The word going around campus right now is that the incoming freshman class is substantially larger than planned. Next year’s sophomores have been told that Poly Canyon Village is going to be 85% doubles to accommodate a much larger income freshman class.
If anyone has news on this potential debacle in the making I would love to hear about it.
They’re already down 200 or so beds from the mudslides after the epic rains.
Yield is rumored to be higher than anticipated too. That’s a huge difficulty for schools like Cal Poly, because it’s always a guess. Schools like Stanford whose accepted students almost all choose to attend, don’t have to accept many more than the planned class. CP on the other hand, has to accept roughly 3 for everyone who eventually enrolls. It’s even more challenging though, because they have a different yield for every single major.
The year before my son started they had a big yield year, and got through it fine. I expect that’ll be the case this year too.
There is a post on the Cal Poly reddit group that said the over enrollment this year - rumored to be either 600 or 1200 too many - is because admissions didn’t change the algorithm when they got rid of the early decision option and gave out too many admittances.
Could this mean they’ll look for any minor reason to rescind offers to pare down the excess admissions?
@lankysequoia, no. They’ve had episodes of over enrollment in the past and done everything possible to make the experience for admitted students positive.
@eyemgh, I think you said on another thread that your son lived in a triple during his freshman year. Was that in the Red Bricks or in another dorm? Does he have any advice for an incoming freshman since it looks like there will be a LOT of triples next year? You know, stuff like what to bring and what NOT to bring, etc.
Have they started hinting at the benefits of the “gap-year” experience?
I suppose if any accepted student is considering it, now is the time to step forward.
@STEM2017, CP does not encourage gap years and they require reapplication instead of deferral for one year. If they do as you suggest, it would be a major change for them.
@AMCdad, he did live in a triple, and if he had it to it over would do it again. They had bunks on one wall with a desk at the foot on the window side. On the other side, they had one bed, up high, like a top bunk with no lower bed. Under that they had two desks, side by side. As for what to bring, not much. 
Clothes, but the weather is almost always nice, so they don’t need a lot of warm clothes or coats. They should bring specialty athletic things like soccer shoes and shin guards if they want to play. A computer is nice, but not absolutely necessary. No refrigerators, popcorn poppers, blenders, etc. There’s really no place to put them, even in a double. All in all, the experience will hinge on the quality of their room mates, double or triple. Fun times!
Thanks, @eyemgh. We have already talked about sending him with a light load of clothes and a little bit of money to buy what he needs to adjust to the climate and culture. What works in Sacramento might not work in SLO. He’ll have a laptop, but those are small and portable, so all should be good. Thanks for the info on the refrigerator. I was already shopping for a nice dorm model. I’ll scratch that search off of my “things to do” list. Besides, the freshman meal plan is so substantial I don’t think he’ll need access to convenient snacks.
@AMCdad, it’s so easy to adapt once they get there. SLO has a Costco, Home Depot, etc. It’s always easier to get a few things than it is to store excess items. BTW, the iron was never used either.
I doubt my son even knows how to use an iron. I know I couldn’t teach him.
@ocmom1000 think that without Early Decision this year they did not have as good a handle on class size to admit. Thinking it was not necessarily a good thing Cal Poly eliminated ED as did help manage yields. Without a long term data set to get a handle on yield rates without ED – may swing to lower number admitted next year and not filling slots. Data sets really important in managing the process.
In terms of what to bring, I’d be sure to have warm clothes actually. This past winter it dipped into the 30s at night. A few days ago it was 90 degrees or more, today it is overcast and in the 50-60s. SLO weather is anything but predictable and you really have to change clothes to match the temperatures twice a day.
A friend of mine is in the middle of this housing predicament and it sounds like 6 people will be sharing a study space that could, at best, accommodate 3 people. There’s simply not enough room for that many people in one place. I know it’s not an option for first years, but everyone else would be much better off looking off campus. More bang for your (many) bucks.
I agree with @c172pilot. You just don’t need much. Even when SLO weather is predictable, 70 and sunny, days start in a sweatshirt or a puffy. That really cold weather was a super fluke though.
As for off campus housing, students tend to cram in anyway. My son is in a 2 BR condo with 4 other guys. In the same complex, some guys packed in 8! They put 3 in the garage.
It might be because of the elimination of Early Decision at SLO but the UCs are dealing with the same issue of over enrollment this year. Several of the UCs have admitted few, if any, off of their wait lists.
@Dadfan A parent on one of the Cal Poly Facebook groups called and was told that they admitted the same number of kids as last year but they got more acceptances this year.
It’s an educated guess, at best, every year. This year was even harder, because they eliminated ED. Predicting yield on that group is easy. It’s almost 100%. Rolling them into RD however creates a new uncertainty. It happens and the school is always very accommodating in years when it happens.
@eyemgh, are there any hard numbers on yield that are available? I know posters here in the past have provided links to major-specific yield numbers. Just curious if those numbers come out now or much later in the year.
I’ve honestly never seen yield by major. I’m not sure where to find it. Sorry.
Here is what someone else posted on another thread: Obviously, these are old numbers.
https://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/ir/1/images/2016-17%20Enrollment%20Projections.pdf