@polololo “Honestly, after looking at this thread I am a bit disheartened. I did not know that Cal Poly was one of those schools that just looks at numbers, not the value of an individual, what they have been through, and maybe reasons why they couldn’t perform the way that other kids could. I don’t even know if I would attend a school that doesn’t value me as an individual and simply sees me as a number.”
I’m a little surprised that if a college applicant has worked so hard in high school and in applying to colleges that they can’t even look up the college data sets of the schools that they want to spend the next 4 years of their life attending?
If you looked up SLO’s data sets (or any other college you apply to) they clearly state that Course Rigor, GPA, and Test scores are king (i.e. “Extremely Important”) No other areas are even checked for “Important” and everything else is either “Considered” or “Not Considered”. Clearly the academic stats of the applicant is the most important criteria, by a long shot.
Maybe every high school in the U.S. should have an AP class on “How to Apply to College”?
I know everyone on this board is an honest upstanding citizen…as well as your children. But, I’m sure there are instances of not so honest people trying to game the system when it comes to some of the non quantifiable work hours or EC hours. These cannot possibly be verified. I would think that something as easy to manipulate as this maybe shouldn’t be part of the acceptance equation.
I’m pretty sure most people would be much happier if Cal Poly used the EI index the rest of the Cal States use. There is a sense of fairness about having a uniform admission process.
It sucks that they won’t look on updates. The day after I turned in my application I got a job that I work 27 hours a week at. I feel like that would have improved my application a lot.
My son was wait listed for Computer Engineering.
Cal State GPA 3.87
ACT 35
APs, major related job, holds a leadership position on FRC Robotics team, STEM high school courses…
@socaldad2002 I’m sorry but I truly believe a large percentage of California state school applicants have no idea the common data sets even exist for each school. School counselors are not always well versed and not everyone can pay for a college admissions coach who should know this. I find your comment condescending at best.
@SanDiegoDad 100% convinced kids game the system since there is no processs to verify ec’s, community service and work experience. No LORs, no resumes. The more time I spend reading this feed the less enamored I become with Cal Poly.
@socaldad2002, If you look at the MCA, GPA, test scores and course rigor make up 4650 of the total possible 5000 point score. At the margins, those 350 EC points can make a difference. Cal Poly was expecting more than 30 times the number of CS applicants than they have spots for (4377 applicants for 130 spots). Even if you assume a yield of 33%, that would mean they would still have more than 10 times the number of applicants than spots. I have no solid information on this, but it is entirely possible that at least half of the applicants have a CSU GPA of 4.0 or better and an ACT of 32 or better. That would mean that well over 1000 very highly qualified applicants were declined acceptance. I think I read that about 6000 students with 4.0+ GPAs were denied admission last year.
@Marlinmom
“I’m sorry but I truly believe a large percentage of California state school applicants have no idea the common data sets even exist for each school. School counselors are not always well versed and not everyone can pay for a college admissions coach who should know this. I find your comment condescending at best.”
Not trying to start a fight, but I don’t think @socaldad2002 is being condescending. We didn’t rely on the school counselor, and we didn’t have the $$$ to pay for a college admissions coach. I did my own research when oldest son was a freshman in high school.
@Marlinmom My comment was meant to be thought provoking. Having my own D in HS, I’m not sure we as a society are doing a good job of educating our youth with the correct skill sets for the real world. Our kids are great in academics and following a game plan but apparently many have no idea what the rules are of the game they are playing. No need for HS or private counselors to know what criteria colleges are looking for in an applicant, it’s a keystroke away. There is a wealth of information on the internet (like CC) and the colleges own website not to be “blind-sided” by what a college is looking for in an applicant. Didn’t want to derail this thread but just point out that taking control of owns career is a part of being an educated student.
@Marlinmom Undoubtedly there are some that game the MCA system. Cal Poly should audit a small percent of the applications to keep everyone honest (maybe they do- I told my son they did).
But, the holistic admissions process has its own set of problems. Wealthy parents hiring $20,000 admissions consultants that “help” with the app and all important essays. $200/hr SAT coaches. Then you have the part-time employees that read the application who are of variable quality and certainly have their own biases (as do we all).
The fundamental problem is that we have an arms race for admissions and there exist no ideal system for picking out the “perfect” applicant. The top schools can fill their classes several times over with stellar students. My youngest son was accepted into Cal over classmates with the exact same stats and equally good ECs. I would like to think he was “special” and the supremely wise 27 year old reading his application came to a just conclusion (but then why did he get the WL at UCLA?). But, in reality I know this whole process has a element of luck in it and this is why kids have to apply to 15 plus schools. It drives me crazy when the elite colleges pat themselves on the back for the skill they exhibit in picking the perfect class. I am convinced if Stanford or any other top school just randomly picked kids from the top half of their applicant pool nobody would know the difference.
And like I said earlier- God help you if your kid applies to medical school. All of the issues we are seeing here are magnified ten fold.
Hi, I just wanna put something in here. To those who got into Cal Poly and are still reading this thread, please don’t be disheartened by people who are saying that the system is messed up, you got into an amazing school and you earned your spot. You deserve it, be proud of yourself, this is a big deal!
Also, I understand that maybe the application system may have some problems, but most application systems at colleges aren’t perfect.
Accepted OOS here, just received the $1000 green and gold scholarship. Does anyone know how they select recipients? Do all OOS recieve it? Also, should I expect anymore financial aid coming from a middle class family?
I just received my email regarding Green and Gold Scholarship, as well. My understanding was this would be the max offer for OOS students. I’m not entirely sure. Does anyone know when Honors invites are sent out?
Congratulations to everyone on their acceptances. I agree with comments above- ignore the negativity, we have all worked hard for our achievements.
But, I’m sure there are instances of not so honest people trying to game the system when it comes to some of the non quantifiable work hours or EC hours. These cannot possibly be verified. I would think that something as easy to manipulate as this maybe shouldn’t be part of the acceptance equation.