<p>I’m just curious, I know SAT II subject test are not required for Cal Poly and now the UCs are not requiring them anymore, but some of the UCs do consider them in the admission process. Does anyone know if Cal Poly looks at them too?</p>
<p>I’ve always believed that GPA’s are not really an objective way to compare applicants because grades can be very subjective. The level of difficulty of the same class can vary between schools and even between teachers within the same school. I believe SAT/ACT scores, or AP scores are more objective because they are standardized across the board. I’ve been reading some old posts about why some “over qualified” applicants are being waitlisted. My son’s stats are probably “average” looking at past year’s data, but he did get in. He applied early admission. Did that help? Or could it be the classes he has taken and the classes he is still taking during his senior year? His courses have always been heavy in the math and sciences, mostly all honors or AP.</p>
<p>How much the geographic area that the student is from count? We live in north L.A. county, 3 hours away from SLO. To be honest, we were surprised when he was admitted because we know how competitive it is to get in.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure SAT II scores are not considered in the CP admissions process. Rigor of H.S. curriculum, however, is definitely important, and most of the bonus points for rigor are awarded for high math and extra science classes. I do think it can help to apply early decision. At ED you are only competing against others for whom CP is their top choice and are applying to the same major. Often, those applicants with the uber high stats are applying to top UC’s and other exclusive privates in addition to CP and so they won’t be applying ED at CP. But they will be your competition in the RD applicant pool. For this reason (after child #1 was in and we learned something about CP admissions) I encouraged all the rest of my kids to apply ED. Also helpful is choosing a major that is not one for which is CP is the “top rated” program around. For Arch and Engineering and really even Business, CP is favored over most other California options (due to price and ratings) so the competition for these majors is especially fierce. For LA and Science majors, there are many other attractive options within California, so not as many are pursuing CP as their top choice.</p>