Thanks for the 2014 stats - very helpful
@67dadofsenior, take for instance a student from a partner school. It’s much more likely that they’d have at least one parent who didn’t finish HS. Those two things alone add 1000 points! That means all academics and ECs that total to an MCA of 3800, below the absolute rejection threshold of 4000 for ME could be ranked higher than either of our sons. It’s very easy to come up with lots of scenarios why lower stats kids get accepted.
On the wait list stat’s does anyone know if Cal Poly only had those number of slots available or if kids had just moved on - trying to figure out why the wait list acceptance is so low compared to how many kids they wait listed??
Seems strange they would wait list for example 2,000 kids know they only had 15 slots open ??
@SantaClarita: SLO will not know how many open slots will be available until after May 1 which is the deadline for SIRing. I am sure between now and then, some applicants will decline their admission, especially after the UC decisions come out, but until the deadline they will not know how many applicants they can take off the waitlist. That is why if you are waitlisted, you are encouraged to SIR at another school until you hear. The Class of 2017 had 800 additional students SIR than expected, so for the class of 2018, the acceptances were way down from the previous year along with very few accepted off the waitlist. Much depends on how many students will acccept their admission.
@SantaClarita, I don’t know this for 100% fact, but I’d guess they manage it like most other schools. Schools want to get as close to their projections as possible in order to meet budget and not overextend their facilities and faculty. They know that not all of the students accepted will attend. The percentage that do is called the yield. Yields tend to follow pretty historic averages, but can vary. Poly’s hovers around 33%. Preparing for the worst case scenario of yield possibilities, they waitlist somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000, knowing that many by then have moved on and they might net 600. In high yield years, like the last two years, they hardly need anyone, so very few get spots. In lower yield years, like 2012 I believe, many get off the list. It’s sort of like selling too many seats on a plane knowing on average some don’t show up. It’s a hedge to make sure projections and thus budgets are met. Clear as mud? 
Very helpful - thank you!
Accepted for Chemistry!
ACT: 31
GPA 3.65 (UW) 3.97 (UCW)
@67dadofsenior Unfortunately, my son only has two schools that he would like to attend: Cal Poly or UC Davis. He was accepted at UNR & at another CSU. He has a slight preference for UC Davis simply because he is not 100% set on ME. I encouraged him to apply to Cal Poly under EE because there is a high need for EEs, but after viewing their departmental videos my son was more inclined towards ME. Now it appears he may have had significantly better odds under EE for acceptance.
I was concerned about Cal Poly’s strict major selection policy, after all my son is only 17 years old. I am not certain what my son’s chances are for acceptance at UC Davis, since I thought he had a good chance at Cal Poly.
This MCA algorithm is fascinating! I’m trying to figure out my daughter’s score now. Can anyone tell me the conversion of these ACT scores to SAT: 33 - English, 32 - Math? The concordance tables I have found show ranges rather than single numbers.
@datbandgirl Did you just check the portal today or could the decision have been uploaded a couple days ago?
do the decisions of each UC all come out on a certain date??
do the decisions of each UC all come out on a certain date??
@mom2ab, 750 CR 730 M, assuming Poly’s conversion table is the same as it was a year and a half ago. That’s 1526 MCA points. Remember, Cal Poly calculated CSU GPA caps at 4.2 (2250) and rigor points cap at 750, even though it’s possible to have more in both categories.
@MilitaryFamily, don’t judge his chance at Davis by the lack of acceptance so far from Poly. It’s common for students who do not get into ME at Poly to get into Davis, even UCB and UCLA. Poly for certain majors is extremely competitive. ME happens to be one of them. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he got into UCD.
I don’t remember my son choosing an alternate major, but a poster earlier said she got in for her alternate. You might want to call admissions and see if it’s ok to amend his application with EE as a second choice. Again, I don’t even know if it’s possible, but they are friendly and it can’t hurt.
When it’s all said and done it likely won’t matter anyway, because he’ll be in Davis. 
4640 - MCA total
2154 - GPA (4.02 - may actually be slightly higher depending on whether cpslo added 2 non a-g but uc/csu transferable courses into the GPA calculation.
1526 - ACT (33 math, 32 English)
750 - extra coursework (received maximum score for each category - 950)
150 - ec
60 - leadership
Accepted to Biological Sciences
I’ve been following this thread for a few days now, and I have a couple questions that I haven’t seen anyone else post yet. My son is hispanic, and neither his father nor I finished college. Do those two things add any points? His heart was set on Cal Poly for ME. He was accepted at SJSU for ME. How does that compare?
@eyemgh
How can I calculate my own score? Here are my stats.
CSU GPA: 4.08
SAT: 720 CR and 630 M
6 years worth of high school math (pre-calc, Stats, Calc AB included)
4 years lab science, 3 years spanish, 4 years of visual art, 1 year psychology
I work 6-10 hours a week, and spend 11-15 hours a week in ECs.
No leadership positions, instate, not in slo area (bay area), and that’s it.
Thanks!
@whatevermeant2b, I haven’t found anything so far to suggest that being an underrepresented minority has an impact. Cal Poly does give deference to kids they define as disadvantaged (those whose parent(s) didn’t finish HS or who attend a Partner School, the list of which I’ve yet to find).
@apatterson96, go to my responses in the post titled Confused About MCA (or something like that). It’ll walk you through.
Thank you, @eyemgh 
@eyemgh
Thanks for the help! Hopefully I have a chance in biology with my 4560.