Hi my son (2025) is deciding between GE (General Engineering) or ME (Mechanical engineering). We are from WA state. He has UW GPA 4.0
Jobs and Internship ~12 to 15 hours a week, leadership roles in robotics, varsity sport etc.
He has taken 3 APS (his school does not offer very many) but took 6 running start classes at community college.
5 years of english, 3 years of foreign language, 6 years of math, 6 years of science etc.
I heard that there is slightly a better chance to get into GE vs ME? Is this really true? Do you think he has better chance applying as GE then transfer to ME?
SLO does not break out admit rates by major. They do post projected target enrollment numbers by major. https://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/ir/1/images/2024-2025%20Cal%20Poly%20Enrollment%20Projections_0.pdf
For ME, they project 4456 applicants for a target enrollment of 230. Since they admit more students than enroll and the College of Engineering enrollment rate was around 31%, you can project an admit rate around 15-16%.
For GE, they project 469 applicants for a target enrollment of 72. The projected admit rate would then be around 46%.
Again, these are projections, not specific admit rates or yield rates by major plus the # of applicants for GE is significantly less than for ME but also the target enrollment is less. You also do not know how competitive the applicant pool was for each major.
why not remain instate and save significant cash?
U-Dub COA ~$35k. CPSLO is ~$57k.
SLO is great school, but not gonna provide 60% more value.
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I like value too, but they are completely different programs. UW is large lectures with TAs running discussions and labs. All of the classes at CP are small, and all professor taught (technically not true, because some are not on the professor track, but they are instructors with PhDs), including labs and discussions. We paid the differential for Cal Poly, even though Oregon State has a very good ME program.
As for ME vs. GE, GEs get preferential admission into ME, and it’s probably an easier admit. It might take longer though. What is his UC/CSU weighted GPA? GPA Calculator | CSU
Also, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Our son is an alum (BS/MS ME) and his first year roommate was a CS from Seattle.
ah… thank you so much… I am not clear on the calculator… so his school has semester ex. in 1 year he would have 2 grades for let’s say English… so when I put in # of As, I count 1 year of english with 2As? Also he did running start, which is a quarter system. so do I count 1 quarter of grade as 1 A?
@Gumbymom is best to explain that 
Perhaps because University of Washington engineering admission is highly competitive, so there is a significant chance the student in question will not be admitted?
However, less selective Washington publics with ME include EWU, UW Bothell, and WSU (Pullman, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver).
Ok, I think I figured it out, his CA GPA is 4.2, Yes, we are from Seattle! 
He will apply to UW Seattle as well. That said, He likes the hands on learning/project based learning at SLO.
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The range for the CENG last year was 4.14-4.25. I believe that represents 25th to 75th percentile, but I’m not certain. I also believe, but am not certain, that the admissions algorithm now caps at 4.25.
Given that, I’d be inclined to direct him to GE over ME. He’s very qualified, and might very well get directly into ME, but his AP situation hurts his CP GPA. It’s a quirk of Cal Poly and not a reflection on him. Good luck to him!
When filling in the CSU application, be sure to include any high school level math and foreign language that was taken in middle school, so that they will count toward any CPSLO bonus points for course work beyond the CSU minimum.
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My understanding is it’s not “bonus points” but that leaving out algebra 1 etc if done in middle school yields a technical outcome that the applicant has not met CSU minimum requirements.
Please note the Cal Poly SLO uses 9-11th a-g course grades in the GPA calculation instead of 10-11th grades like the rest of the UC’s and CSU’s. Also DE course grades are counted twice in the GPA calculation but they only receive 1 Honors point in the calculation up to the maximum 8 semesters of Honors points.
Which results in an automatic rejection.
Every year very high stats students are passed over because of this. It leads to people speculating about yield management. Really though, it’s just the first test in reading directions. Harsh, for sure.
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Though it seems from what I’ve read here and Reddit, that those rejections can be overturned on appeal with a corrected transcript. Definitely an extra layer of stress, and a second test in reading when the rejection letter reads that they did not meet CSU requirements (not sure exact wording but I understand it’s something like that).
Here is how SLO states to fill out the CSU application for Middle school Math and FL courses.
Seventh and/or Eighth Grade Course Work
- Enter your seventh and/or eighth grade course work for mathematics, language other than English, or additional A-G course work if you were given high school credit for the course on your transcript. In order to receive consideration, the same course cannot be repeated in ninth grade; you must continue on in the course progression. For example, if you take Algebra 1 in eighth grade, you must take Geometry in ninth grade in order to use that Algebra course. You will need to enter this course work and grade in either the seventh or eighth grade section
- You can only enter one year of credit per course, even in your middle school split the course into two years (ex., Algebra 1A in seventh and Algebra 1B in eighth). In this case, enter the course work in either the seventh or eighth grade section.
- Don’t enter your middle school as an additional school attended. Instead, choose it as the first high school attended in ninth grade for that academic year.
Not according to Cal Poly.
“Neither grades received in the current academic year nor mistakes made on the application are a basis for an appeal or the reversal of a decision.”
CSU in general has a validation policy where a higher level math course fulfills lower level math courses for a-g requirement purposes. For example, algebra 2 fulfills algebra 1 as well, and precalculus or calculus fulfills the entire math requirement for CSU. UC is similar, except that omission of geometry cannot be validated by a higher level course. Foreign language is similar in that (for example) level 3 fulfills levels 1-2 as well.
But CPSLO apparently does not count validated lower level courses when adding bonus points for math or foreign language beyond the CSU minimum. CPSLO bonus points for math are substantial, so not having 5 years of math (algebra 1 through calculus being the usual) listed on the application puts the applicant at a disadvantage for more competitive majors there.
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I’ve read of a number of cases across different CSUs where people have been rejected for not meeting requirements for this reason. I am guessing that there is a difference between validating algebra 1 say through a higher course, and inadvertently not having algebra 1 on your transcript at all. I will see when I have some time if I can find an example of someone who posted about this.
wow, I didn’t know this! CA GPA is hard as it looks like different systems require different set. Like CS not SLO said 10th to 11th grade for GPA and UCs are little different too! Thank you for additional info!
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