SDSU Admissions Issue

<p>Most of my kids classmates end up at a UC or a Cal State. Most graduate in 4 yrs. If you get into one of the top UC's you had to have taken plenty of AP's in high school. And as someone said the UC's give you credit. They are also good about giving credit for any dual enrollment classes your student took at the CC. The student who is on top of things and proactive seem to have the easiest time navigating the system. That said I do think it is going to get worse.
Most of the kids I know at UC Berkeley and UCLA applied to many schools out of state. For the majority of them it still came down to cost. The UC is still cheaper. The schools they got merit aid at were lower ranked then the UC's.
I have heard lately of CC students having problems with transferring. Several of the UC's are getting very particular and any thing out of the exact transfer agreement can be a reason to reject. We have seen this especially in those going into sciences and engineering who normally are advised to not follow the guaranteed transfer course list.
For my son with LD and ADD the UC's and Cal States were not an option. He would never have been able to concentrate. He needed small classes. At his Ca private he has had several classes with as few as 3 students. But we are paying the price for that class size. It would have been cheaper to send him to a Cal State.</p>

<p>It could be about major. The kid's I met with were all business majors.</p>

<p>hmom5 - I graduated from SDSU in 1984 with a degree in accounting from the business school and the classes were hard to get then. Sounds like it hasn't changed much in the past 25 years!</p>

<p>yes, that was the reputation for SDSU even in 1975. But you can't beat the weather.</p>

<p>I really don't get the arrogance here --> the OP's daughter made a mistake. now they want to SUE? </p>

<p>Quick advice: it doesn't work to go to court to blame other people for your mistakes. It won't work in any case. </p>

<p>It also is a really bad, terrible life lesson for the student if that is the example she is given. It really sets up a pattern for continued failure: always blame others for mistakes, get angry when things don't go your way rather than looking for alternative solutions. </p>

<p>As far as I know, no CSU is legally obligated to take out-of-area students, so there is no "right" to admission in the first place, and certainly no "right" to be granted admission on appeal. Its a losing battle made worse by a belligerent attitude. (Also I notice that it seems to be the parent rather than the student making the phone calls - that in itself sends a message that undermines the student's chances). </p>

<p>If the student really wants to go to SDSU above all other schools, she should take the waitlist spot and also apply for spring semester admission, or apply for admission the following year. CSU's are very flexible about accepting transfer credits from community colleges, so if the student doesn't get off the waitlist, she can fill some of her general ed requirements with community college courses... where she is likely to have smaller classes in any case. </p>

<p>I'd note that the SDSU web site says, "The Kinesiology major is an impacted program" "Many San Diego State University majors are designated as impacted, meaning they have more students wanting to declare that major than can be accommodate" See: SDSU</a> Kinesiology Program
Welcome</a> to the Office of Advising and Evaluations</p>

<p>So right there is one very good reason why the daughter's appeal was denied. I'm sure that applicants for impacted majors probably need to have high school GPAs that are significantly above the minimum required eligibility.</p>

<p>Showmom-hubby graduated from SDSU in 1983 in accounting. It hasn't changed much, still a good school and much prettier than when he attended! He has done very well for himself, we live out of service area but there is a large alumni group around here and they all loved their school and are proud of it. Kind of neat.</p>

<p>any1can - SDSU is so much nicer now than when I was there! We live within the service area for SDSU, but D who is a hs junior has no interest in going there.</p>

<p>showmom-we're from OC and SDSU was D's last choice, applied because dad went there and we told her to. She hadn't seen the campus. We went on a spur of the minute campus tour, she fell in love with the school and that was it for her and she has never looked back. Turned down UCD, UCI, LB, Fullerton, and Cal Poly Slo. UCI, LB and Fullerton were too close to home so I understand your D wanting to go elsewhere. D #3 is off to college in the fall, probably UW.</p>

<p>My Dd at Berkeley did not use any APs to fulfill requirements, was undeclared and could have graduated in December, she is taking two grad classes plus 2 upper div classes all in her major and will graduate in May.</p>

<p>She did not know for sure what she wanted to be, she took the toughest potential major (pre-med classes) and used that as a rubric for GE classes. All through her first two years she fulfilled breadth and did not declare her science major until junior year, but she had prepared herself by making sure the breadth classes she took would fit that and had she gone with an easier end goal, they still would have fit that GE requirement list.</p>

<p>I think kids who are taking classes that sound good, but which are not needed end up with a tough time getting certain requirements done on time.</p>

<p>My nephew did 2 years of CC and transferred to a Cal State where only half his CC units were used. I have to assume that was poor advising or poor planning or a change of major goal required a change in plan.</p>

<p>My other DD did two years CC and every single class transferred and fulfilled a requirement at her small private, we emailed with them every term to make sure DD was on track.</p>

<p>It is very possible to finish at a UC in four years IF you have a plan and stick to it. Much harder if you explore with classes that will not meet any GE requirements or change majors.</p>

<p>smarterthanilook, I know you just want people on this forum to tell you what you want to hear.</p>

<p>I know a few people LAST year(remember, the there wasn't that massive budget cut) that got rejected with a 1800+ combined SAT and a 3.9-4.1 GPA. They even got accepted to UCSD!! So don't think that the school should be FORCED to accept your daughter.</p>

<p>Im sorry for your troubles OP, but this is a lesson for everyone whose kids are applying next year -- we as adults make typos and mistakes. They are still kids, no matter how much independent we want them to be -- check the final application for them, and then have your spouse re-check, and then a gc</p>

<p>This seems really odd, because the university should be able to look at transcripts and whatnot also. If her GPA is the only reason for her waitlist, then your appeal should be very valid. However, if they don't have room in their class, then, well, it WAS your D's mistake, and unfortunately some lessons are learned harder than others.</p>

<p>Either way, I hope it all works out for you in the end. As someone from SD, let me tell you that it's a good school, but there are lots of other good ones out there too. Maybe if it's not working out it just wasn't meant to be.</p>

<p>Best,
VC</p>

<p>If SDSU doesn't want to accept any corrections to student applications all they have to is delcare it somewhere in their rules. They listened to my daughter's problem, suggested (their suggestion not ours) that she appeal by sending a letter explaining this situation with her officail transcript. She did those things and the appeal was rejected one day after it arrived. We called to hear the resolution and were told the appeal was rejected and that there would be a written document explaining the rejection sent to my daughter. To date she has not received anything more from SDSU or CSU. Just for the record she would not be going to SDSU even if she were accepted at this point. She has been accepted to 14 other schools. Some of the out of state schools have even offered scholarship money for her academic and outside activities.</p>

<p>Calmom, "Arrogance"??? you've got some nerve. Look you idiot, re-read what was originally written. We were told the decisions for admission were not made by the departments in mind. Maybe they lied, could be. You sound like you work there. I never said she had a "right", I said that she deserved a oppotunity make a material correction on her application. And, yes be reconsidered. SDSU has not responded in writing regarding my Ds appeal rejection, even though they said they had mailed it out (I'm sure it got lost in the mail) two weeks ago. We all make mistakes, except you Calmom, and it just seemed logical that since we discovered the error before things got real complicated we might have some recourse. We researched, we called CSU experts and discovered that no one could come up with a written rule that suggested my D was out of luck. It is all up to the SDSU admissions office. Calmom, if its arrogant to think that what I pay my taxes for do a half way decent job, you got me, baby. If it is arrogant to want rules to be clear and precise, ok I'm arrogant............................</p>

<p>smarterthanI look- good to hear that d has all those acceptances/merit awards. </p>

<p>as for this situation, I still firmly believe that sdsu is in the wrong here. Holding back a student for a typo is not what the admissions officer would want for their own child. </p>

<p>We know for a fact that student errors have resulted in at least one admission at sdsu in the past, and why bring the hammer down on this kid? If this matter was elevated to higher levels of administration at sdsu, I believe that the decision would be reviewed favorably. </p>

<p>Good to hear that won't be necessary, it sounds like its a blessing in disguise.</p>

<p>smarterthanIlook - welcome to the wacky world of SDSU bureaucracy. It doesn't get any easier once you are admitted.</p>

<p>Try to believe in fate. This bureaucracy could have become your daughter's college experience.</p>

<p>I have some real sympathy for the OP. Lots of kids in north county San Diego whose parents went to SDSU are getting turned away and redirected to Cal State San Marcos, which is right up there with UC Merced on the popularity front.</p>

<p>Smarter to Calmom- "Look you idiot, re-read what was originally written...." I feel sorry for your daughter if this is how adult behavior looks in your family. I think everyone has given you good advice and has tried to help. Now the name calling is starting in. It is time to end this post before it gets any worse!</p>