What are my chances for Cal Poly SLO Computer Science Major

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

What are my chances for Cal Poly SLO Computer Science Major, Fall 2018 Freshmen Undergrad.

Calculated MCA score based on the post #52 at http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/cal-poly-san-luis-obispo/1694769-confused-about-mca-score-p4.html (thanks to @eyemgh)

Total MCA Score 4645

Calpoly GPA 4.29 = MCA 2250
SAT Super score 1450 = MCA 1495
Course Work = MCA 750
Extra Curicular (11-15 hours) = MCA 150

High school in San Jose, CA

Thanks in advance to everyone for giving me insight.

2

I think you are a borderline applicant and CS will be a tough admit. Around a 4700 is competitive for the College of Engineering but since CS is one the most competitive majors with an acceptance rate below 10%, you should expect the accepted applicants will have a higher MCA score. You might want to select Software Engineering as an alternate major. I would assume since you live in San Jose, you are also applying to SJSU for their excellent CS program.

Best of luck.

3

Thanks @Gumbymom for your explanation. Yes I’m going to select SW Engineering as an alternate major for Cal Poly SLO and applying to SJSU as well. However I’ve follow up questions.

  1. Does Cal Poly consider alternate major if candidate is not fit for primary major? Always, sometimes, rarely?
  2. Does SW Engineering has better acceptance rate then Computer Science at Cal Poly?

Appreciate your time.

4
  1. SLO does consider your alternate major sometimes if you do not meet the threshold for your first choice major. Unfortunately, the applicants that were offered their alternate major were in the same College such as Engineering.
    For example, I saw an applicant get denied for Biology but accepted for Nutrition (two different colleges).
    You might want to look over last year’s acceptance thread to see if any CS majors were offered their alternate major.
  2. SE does have a higher “projected” acceptance rate but each year it will depend upon the competitiveness of each in-coming Freshman class.

If SLO is your #1 choice, you might want to consider selecting SE as your major choice instead. I would look over the curriculum for each major to see if SE would meet your academic goals.

Course Flowchart for SE vs CS
http://flowcharts.calpoly.edu/downloads/mymap/17-19.52SEBSU.pdf

http://flowcharts.calpoly.edu/downloads/mymap/17-19.52CSCBSU.pdf

5

Thanks @Gumbymom for sharing additional insights and URLs.

6

Sorry for the late reply, I know this post is a bit old! I think that Gumbymom is accurate in the assessment of acceptance. From a second perspective, I do think you have a shot! I do know that switching majors into the CS department has become next to impossible this year however, as the number of people in the program is capped. This could change next year however, just a thought to consider. Switching from Software Engineering to CS may be possible however as they are within the same sub-branch of the college of engineering, however I do not know for sure. If you have any more questions feel free to send me a message however! (I am currently a CS student at Cal Poly)

7

Thanks @bioincs for the info.