hey! Im a Mexican us citizen graduating high school outside of USA, have never attended school there either.
GPA and SAT:
Unweighted GPA for 9th-11th grade is like a 3.89/3.91 as calculated by me.
No APs or IB classes are offered at my school so I couldn’t get a higher score. My highschool is private but definitely not the best in area. Im taking my IELTS test in May.
No SAT or ACT scores.
Majors and schools:
SDSU major is currently psychology but will probably change to child development for a better chance, however I can’t include my grades when I submit since I studied internationally; not sure if it affects my chances since they have to contact me personally for my transcript.
UC majors are also mostly psychology or related to child development.
Extracurriculars:
Only extracurriculars are my online reseller business that I started 3 months ago but have great growth so far and my promotional tiktok account which has gained some attention too. Ive modeled briefly before too, but im not sure if I should include that since it was only twice.
Extra: Im a first generation, Mexican, high income. Not applying for any scholarships or other help. Selected 6-10 hours weekly and leadership.
There is really no way to chance you based on your posted information. If your unweighted GPA translates correctly, then you can be competitive for the UC’s and SDSU.
You will be considered OOS for the SDSU and the UC’s, so you will be paying non-resident costs.
SDSU mainly admits based on GPA, HS course rigor, # of the CSU a-g courses taken beyond the minimum’s, preparation for major (classes/grades), local admission area status and first generation. Cost of attendance for Non-residents was $54K/year. You are eligible for Federal aid but not California state aid.
Academics are only part of the admission process so a lack of EC’s can impact your chances however, if circumstances prevented you from participating in EC’s, that should be addressed in your application. Also your PIQ’s can be very important and present an overall picture of yourself outside the academics.
Psychology is a very popular major and can be impacted/selective at some of the campuses. Several UC campuses are definitely options for you.
Cost of attendance for Non-CA residents was around $84K/year and unfortunately the UC Regents just recently voted to increase tuition over the next few years.
What is your career goal with a Psychology or Child development major? Graduate school is usually required for Psych majors so you should also consider graduate school costs in your college budget.
You can look up UC admission rates by campus and discipline here:
SDSU’s Psychology is the most applied major and had around a 27% admit rate. Child Development was around 45%.
I’m gonna guess you have 75% chance getting into SDSU. You appear to have a high GPA and they love international students paying full tuition. However, I still think you should apply to several other schools. Maybe consider applying to a couple of the less popular schools in the Calstate system as safeties:
Google “calstate average GPA by campus” and you’ll find more info. SDSU is one of the most competitive in the Calstate system. CSU San Marcos might be a good option for you? It’s right there in San Diego metro. Maybe CSU San Bernardino if you don’t mind going a couple hours further north.
It’s not in San Diego. It’s in the City of San Marcos. A good 45 minutes North of SDSU in good traffic. The area is congested and overbuilt, with one inadequate highway that supports and links the suburban, agricultural areas surrounding it. Just my opinion based on my recent drive there today.
SDSU is competitive, as are the UCs. What do you plan to do with your psychology degree? Grad school is also competitive, especially the placements.
What’s your budget for undergrad and grad school? The pay/salaries hasn’t kept up with the times. You should expect to be on a budget for a while, so it will help if your family can support you. Speaking Spanish will help but the number of bilingual SDSU students is strong.
This student is an American citizen who lives in another country. This student is not an international student. BUT because they are NOT CA residents, they will be full pay.
thank you for your insight!! I didn’t state it haha but I am applying to less competitive ones, San Marcos is actually one of my main choices of the cal states since its close to Mexico (really important to me), but im also applying to csulb, csula and cal poly pomona
Honestly im mostly going for the experience. Many might not agree with my choices, but I likely won’t end up doing anything related to my major since im probably going into the family business. But if I were to use my degree it would probably be with a school that my family is associated to.
hello! Sorry I didn’t clarify, I meant I selected 6-10 hours in the part of the cal state application where it asks how many hours a week you do the extracurriculars.
CSUSM is not impacted, and your intended majors are not impacted, so meeting minimum CSU requirements should admit.
CSULA is not impacted, but psychology is an impacted major, so admission standards may be higher than minimum CSU requirements and are determined competitively.
However, there may be special things that you may need to do as a US citizen outside the US, particularly if your high school is not one that has typical US course offerings or has English as a foreign language and some other language as the primary language of instruction. The CSU apply web site mostly assumes US domestic applicants in the US or international students on or needing visas, and does not specifically say what US citizens outside the US need to do. You may want to contact the campuses’ admission offices directly with any questions.
Have you thought about private colleges? Might not cost any more than the public ones. Could even be cheaper. And may suit your learning style better. There are USD and Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. Many more up in LA.
Note that Point Loma is a very religious evangelical (protestant) college.
USD is a Catholic college with a Catholic identity but not as religious as Point Loma.
You would definitely get into Whittier if you want a private college.