots against others in your same applicant pool. CP is an extremely popular choice for California residents as the highest ranked CSU and the lowest priced university in California of those similarly ranked. The location also is considered highly desirable for California and OOS applicants. With the budget shortfalls in all CA public educational institutions, schools keep increasing the number of OOS students they will accept, because they want the extra tuition dollars. At Cal Poly, the OOS applicants don’t have to compete against the massive number of California applicants, so even though there are fewer OOS spots, the competition for those spots is less intense. I believe this explains some of the “confusing” acceptance decisions. Some majors at CP are in very high demand (like BME, ME, Kinesiology, Biology) and the in-state completion for the in-state spots for those majors is ridiculously tough, like Ivies. </p>
<p>my son’s accepted "Science & Math’s Department average " : ACT 30. SAT 1983. GPA 4.04.
Very High But my son’s stats are humble. (ACT 26, UW GPA 3.93) But he accepted. It’s a miracle. I’m very happy.</p>
<p>It would be interesting to see the ISS and the OOS student profiles for the most competitive majors, but I think it’s more complicated than just ISS vs OOS.</p>
<p>I do think though that “doing everything right” CAN be different between CP and most other schools. The classic example is no art. Huge penalty. Not enough math, no matter what your major. Huge loss of bonus. At most other schools these things would not only be trivial, they’d actually be meaningless.</p>
<p>Additionally, as you alluded to, Poly admits by major and they are VASTLY different in their competitiveness. </p>
<p>It is a very different process that breeds bitterness because families, many who planned on Poly as a safety get denied and don’t understand why.</p>
<p>The reason why my son accepted is he is OOS, so competetition is not so severe. because OOS ,cal poly is not known well so competetion is not severe I guess.</p>
<p>I know CAL POLY is very good school so I told my son you go to cal Poly…It’s fantastic Univ ,you know ?
My son has to give me great thanks…hahaha</p>
<p>@Seashel Some of what you say is not correct, CSU and UC GPAs are not capped per se but you can only use 8 semesters of weighted classes. Assuming you have a 4.0 and 8 semesters of 5.0 the max you will get is 4.2. Having parents who have graduated high school does not penalize you. For some students, not the majority it can give you extra points, but for the MCA only candidates (65% of admits) it has no bearing. APs do help as they give you the weighted grades. Cal Poly lists their recommended number of semesters of each subject, and I believe each major lists any additional ones, THAT helps if you take those classes. I honestly do not know how they deal with AP courses you don’t get at least a 3 on, I would bet it hurts your numbers. There also might be penalties for classes with a grade under a C- (supposition not sure). @taehunchoi I am guessing your son took math through AP Calc and passed the AP tests, that would give him bonus points. You really need to be nearly a straight A student with at least 4 weighted A’s to get into the more difficult majors. Also note that the College of Science and Math also includes the Liberal Studies major for potential elementary school teachers, not being mean but factual, and that holds down the overall averages for that school. Figure to get into the Math and Science majors you will need above average, gpa, extra courses and decent test scores, they count the least I believe. GPA is the greatest indicator of how students will do at Cal Poly, so they put a lot of weight on that and difficulty of courses (determined by needing to take more courses ABOVE the required courses. ie taking Pre Algebra or a 2 year algebra course is not counted towards the extra courses, and extra science courses have to be lab science.</p>
<p>@czs1994, I could be wrong, but I don’t think scores on the AP tests have any relevance towards admissions, but the grades you get in AP courses do (insomuch as they count toward the 8 semesters of weighted classes. I believe the scores only come into account when looking at credits you receive for them once admitted. The link below shows how the AP scores are used for enrolled students:</p>
<p><a href=“http://registrar.calpoly.edu/sites/registrar/files/Degree_Progress/articdoc/apcred2013.pdf”>http://registrar.calpoly.edu/sites/registrar/files/Degree_Progress/articdoc/apcred2013.pdf</a></p>
<p>@caligirl14 - thank you for that link! </p>
<p>
AP scores and SAT Subject test scores as well as the Writing component of the SAT I are not considered.</p>
<p>So given 2 students below, student #2 appears to have a lower stat, but he can actually have a higher MCA score than Student #1.</p>
<p>Student 1:
4.3 CSU GPA, 2160 SAT, 800 Math Level 2, 800 Physics, 10 APs (all 5’s)</p>
<p>Student 2:
4.2 CSU GPA, 1900 SAT, 650 Math Level 2, 650 Physics, 3 APs (all 3’s)</p>
<p>@2018dad if student 2 took more advanced math classes and more than 2 lab sciences maybe. I also truly wonder how a student who gets a 3 or lower on an AP test could get an A in the course, but who knows. It also isn’t possible to get a 4.2 with 3 weighted courses, of course they might have all 4, but they would also need a 4.0. I believe a lot of the super high gpas people list with a non 4.0 unweighted truly end up 4.2. It isn’t capped per se, it is the max you can score with a 4.0 + 8 weighted grades of A. Not sure that made sense but I hope so.</p>
<p>@czs1994</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It is totally possible. My daughter (she’s Val, #1/600+, 2200 SAT, 34 ACT), took AP Art History. It’s the first year that her school offered the class and the teacher’s first time to teach the class as well. She got a 3. All her other 7 APs are 4s and 5s.</p>
<p>
My example above said 3 AP classes. AP classes are not the only weighted classes. For GPA calculation, AP Chemistry and Honors Chemistry carries the same weight.</p>
<p>In the version of the algorithm I posted it says the max GPA is a 4.2. My son for instance had a Poly calculated GPA of 4.34, but I don’t believe the formula gave him credit for any more than 4.2. The ability to go over 4.2 is simply a function of how many classes you took during the three years they calculate. The reason for potentially higher GPAs at other CSUs is that they only calculate 2 years. The 8 honors/AP semesters thus have more impact.</p>
<p>It is indeed possible to have a school GPA under 4.0 and max out the Poly formula. The formula doesn’t count plus or minus grades. Many schools don’t either, but those that do where a student recieved many A- marks can drop their UW GPA to the 3.7 range, yet still max the Poly formula.</p>
<p>I also don’t believe AP scores have any bearing on selection. Some students don’t even take the AP test.</p>
<p>It also does not seem to matter what your 8 semesters of honors or AP were in as the GPA formula just asks for the number of semesters, capped at 8.</p>
<p>@eyemgh, actually the more classes you have the lower the gpa will go. My son, 4.0 a ton I mean a ton of weighted classes, but only 8 counted, so that left only 8 semesters with a 5.0 and I will guess 40+ total semesters (counted classes from 6th grade on and CC classes, about 9? plus at least 6 periods a day, sometimes more. Let us take an example of using the max semesters they want, 46 semesters x a 4.0 gpa = 184 grade points + 8 (the extra 1 pt for the 5.0 on the weighted grades) = 192/46 equals a 4.17 gpa. Any more courses would lower it. If you take the minimum courses they accept or 30 semesters with full credit for weighted grades you actually can come up with a 4.27. </p>
<p>@2018dad I was actually referring to an example of someone with at least 50% of their AP scores under 3. Some teachers are very easy graders I guess. That is why I said they could make it with honors courses. But my main point is that I think we are getting an awful lot of inflated GPAs, not calculated for Cal Poly. </p>
<p>It amazes me that people are more upset about a system that at least gives you an idea how they choose to admit vs. all the others that seemingly are very random. Get in at MIT not Stanford, get in Cal not UCLA, you can have stats well about their 75 percentile and not even get a second look. I find and found that to be much more aggravating.</p>
<p>There are two situations that I know of where AP exam scores are used during the admissions process at Cal Poly and my kid has used both.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>When you use a passing score on an AP exam to obtain a year of credit for a course you dodn’t take in one of the A-G areas on CSU Mentor.</p></li>
<li><p>When you use a passing score on an AP exam to obtain credit for a year of a course you did not pass (or made a grade of D).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>AP exams are a satisfactory way of earning credit for an A-G course (as are certain scores on SAT2 exams) according to Cal Poly’s CSU Mentor instructions. Of course you can not double count both the course and the exam.</p>
<p>@2018dad, #1/600, congratulations to your daughter, that is something to be very proud of 
</p>
<p>
Thank you. And indeed, we’re very proud of her. I know it’s cliche, but she really worked hard since she goes to a very competitive school. </p>
<p>@2018dad, if I remember correctly, your D’s major is computer science? My son is also majoring in comp/sci. I was wondering if you know anything about sjsu comp/sci program? He will most likely attend sjsu/honors as he was just waitlisted at UC Davis today. I would appreciate any feedback you may have:)</p>
<p>
Yes my daughter applied as a CS major. Sorry about UC Davis for your son. Did he apply to the other UCs? </p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, San Jose State’s CS program is really good, especially since it’s in the heart of Silicon Valley. I’m an IT professional, so the words that I’ve heard are coming from CS folks.</p>
<p>Thank you 2018dad! He only applied to one UC and 5 CSU’s. I do like that he will be smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley. Good internships and job opportunities. Plus, we have some family there and he will only be two hours from home. My hubby is an IT guy as well:) </p>
<p>@czs1994, that’s what I was hoping to convey, the fewer classes you calculate, the more impact the 8 “honors” have on the weighting. In effect, if you’ve amassed a bunch of semesters by working hard or taking summer classes, it could hurt your GPA even if you have a solid 4.0. Another slight oddity of the Poly admit system.</p>