Thanks, I have taken the SAT twice (1510-1530), and hopefully will score 1560+ next time. Don’t have any special talents, sports etc
To start a new thread, do I have to put in a list of schools and personals, because my grades are still pretty weak at the moment, and I am hoping to up my expected IB score by the summer. My understanding is that good schools look for 40-45 expected IB scores
SLO publishes their enrollment projections for every major each year.
For 2023-2024, SLO projected a target enrollment of 202 FTF (first time freshman) for CS with an estimated 7,267 apps.
Around the SLO forum, “we” assume a 33% yield, but no yield is ever published by major. So, if you assume 600+/- acceptances (to get a target enrollment of roughly 200) amongst 7,267 apps, then the acceptance rate for CS at SLO would be a rate of about 8%.
They don’t publish their admission formula or previous year’s cutoff numbers, though, unlike SJSU. Assuming admission is indeed based on a formula with cutoffs, I agree with others that it would be nice to have that additional transparency.
My only point is if 8% is indeed the correct acceptance rate, a big if, then 8% is very low.
I feel like there’s only 2 types of competitive CS schools: those with a 20-30% admit rate and those with a <10% admit rate. There don’t seem to be a lot of options in 10-20%. Below 10%, CS just feels way more like a lottery.
I think in the case of MIT and Caltech, it is not so much a more academically deserving applicant is being left out but an equally deserving one.
can you link the “admission formula” you are talking about for SLO?
When you say “admission thresholds”, are you talking about the number admitted by major or actual GPA thresholds? I have seen the admissions by major data.
An older reverse engineered calculator from pre-COVID-19 when SAT / ACT was used:
Thread on the subject, again based on the older reverse engineered version:
CPSLO has not publicly stated what its formula is, nor publicly stated what each year’s thresholds (scores to be admitted) by major are. I do not know why they refuse to do so.
Wow, are we channeling the Marvelous Gatsby? The student makeup of the Ivies has changed dramatically the last 50 years. Yale’s Class of 2027 is 59% students of color, 22% Pell, 21% first gen and only 11% legacy. 55% are on FA, with the avg award at close to $72k. Are there some really rich/high society kids, sure but you would have to look pretty hard since they will be as academically accomplished as the other students.
72K. Put that in bold headlines.
For all the whining on here about the ivies… why are we not as concerned about our own state flagships which in many parts of the country are unaffordable for a kid from a low income family? I understand the historical reason why many states plopped their flagship U’s in a rural area (cheap land, cheaper construction, low wages for support staff) but the result is states with poor public transportation options and the need to dorm which adds room and board to the often low price for tuition.
Yeah, one of the satellite campuses. Usually great options for early childhood, nursing and accounting; usually terrible options for nanotechnology or any of the humanities past the required distribution courses.
And yet the cause of the brokenness of higher ed is Yale?
Of course, that means that 45% are paying list price, indicating a strong skew toward students from the top ~4% money of families.
Yes, and an income of $250k/yr gets you financial aid at Yale (actually even higher-- their website says 25% of families with incomes above $250K/yr still qualified for financial aid)
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While it’s an impressive stat, it tells you little about the income distribution or affordability. For example, Yale’s sticker price is $91k. $91k - $72k = $19k. Is that $19k average cost for half of Yale’s students less than or comparable to the cost for similar income kids at in state publics? Are there a similar portion of lower income students to in state publics ,or is it primarily middle income families at Yale who are averaging $19k cost?
One can get some rough estimates through freshmen surveys and such, but for a more consistent measuring stick between different colleges, one can use the federal database, which lists median costs for persons receiving federal FA at different income levels, including Pell grant kids. Some example numbers are below this post.
This suggests that highly selective privates with large endowments, such as HYPSMC tend to have a lower average cost than in state public alternatives for the few lower income kids who apply and are accepted. It’s only once you start getting in to middle income, such as $75k to $110k, that some publics become less expensive than HYPSMC type colleges.
Public affordability varies widely. Florida State and CSU LA seem be relatively lower cost at all listed income levels. CSU LA is particularly impressive with the 73% Pell. In contrast, some states are far less affordable. Penn state is among the least affordable public options at all listed income levels, which fits with having a lower % Pell than all other listed colleges. A good portion of less selective privates had higher costs for low income kids than even Penn State. HBCUs were often especially high cost.
Yale is among the lowest listed average cost for families making <$75k, but not $75k to $110k. The $19k average cost for FA recipients noted above appears to be primarily be composed of middle income families, rather than low income families. Yale gives notable FA for families making as high as $200k. Yale says that among families with $200k - $250k income who applied for FA, 73% received it.
Colleges With Lowest Reported Average Cost for Families Making <$30k
1 . Stanford: -$1386 (19% Pell)
2. Caltech: -$1012 (21% Pell)
,
6. Yale: $341 (17% Pell)
…
Florida State: $3k (25% Pell)
CSU: LA: $4k (73% Pell)
…
UConn: $15k (25% Pell)
Penn State: $20k (14% Pell)
,
Howard: $41k (39% Pell)
Colleges With Lowest Reported Average Cost for Families Making $30k to $48k
1 . MIT -$2251 (18% Pell)
2. Stanford: -$1876 (19% Pell)
3. WUSTL: -$1702 (17% Pell)
,
12. Yale: $1751 (17% Pell)
…
Florida State: $4k (25% Pell)
CSU: LA: $4k (73% Pell)
…
UConn: $16k (25% Pell)
Penn State: $23k (14% Pell)
,
Howard: $43k (39% Pell)
Colleges With Lowest Reported Average Cost for Families Making $48k to $75k
1 . MIT: $1918 (18% Pell)
2. Pomona: $3409 (15% Pell)
3. Chicago: $3508 (15% Pell)
,
16. Yale: $5283 (17% Pell)
…
Florida State: $7k (25% Pell)
CSU: LA: $7k (73% Pell)
…
UConn: $21k (25% Pell)
Penn State: $27k (14% Pell)
,
Howard: $48k (39% Pell)
Colleges With Lowest Reported Average Cost for Families Making $75k to $110k
1 . Holy Names $2241 (55% Pell)
2. Berea: $2881 (92% Pell)
3. Chicago State: $5740 (67% Pell)
4. Texas A&M International: $7030 (69% Pell)
5. Stanford: $7332 (19% Pell)
,
CSU: LA: $10k (73% Pell)
Florida State: $11k (25% Pell)
Yale: $14k (17% Pell)
…
UConn: $29k (25% Pell)
Penn State: $34k (14% Pell)
,
Howard: $48k (39% Pell)
Top 4% of the families means strong skew but they are not getting a thumb on the scale. other than legacy and development kids the rest are based on merit and holistic criteria. Probably need to have better stats than the rest to gain admission. Also a lot of international students qualify for aid too. I am telling this from experience. International students with parents who are lawyers , doctors etc still may not make 175 k and qualify for aid at ivies. Their purchasing parity however is higher than many US households with higher income than 250 k.
Of course, the top 4% parents can spend their ample money purchasing opportunities for their kids and removing barriers more so than most parents. The kids still need to earn their achievements, but they tend to have more opportunities to do so with fewer barriers to have to climb over than kids in more typical SES levels.
As a FGLi I feel that FGLI have to show their academic qualifications and merit whereas the privileged have to show their academic credentials and also be fortunate to win the lottery of acceptance. Privilege doesn’t guarantee acceptance except for the legacy and development applicants where it enhances their chances significantly.
I pulled this number from the Class of 2027 Profile chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://admissions.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2027classprofileweb.pdf so the relevant COA figure should be for the 2023-2024 academic year which is $88k ($91k is the 2024-2025 estimated COA) Costs | Financial Aid , so the spread is closer to 16k. But I agree that Yale is generally the most generous for families with income at the lower end of the scale. Although looking at Yale’s figures, the median net cost for students with family income between $100-150k is still only $15.5k and $150-$200k is $29.7k Affordability | Financial Aid, which is going to be tough for most flagships to beat when we assume on campus room and board. Here is the full table:
| Class of 2023 First-Year Students | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Income Range | Median Net Cost* | Median Scholarship | Percentage Who Qualified for Aid |
| Less than $65,000 | $2,850 | $76,925 | 100% |
| $65,000-$100,000 | $5,701 | $70,217 | 99% |
| $100,000-$150,000 | $15,528 | $60,295 | 99% |
| $150,000-$200,000 | $29,721 | $46,326 | 95% |
| $200,000-$250,000 | $42,964 | $31,196 | 79% |
| Greater than $250,000** | $43,704 | $28,881 | 25% |
| *Net Cost is the difference between the Estimated Cost of Attendance (tuition, room, board, books, travel expenses and personal expenses) and a student’s scholarship grant(s) from all sources. | |||
| ** Most who qualify have multiple children in college |
I’m curious the number of those that didn’t qualify for aid
Probably had too much in assets.