I am senior high school and I am currently really struggling to decide which CSU to apply to that offers the best Environmental science classes or courses. I really cant ask my parents for help due to the fact that I would be the first to go to college or even a university in my family. I would honestly much prefer to apply to UC but i have to be realistic, I havent had the best grades or the excelling GPA most UC require.
High school student*
What are your stats since all Cal states admit by major? Are you interested in policy, resource management, wildlife conservation or ecology?
ecology
I need to know your stats before I could recommend some CSU’s.
How Cal States admit:
The Cal states admit by major and eligibility index. They really only consider GPA/Test scores/Geographic location and HS course rigor. Other than Cal Poly SLO, your EC’s are not considered.
You need to calculate your CSU/UC GPA using grades from a-g courses taken 10-11th.
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Not sure which courses are a-g and will give you extra honors points, then use this link by typing in your HS name?
https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist#/list/search/institution
Cal states and the majority of the UC’s use the capped weighted GPA.
Then calculate your Eligibility index:
If you took the Redesigned SAT:
(CSU capped weighted GPA X 800) + (SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing (EBRW) + Math Score) = Eligibility Index
Eligibility index for ACT:
(CSU capped weighted GPA X 200) + (ACT Composite x10)= Eligibility Index
You will then be ranked based on EI and major and they accept from the top down until all spots are filled.
You will get priority at your local CSU which you can look up on this link. Local applicants usually require a lower EI to get an acceptance unless the program is highly impacted.
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/onestopkiosk/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf
Impacted campuses/majors: https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/ImpactedProgramsMatrix.pdf
Environmental Science can cover many topics including Ecology and many Cal states will have an Ecology concentration under the Biology degree.
Here are some Cal States to consider specifically for Ecology depending upon your stats:
Northridge
Los Angeles
Stanislaus
Humboldt
Sonoma
San Bernardino
Sacramento
San Francisco
San Jose
San Marcos
East Bay
Chico
Dominguez Hills
There are many more Cal States that offer an Environmental Science degree with a few Ecology classes included in their program. The most competitive Cal states for any major would be Cal Poly SLO, San Diego State, CSU Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona. I would check each school’s curriculum to see if it meets your criteria.
Here is a list of all the CSU’s that offer Ecology: http://degrees.calstate.edu/search-print-results/26/all/69/all?areaofstudy=Ecology
you should apply to several … if we had your stats, we could help you with that list.