Should I even apply to Cal Poly?

Hi, I am currently a high school junior on a college search. I am planning on majoring in Statistics, and I’m not sure if i should even apply to Cal Poly SLO. I am aware that it is a very competitive school for STEM majors, and doubt that I have the qualifications to get accepted. If i did get apply, though, it would be my first choice.

At the end of junior year i will most likely have:
3.5 (weighted) GPA
1450+ on the SAT
Some EC’s but not many

Please help me out on whether or not i should even apply for Cal Poly, and if it’s a long shot to get into with my info,
Thanks!

SLO admits by major and MCA points. Statistics at SLO has around a 44% acceptance rate. The MCA point system is outlined below the majority of points are based on GPA (9-11th grade) and test scores. You will be ranked by your major and MCA points. The higher the points, the better the chances. Your GPA is a bit low, but your SAT score is competitive. Definitely worth an application, just no guarantee so consider it a Reach school.

MCA information:

Academic MCA:

The maximum GPA they will use is 4.2, even though you can have a higher calculated CP GPA. A 4.2 is worth 2250 MCA points. Thus, multiply your CP GPA by 535.7 and you’ll get your MCA points for GPA.

The next biggest thing is test scores. The odd thing, likely because they wanted it to total a nice round number, is that the max score is 1650, even though the max SAT score is 1600. Multiply the total of your best SAT CR and your best SAT math by 1.03125 to get your MCA test points. If you took the ACT, they convert and vice versa.

The third largest section is the class rigor score, worth 750 points. In this section you get zero points for meeting the minimum admission requirements and adders for more than the minimum. The bonuses in order of power are (min semesters/max total semesters/bonus per extra semester/total possible bonus): math 6/10/125/500 (note: stats and finite do not count), lab science 4/8/50/200, English 8/10/50/100, foreign language 4/8/25/100, visual performance 2/4/25/50, no bonus points for social sciences or electives. As with GPA, you can actually score higher than the maximum, but 750 is the most they will count.

Finally, work and ECs, worth 350 points. Work (hours per week/bonus): 0/0, 1-5/20, 6-10/40, 11-15/60, 16-20/80, 21+/100, add 50 points if work is major related. ECs (hours per week/bonus): 0/0, 1-5/30, 6-10/60, 11-15/90, ‪16-20/120‬, 21+/150, add 60 points for leadership role.

There are also other Non-Academic Bonus Points:

CA vet/701, Hayden Partner School/700, faculty/staff dependent/700, service area of CP/500, either parent with some or no HS, but who DIDN’T GRADUATE FROM HS/300 (per parent).

Lastly,

Cal Poly ACT/SAT Concordance Chart in case you took ACT (use only Math and English and figure out the two equivalent SAT scores)

ACT CR M

‪36 800 800‬
‪35 770 790‬
‪34 760 780‬
‪33 750 760‬
‪32 720 730‬
‪31 700 700‬
‪30 680 680‬
‪29 650 660‬
‪28 630 640‬
‪27 610 620‬
‪26 590 600‬
‪25 570 580‬
‪24 550 560‬
‪23 540 540‬
‪22 520 520‬
‪21 500 500‬
‪20 490 480‬
‪19 470 460‬
‪18 450 440‬
‪17 440 410‬
‪16 420 390‬
‪15 400 360‬
‪14 380 330‬
‪13 360 300‬
‪12 330 280‬
‪11 300 260‬

Here’s how it works. Cal Poly does TWO “READINGS” one of academic only and one after adding additional non-academic bonus adders. The reason I put readings in quotes is that they don’t actually READ them. A computer tallies points and then ranks students.

Thank you so much!! This really helped a lot!

It costs $55 to apply thru the CSU Mentor website. Other than that, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Worst that can happen is they say no.

Do it! Wouldn’t it be awesome if you got in? Don’t count yourself out.

You might not even have to pay $55 if they grant you a fee waiver which lets you apply to 3 other CSUs