I’m a rising senior and my CSU gpa at the moment is 3.35. My intended major is Computer Science. I haven’t taken the SAT yet but I’m confident I can score a 1400+ this fall. What would be some good safeties, matches, and/or reaches. I’m from LA so I don’t really want to go to any colleges further than Northridge/Channel Islands.
What is your local in-service area CSU? Your local CSU would make a good safety if their CS major is not impacted.
https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/Documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf
https://www.mjc.edu/studentservices/counseling/cdtc/transfer/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf
Some school suggestions are Dominguez Hills, Northridge, Los Angeles, Channel Islands, San Marcos and San Bernardino.
Test scores will not be considered in the 2021 admission cycle for the Cal States.
Another option is to attend your local community college and excel there so you can transfer to a preferred CSU or UC.
**
- California residents and graduates of California high schools will be eligible for admission by earning a 2.50 or greater “a-g" GPA.
- Any California high school graduate or resident of California earning a GPA between 2.00 and 2.49 may be evaluated for admission based upon supplemental factors such as number of courses exceeding minimum “a-g" requirements, household income, extracurricular involvement, and other available information that would inform the campus admission decision. Each CSU campus will determine the supplemental factors used with GPA to determine eligibility in these cases and communicate these criteria publicly for prospective students.
- Non-California residents may be eligible for admission to the CSU by earning a 3.00 or greater “a-g" GPA along with other supplemental factors utilized by the individual campus, including those outlined by impacted campuses and programs.
Campuses and programs designated as impacted may utilize higher “a-g" GPA thresholds for applicants, as well as identify supplemental criteria and their relative weights, in making admission decisions. However, in no case will standardized test scores be utilized in making admissions decisions for applicants during the 2021-2022 academic year.
@Gumbymom My local college would be CSULA, are test scores really not being considered in admissions? The Cal Poly Pomona admission center emailed me stating that they were, here’s the full email.
"Good Morning,
As stated by your email, the SAT will be optional for the Fall 2021 incoming class and can benefit a student as we will be reviewing the application as a whole and take different factors into consideration.
Best Regards,
Debora Hernandez "
This is copied directly from the website so maybe each campus is deciding for themselves what they will consider in their application review:
next year is going to be really unpredictable with due to all of the gap year kids and the SAt?ACT situation. That said, i think LA, CI Northridge, and Fullerton will probably take you. CPP, maybe but be sure to select a less competitive alternate major.
Be sure to apply broadly.
good luck.
I would try appling to Cal poly slo, if you do get a 1400 sat score and up, because that is the best school, but I applied to all the local csus and they were
Cal poly pomona
Cal poly slo
Cal state long beach
Cal state fullerton
I
@happys: All Cal states are test blind for the coming admission cycle, so a high SAT will not help the OP much in this case so GPA will be a major factor. There is no harm in trying for a high test score in case they use test scores in the supplemental evaluation (campus specific) but OP should assume that GPA will have the biggest impact on getting into any school.
Include some non-impacted CSU’s such as Channel Islands, East Bay or Dominguez Hills for example.
SLO specific for College of Engineering and CS has around a 6% acceptance rate which is the most difficult major for acceptance.
SLO GPA: 4.07 – 4.28
ACT Total: 29 – 33
SAT: 1370 – 1520
Not specific for Engineering or CS but averages for all the other CSU campuses. See link: https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/counselor-resources/Documents/freshmen-2019-admission-impaction-chart.pdf
As has been stated, this is going to be a very unpredictable year for applications. If at all possible, apply more broadly than in previous years. I know not everyone can do this due to the costs of applications or the practicality of attending schools at a greater distance. However, if you can, include more safeties than previous years, but also maybe add a reach or two more. In comparison to previous years, there are going to be acceptances and rejections that will make everyone scratch their heads.
Good luck!