Hi. I’m a first generation student, and a senior at a very highly recognized high school in California. I have a 2.93 weighted GPA, and I’ve taken a couple AP classes. My SAT score is a 1540. I really want to get into college, and I’m very stressed about getting in, mainly because my grades are so poor. I am considering majors such as marine biology (but I am open to other majors involving bio) and business. I love creating writing as well, but it might be a difficult career option in terms of money. I am trying to do a LOT of community service so it can help my profile, and I am a part of the National Society of High School Scholars. What are my chances? Should I do a community college first and transfer?
You would have a chance at some of the non-impacted Cal States such as Humboldt, Monterey Bay (Good for Marine Biology), Channel Islands, San Marcos to name a few. If you are not happy with these choices, attending a CCC for 2 years and then transferring into a more choice University is a great option.
Do you recommend using any sites to calculate my chances if I were to go to college after high school? I use ■■■■■■■■■■ but I’ve heard mixed results.
I have no recommended sites which calculate your chances since Stats are only part of a college application. If you are targeting CSU’s, these schools are stats driven so GPA is important. Common Datasets are available for each college and would have information in regards to average GPA, test scores, factors important in the application process etc. I have linked CSUMB as an example:
https://csumb.edu/sites/default/files/images/st-block-25-1429283556400-raw-cds20142015.pdf
Check sections: C5, C7, C9, C10 and C11 of the common dataset.
Basically you need to do some research on each school and see what they require for admission. Compare their averages to your stats and if you come out above the 50th percentile, you have a decent chance for an acceptance.
Common Datasets use unweighted GPA while many of the CSU sites will post their average CSU GPA.
https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/gpa_calculator.asp
What is your UC GPA? If it’s sub 3.0, then UCs are out. You could TAG thru a CC.
What do your parents expect you to do? Will they pay for you to go OOS?
It simpler than you think.
For UCs, without a 3.0, you don’t qualify so your chances at any of them are really slim.
For CSUs except SLO, assuming you’ve completed the a-g courses, they use a simple formula to rank applicants - CSU GPA *800 + SAT (M&R only).
You’ll note EC/Sports/community service pay no role.
With a 2.93 and 1000, your index would be 3344. (you need to calculate yours based on your actual stats)
As a CA resident, you need a 2900 - for non-impacted CSUs,
SJSU is the only school that publishes their results by major from last year. As you can see, some programs you’d make it into - others you wouldn’t.
http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/admission/rec-10079.12651.html
They are also the only campus to vary their admission threshold that widely. The numbers below are a pretty good proxy for the non-local freshman threshold for most majors.
SDSU 4100+
CSULB 3800
CSU Chico 3700
Fullerton 3700
Northridge 3600
San Marcos - 3500?
Sonoma 3300
CP Pomona 3300 (varies more by major)
Sac 3100
Fresno 3100
SF State 3100
Humboldt 3000
Assumng you’ve completed the a-g courses - it looks like you’ll qualify for most of the CSUs. Calculate your Index to be sure.
Good luck
The National Society of High School Scholars is a scam where they just try to take people’s money. It is literally that. Colleges will not care at all that you have it because they know what it is all about.
I am considering going to an out of state college like Arizona, but I am not sure if the equation for reviewing applicants is different there.
Quite a bit - but ASU and NAU would be happy to have you (and your money) UofA, probably not.
For Californians, most CSUs offer a very good education are a great bargain at just $7k/yr for tuition. We are also very generous (too generous I think) with need based aid for students who can’t afford school. Heading OOS to attend ASU doesn’t make financial sense - $15k/yr for tuition if you choose a campus and major that is WUE available. Nearly twice that if your GPA or academic program keep you out of WUE (WUE is a reciprocal agreement among public universities in the Western US )
Read about WUE and their OOS policy here:
https://students.asu.edu/tuition
It would make more sense (financially) to attend Sac or San Jose State. For most programs the education is about equal to ASU.
UPDATE: Now that my transcripts have been updated, I have a 3.0 weighted GPA under “Total GPA”. Is this the GPA that CSUs look at?
Yes, (CSU GPA x800) + (SAT Math + Critical Reading)
The EI’s posted based on this calculation, not the total score. Go by the EI’s posted by @NCalRent and the SJSU link using only SAT Math and Critical Reading scores.
Your CSU GPA is 2.93 and SAT score 1540. What is your Math + CR? SDSU average CSU GPA is 3.82 and SAT (M+CR) is 1159.
If your Stats are as stated above, no SDSU is not an option along with CSULB, CSUF, SLO, Chico, Northridge etc…