@5nonnegotiables, CP admission may SEEM random, but there is no randomness at all. It is 100% objective based on an algorithm that takes GPA, test scores, rigor, ECs along with other bonus factors into account and then simply ranks students numerically. The bonus factors include extra points for the following: family of a CP employee, living near SLO (north of SB and south of Monterey), being a CA veteran, having one or both parents who didn’t finish HS, attendance of a Hayden Partner school. The feeling of randomness comes from the impact these bonus adders have on an application. For example, living in SLO (or anywhere within the school’s catchment area) adds 500 points. That means all other things being EXACTLY the same, the local student with a 1200 SAT would be chosen before a student from LA or the Bay who had a perfect 1600. You can debate fairness, but random it isn’t.
@Colanzio5
Good Q but I do not have the knowledge to answer that question.
@Colanzio5, CP uses only Math and English ACT scores. That would make yours a 27. For last year’s class for the whole college of engineering, the 50th percentile ACT was 32. Since Aero is one of the tougher admits within that college, it’s safe to assume their ACT average was even higher. The same goes for GPA. The average for engineering was 4.14. Assume Aero was higher. That woul make Poly a long shot. With that said, they are 100% objective (numbers based). They don’t quit admitting when they hit the 50th percentile. There has to be a last guy or girl admitted. You know what they call that person? An Engineering Student. Fingers crossed.
My daughter has applied for CS Major in Cal Poly SLO. She’s already been accepted for the same major at San Jose State. However, I see lots of talk here about the ECs of various applicants. I helped my daughter when she filled out the application and I do not remember there being any space provided for ECs at all. I just looked at the saved copy of the application on CSUMentor and the only difference between the SJSU application and the CP application is a couple of supplemental questions that ask about the average number of hours worked per week, “were you involved in any clubs/activities?” and “did you hold leadership positions?”. That’s all there seems to be.
So where did all of the people who mention their ECs add them to their application? Are the EC questions that appear depend on the major that you apply for?
Has anybody received acceptance for economics? In state or out of state
@Twistee. All applications are the same, even if they were applying to different majors. There was not a separate area where you could list extra curriculars. I think the majority of applicants on this thread are eager to share their extra curriculars with others and that is all. Most Cal Poly applicants are extreme overachievers which is a good thing! Good luck to your daughter!
Has anybody gotten their email yet or just the notification on their portal so far?
@calpoly13. Thank you for the clarification. I actually went and checked their freshmen admission criteria page at http://admissions.calpoly.edu/applicants/freshman/criteria.html and one of the things that it says there is that ECs are taken into consideration for admission. I wonder how they take that into consideration when they don’t ask for any information about it in the first place!!!
That’s what got me a bit worried. My daughter has really great ECs that are very relevant to the CS major, but there’s nothing about them in her application.
@Twistee, that is where all extra curriculars besides work go. There’s no difference between captain of the varsity soccer team and captain of the freshman soccer team. Both get to check the leadership box. At a holistic school, there would be a distinction, but not in CPs numeric system. ECs and work experience don’t count for much in the algorithm. In fact the points for maxed out ECs with leadership and work in a major related field all totaled up are worth 150 points less than the 500 point bonus for having taken math through Calculus. ECs account for 7% of the algorithm.
So I applied as computer science… when is that coming out? From what Ive read on this chat I have a few questions Do decisions come out by school or by major alphabetically? Do out of state students receive decisions before in state students?
@Twistee. They give extra points for EC’s on the application, as well as work experience. However, there is just a space for number of hours. I’m not sure if you are familiar with the point system or not. The main factors for admission are CSU GPA. ACT scores / SAT scores and AP classes taken.
@Twistee, unfortunately, unless it was a job, there’s no way to convey that in a CSU application. There are extra points given to work experience related to major, but not ECs. There’s lots of room for personal interpretation too. Let’s say a student worked in a microbiology lab as a volunteer assistant and is applying for biology. Is it work since there was no pay, or an EC. There’s room for interpretation. I would consider that work. Again, in the big scheme of things, ECs and work have very little impact on admission at Poly.
@twistee, you aren’t the only one perplexed when kids list a zillion ECs on this forum and seem to believe it is going to help them and even question will they get in cause of all the ECs…I am always left wondering, did they actually complete the application themselves? Cause if they did, they would know their laundry list simply boils down to a mere yes or no checkmark, and a number of hours. Maybe parents completed it for them?
If you know the basics of the algorithm it is pretty easy to know when CP is your safety school regardless of major.
The other thing that’s interesting is when they list UW and W GPAs. All that matters is the Cal Poly GPA which is the CSU GPA, but includes freshman year, but very few list it in their “chance me” requests.
@blueskies2d, @eyemgh, @calpoly13. Thank you all for your responses. Now for the long wait 
So if the EC/job experience is 7% what percent is ACT, CSU GPA, class rigor etc. also on class rigor is 700/750 low for engineering?
@Luckymomof3, CP calculated GPA accounts for 45%. Test scores, ACT or SAT superscored, 33%. Class rigor as defined by how many classes a student has taken in specific areas such as math, lab science and English, that are above and beyond the CP minimum, 15%. Last but not least, all extracurricular activities including work, 7%.
I would assume that most engineers in the competitive majors (ME, Aero, BME) would have 750/750. There are 950 possible up for grabs, 500 alone for math, but the algorithm maxes out at 750.
@czs1994 Roll up or take a chill pill, all I said was my “opinion”. I think @stressed4lyfe was the only individual that actually read “opinion” on my post. I put opinion more than once because I knew this was going to happen.
I don’t care about your facts or your views. I just stated my view on how I look at these schools. Every single human being is different and you must not know that if you are trying to call me out. I don’t go to Cal Poly, and to be frank, I don’t care about SLO or Davis. I am just an advisor. I am just here to educate individuals on how the selection process is done at Cal Poly.
@eyemgh You know a lot more than I do so I respect your two cents on this matter, but keep in mind that you are not me, and I am not you.
And lastly for everyone else, don’t listen to people’s post. Go where YOU want to go, don’t take people’s opinions into account. Everyone has their own preference and their own say on a subject.
For those who are not aware of the Selection Criteria for Freshman…
ECs = 7%
College Prep GPA = 45%
CSU Req. Courses = 15%
Test Scores = 33%
You’re welcome.
@joogman23, I appreciate all you add to this forum and I agree, every piece of information gleaned from an Internet forum should be taken with a grain of salt.
I bristled at your assertion that CP was inferior to the UCs because they are research institutions and CP is a regional university. I replied because, at least in the case of California public schools, the distinction of being a research university, counter to common wisdom, has zero bearing on the undergraduate experience, UNLESS it is in fact detrimental. It offers no positives. Let me explain.
Research universities make their reputations on the research they do. Who does that research? Doctoral candidates, under the direction of the professor they study under. What do they like to do? Research. That’s why they are there. Access to those facilities and professors, except in the rarest of universities is off limits to undergrads. Who does the bulk of the instructing? Graduate students, many of whom have never taught and have limited command of English. That leaves giant classes (Intro to CS at UCB has over 1000 students) taught by the professor with breakout groups (labs and recitations/discussion groups) taught by TAs. I went to a university like that. It isn’t very conducive to learning.
Contrast that to universities known for undergraduate teaching, Cal Poly being a prime example. Classes and labs are instructed by professors, generally in much smaller groups. The purpose of the school, simply, is to teach.
As for CP specifically, their lab facilities are phenomenal. For engineering, they have machine shops that are only used for student amusement that are better than any of the ones I’ve seen that were used for teaching.
In the end, I’m not saying that all CSUs are awesome because they don’t have graduate programs. Much of the quality of a school is dependent on the quality of the students around you and the quality of teaching. There’s no doubt, that at least for many majors, CP is exceptional in that regard.
Schools that do have great reputations as research institutions, CalTech and Stanford included, are not necessarily good fits for undergrads. There will be compromises, class size and quality of teaching usually being among them.
Sorry if it felt like a personal attack.
@eyemgh where do sat subject test scores and ap scores fall into those percentage breakdowns?