Same with my son😑
My gut feeling. The random number generator for students in his gpa/stat range did not hit for him for one school and hit for the other.
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We are in the same situation(admitted early and honors at SDSU), but I really do believe it is how Cal Poly admits into very specific majors and has very specific # of spots they want to fill. It isn’t that Cal Poly doesn’t see your son as high stats it is that they have many many applicants with high stats and only so many seats. For example, political science has 86 seats for in state, but received 1800 applications. If you assume at least 25% are high stats(my daughter had a perfect 4.0 uw and max capped GPA) that means they have 360 applicants that “meet high stats” but only 86 seats… They have to turn kids away. I knew this reality before my kid even applied as I looked at the 2023 data that was released. Many, many high stats kids apply to SLO and that is why in some regards it is luck or lottery or whatever you want to call it if you get in once you meet that threshold of “high stats”. Our kids will land where they are meant to. Do I wish it was SLO? Absolutely! And remember, all these same high stats kids are also getting into OOS and top UCs so some of them will turn SLO down. If enough turn it down and your kid is on the wait list there is still a shot. Good luck!
SLO should have a parent self help group to get us all through this process. Man it is tough! And thank you admins for bearing with all the parents who are struggling through it. I know there is a lot of venting going on!
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If he applied Aerospace Eng to both, the acceptance rates pretty much explain this.
~46% in 2023 for SDSU
~12% for SLO (projected based on 3x yield)
Also, though it is the same application, remember that the campuses consider a few different things. One obvious one is that SLO uses 9th grade in GPA. SLO also considers work experience/hrs.
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Same but other way around. Accepted to CalPoly Business, denied Business Finance at SDSU. 
I’ve given up trying to figure it all out.
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Likely the same situation… Only so many business seats at both schools. His “luck” was at Cal Poly and not at SDSU. At a certain point how to you pick between multiple “high stats” kids with no essay, no SAT scores, essentially close or exactly the same GPA… you close your eyes and pick! Why did my kid get waitlisted at FOUR UCs and got into UCSB… How could she get waitlisted at UCDavis(which was 30% acceptance) AND UCLA(which is 5%)… it is just luck at a certain point.
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Much could be said very similiarly about job interviews… in some ways this is preparing our kids for reality. You could feel highly qualified, but what makes one person get the job offer and you didn’t?
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I’m actually OK with the “luck of the draw” method in this situation where you have WAY more kids who are qualified than you have spaces for, particularly since these are public schools. But if that is going to be the case, they should let kids and parents know up front, so they can plan and set their expectations accordingly.
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Acceptance rates:
~23% SLO Business (projected based on 3x yield)
~41% SDSU Bus Finance (2023)
These are <2x (vs the Aero Eng example of almost 4x), so the other factors can have a bigger effect.
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Has anyone been admitted or heard back who applied for Communication studies fall 2024?
My D24 applied communication. Crickets.
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Sort of, except their is the actual interview itself. Top CSU schools would be better off adding SAT and essays, imo.
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Have there been actual waitlists for any major yet? I see lots of no word and accepts, any waitlists?
Using the magnifying glass to search, it looks like there were Comms admits in post #710 and #735 on March 11th.
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/cal-poly-slo-class-of-2028-freshman-discussion-thread/3648056/710?u
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/cal-poly-slo-class-of-2028-freshman-discussion-thread/3648056/735?u
As we all sit and overthink this crazy process, this email came today from College Essay Guy regarding this exact topic:
The media and internet (I see you Reddit and College Confidential) are chock full of hot takes about how the college admissions process works, including misconceptions about advantages enjoyed by certain students in the college admission process.
In recent years, the exponential growth of applications to selective colleges and universities (e.g. close to 170K students applied to UCLA last year) has fanned those flames.
But it’s important for students and parents to understand the forces that influence who gets admitted to a college and why—and recognize the parts of this process they can and can’t control. This blog that covers a lot of misconceptions about how selective college admissions works.
In particular:
- How are colleges influenced by their history and mission?
- What are “institutional needs” and how do they influence the admissions process?
- What actually are “hooks” in college admissions?
- What can students do when they don’t have a hook?
- Is it easier to get in early decision than regular decision?
If you’re applying to selective colleges, this post is a must-read.
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My daughter was admitted for Comms (back whenever initial acceptances came out. I’m watching it for a niece now, and it feels like years ago).
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Has anyone received a decision today?
Thanks for sharing that. The “Hooks and Institutional Priorities” article was interesting. I personally wish the CSU and UC schools accepted letters of recommendation as one more point of consideration.
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No one can predict the timing of SLO (some call it that for a reason) but FWIW, last year our daughter received an email she would be on the waitlist on March 25.
She stayed on the waitlist until they emailed again on JULY 15 to tell her she would not be accepted. There were something like 24 seats for the likely thousands of kids who wanted her major.
Pro tip, get your student excited about the admissions they have in hand and try to let SLO go. As mentioned many times upthread, there are just not enough seats. Our D23 was accepted at Cal and not SLO - a waitlist/denial is no reflection on your amazing kids.
Good luck everyone!
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My son who graduated from Cal Poly SLO in 2022 got off the waitlist for Economics major late May.
He was waitlisted by UCD, UCI, and UCSB also, and did not get accepted from those schools at the end.
He graduated from SLO with 3.84GPA, proved that he was as qualified as other students…
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