<p>Can you estimate what SAT scores my Jr. twin Ds will need to secure acceptance into Cal Poly in the Bio major?</p>
<p>One has an unweighted GPA of 3.8, the other of 3.6. </p>
<p>Both are taking or will have taken the most rigorous course offerings at their hs. The only difference is that one is taking trig this year, the other pre-calc. The one in one trig will not be able to fist AP calc next year and the other will. But both will have had 4 years of science and of math by graduation.</p>
<p>They are currently taking their first AP classes and have so far Bs in AP comp and As in AP bio and APUSH so we are assuming their GPAs will go up.</p>
<p>Also does Cal Poly just look at 10th and 11th grade or do they factor in 9th as well?</p>
<p>I majored in bio at Cal Poly, and think your daughters both have a good shot provided they get around 1250-1300 (Math + Verbal) on the SAT. That seems to be around the average for the College of Science and Math, but keep in mind that bio is the most popular in the College. Also, Cal Poly looks at freshman year grades (I believe the UC’s don’t). Hope they make it in! It’s a great program. :)</p>
<p>Cal Poly asks for 10th & 11th grades including up to 8 extra honors points on the application, but later on, they look over 9th grade and retally your gpa to form a “Cal Poly GPA”. The Cal Poly GPA also adds in any classes taken in 8th grade that helped you place higher in high school, such as taking Algebra 8th grade so you could get into Geometry in 9th grade. They also add in any community college courses. A semester class at a college is considered a year of honors class in high school. </p>
<p>Some if your daughters’ GPAs are according to the GPA that is put on the Cal Poly application, I’d say they’ve got a great shot if they have around 1250 for verbal and math. If they place over 1300, I’d say it’s a gurantee. I have a friend whose GPA was only a 3.4, but had a SAT score of 1350 and was admitted into Cal Poly’s Biological Sciences program. Although, it does depend on the other applicants that year in their major, but I believe they’ll be highly competitive with those scores and GPAs.</p>
<p>Thank you to you both!! We just toured on Thursday and it is definately a campus on their lists. First go at the SAT is in Jan. so they will see how they do!</p>
<p>Not sure if it is about the same competitiveness, but I have a friend in biochemistry who had a 4.0(cal poly scale) and sat’s about 1380 i believe.</p>
<p>i’m glad they liked it. it’s a great school. for the SAT, i’d suggest buying the book provided on the collegeboard website. it helped me out a lot! i actually did really bad the first time, somewhere in the 1700s then i got a 2340 after i used that book to study! i studied it for about 4 weeks i think! they’ll have a lot of time during christmas break to study so i don’t even think they’ll need 4 weeks to cover everything. plus since they’re only juniors, they’ll have plenty of time to retake it later.</p>
<p>also, cal poly prefers the ACT plus i believe the ACT is wayyyy easier than the SAT! i suggested using the Real ACT book as study material, if they’d like any. although, they do look at both and if they score really good on the SAT, they shouldn’t bother taking the ACT and use those scores.</p>
<p>We bought the SAT prep book when they signed up for the test. I know I’m going to get some resistance but I am going to encourage them to start studying over Christmas break. After their scores come out we will have a clearer idea of where they stand. I’m glad they decided to take it in Jan.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is the only school they have on their lists that prefers the ACT though many other schools look at either/or. I think they plan to take it in the spring. Again, thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Cal Poly will, just as the UCs do, ask for coursework taken and grades from your freshman year. however, this is NOT calculated into the Cal Poly GPA. From what I recall, the number they wanted in the GPA form was the 10th-11th a-g weighted GPA.</p>
<p>Note that Cal Poly’s admission system is computerized. there are no letters of recommendation, no personal statements, and nearly all of the application is done by choosing preset selections from a drop-down menu. It’s all about stats. With that in mind, it would be best to submit whatever you do best in whether it be the SAT or the ACT. Keep it up and good luck!</p>
<p>^We toured Cal Poly and they stated very clearly that they DO use the freshman GPA. They recalculate your UC GPA into what they call the Cal Poly GPA which includes all the A-G courses the student has taken. (not senior year) The recalculated GPA also includes any A-G courses taken in middle school. Additionally they include any community college courses taken that fall under the A-G. They allow for a GPA bump for up to 8 semesters of honors, AP or college level courses.</p>
<p>PE doesn’t count, but Band does for sure. It’s consider under the Visual Arts category. Although, I’m not sure about AVID. You might want to check that out with the admissions department.</p>
<p>Cal Poly uses the same standards as the UC’s for course approval. Use the doorways link I provided to find your high school. At our high school both band and AVID count so most likely it will be the same with yours.</p>
<p>Thanks! I printed out the list. AVID seminar is on there as a “g” elective. 1 year of “g” is required. Does that mean that the second year of a “g” doesn’t count?</p>
<p>I don’t know that any of us knows the exact answer to that. (except admissions!) For sure it counts towards rigor of schedule. Supposedly they like to see that you are taking at least the minimum and preferably above the minimum with A-G. All schools like students to take advantage of what is offered in their school. UC’s give extra points for courses taken beyond a certain minimum. I would guess CPSLO does too. I know that AVID is viewed very favorably.</p>
<p>Thanks collegemom…one of my girls has taken and plans to continue to take the most rigorous course load at our HS, My AVID student has pretty much the same schedule except for she’ll be in pre-calc next year not AP calc. It’s good to know that some schools look so favorably on rigor. They are hoping rigor and high SAT scores will compliment their high but imperfect GPAs</p>