Hi, I’m a senior applying to Cal Poly this October. I want to major in Business Administration and Cal Poly is definitely my first choice. I was just curious if I should have my hopes up or not for admissions. I live in California and go to a public school.
Stats:
Unweighted/Weighted/CSU Weighted/CSU Capped: 3.96/4.7/4.4/4.2
6 Years Math - Alg 1 CP (HS didn’t offer honors), Geo H, Alg 2 H, DE Precalc, DE Calc 1, AP Stats
5 Years English - 9H (1 sem honors, 1 CP), 10H, DE English 3 semesters
4 Years Science - Honors Bio, Honors Chem, APES, Honors Enviro
4 Years Foreign Lang (French)
I have a job related to my major (11-15 hours a week), and I have ECs (1-5 hours a week) that I have a leadership role in.
I really would like to go to SLO and I do not want to get my hopes up. The campus visit, and people posting online have made me nervous about my stats not being enough, even though I feel like I’ve done the most? I would appreciate input—thanks!
Also maybe wanted to add, I’ve taken DE Intro to Bus, DE Marketing, and DE Financial Accounting if that helps.
The median GPA range that got admitted to SLO for Business was 4.05 to 4.25. (Source: their most recent brochure from when my son visited their campus this summer)
They use their own GPA computation, different from the UCs, which includes freshman year. Maybe try computing your GPA that SLO would use, and see where it falls in that range?
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Welcome to College Confidential.
As stated by @anniebananiee, SLO uses 9-11th a-g course grades for their GPA calculation with an 8 semester Honors point cap for eligible courses. You can use the CSU GPA calculator that I have linked and include your 9-11th grades to get your SLO GPA and then compare. https://www.calstate.edu/apply/gpa-calculator/
It looks like you have maximized the number of course/years for most of the A-G recommendations for SLO and having a major related job and leadership will help your chances.
SLO has become in my opinion somewhat of a wild card for college admissions but you are definitely qualified.
SLO has not posted 2026 Freshman profile numbers but based on the SLO Target projections for Business Administration, a projected admit rate is 23.5%.
Best of luck.
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Here are the admission stats I pulled from the Cal Poly website. anniebananiee & some other members have already referenced some of this.
Personally, I think you’ll get admitted given your solid profile. Cal Poly receives about 10-11K applications & have to send out 2900-3000 offers to enroll a class of around 800. Roughly 26-27% historical yield.
But my question to you is: what is Plan B? What’s your alternative to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, in case you don’t get admitted or get waitlisted?
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Ok! Thank you for the input, I appreciate it!
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Got it, thank you for the input. I appreciate it!
So, originally the plan was community college, but after challenging myself throughout high school I only recently realized I was more interested in going to a 4-year. I’m applying to a lot of the UCs and SDSU as well as CSULB. Plan B really depends on where I get into. Cal States seem the most economical if I really want to go to a 4 year, while community college is always the cheapest option. Of course, if I got into UCLA or Berkely, (which I think is unlikely), that would be plan B, but to give a more simple answer: community college.
Out of the campuses I’ve toured, I haven’t really felt a connection like I did to SLO, and if there was a second it would be SDSU. Both of my parents did the community college route so they’re more in favor of that. I would appreciate if you had any input. Nobody in my direct family has gone straight to a 4-year and so I’m kind of lost on the whole value aspect aside from it being a good experience.
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I’m glad that you are fully aware of your Plan B & Plan C alternatives! And that you felt a strong connection to CSULB - sometimes it’s a good idea to go with your gut feeling. If pursuing a graduate degree from business school is part of your future plan & you end up staying in CA, UCLA (Anderson) & UC Berkeley (Haas) will still be there.
@Gumbymom does Cal Poly SLO require an arts course? Maybe I missed it but I didn’t see this in the courses the OP listed
@bunnyh0p have you taken any arts courses?
hi! yes i took arts courses I have 3 years of vocal ensemble honors. i forgot to include that
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Potential Strengths of Two-Year Colleges:
Lower Cost, Location, Mission, Teaching & Learning Environment, Responsiveness & Flexibility, Open-Door Admissions
Potential Weaknesses of Two-Year Colleges:
Excessive Reliance on Part-Time Faculty, Academic Credentials of Faculty, Underprepared Students, Fewer Social Activities, Credit Transfer Acceptance Issues
Senior colleges prefer that you take your general education courses
at the two-year college and save most work in your major for the
senior college.
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A little late to the discussion since OP has answered the question but all Cal States require 1 year of a Visual/Performing arts course however, Cal Poly SLO recommends 2 years.
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