<p>I have about a year left at my community college until I’m ready to transfer. Cal Poly SLO is my top choice and I REALLY want to get in. Right now my transfer GPA is a 3.6 (which i plan to increase) and I intend to transfer for Aerospace Engineering. I will have the “golden four” completed and all other required classes. </p>
<p>I’ve been researching the transfer rates and they’re actually quite low! Much lower than the high school admission rates. However my counselor says that if I stay on track and complete everything I will have a really good shot at getting in. It’s strange seeing students with 4.0 GPAs and all required classes completed but still get rejected while students with 3.4s get in. Do many people not get accepted for not completing the “golden four”? Also is it true that Cal Poly favors Caucasian applicants? I’m Caucasian and African American so I’m a little curious about that.</p>
<p>What things do you guys recommend I do to increase my chances of being admitted? I have the grades and will have all the required classes complete. I’ve also been doing a little EC activities on the side. Thanks!</p>
<p>@CSpence – I’ll let others answer your transfer questions. The question that I am fully qualified to answer is the bomb you dropped about Cal Poly possibly favoring Caucasian applicants. My son will begin his studies at Cal Poly this Fall. We are heading up to SLO to move him into his dorm tomorrow. We are a mixed race family and I can assure you 100% that Cal Poly does NOT favor white student applicants over any others. Your mixed race status will probably help you rather than hurt you. At every event we met families from all races and backgrounds. People were welcoming, truly interested in us as a family and we never – not even for a nanosecond – felt that anyone was looking at us differently because we are of mixed race. We felt completely embraced by the community there and we fell in love with the school.</p>
<p>We did notice that for some reason, African Americans tend to gravitate to other schools. If anything it is not a race thing but a city vs rural thing. Remember, one of the biggest departments at the school is the agriculture college which historically is predominantly white.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is arguably the best Aerospace Engineering program in the nation. Just keep up your GPA and make sure that you complete all your prerequisites and other requirements. You’ll love the school. Best of luck.</p>