Nicky
Do CSU's look at your extracirricular activites?
I have frequently heard that California state schools like Calpoly do not view your Extracurricular activities and they only view your academic achievements. Is this true or is that just a myth? #csu #california #college #extracurriculars #college-admissions
3 answers
Stephanie Nowlen
Stephanie’s Answer
Hi!
This is somewhat true. CSUs do mainly look at your academic achievement, like your SAT/ACT scores, GPA, and class grades. However, there for some schools there is a question that asks if you do participate in extracurricular activities, and if I remember correctly it might give a couple ranges of hours per week to choose from. That's it. The CSUs assign points to your overall profile mainly based on how you do academically, but I think that the question about extracurriculars can add some weight, but not as much as it does for UC's or private schools where you have essays you can expand on. I went to Cal Poly SLO, and I know that they are one of the schools that do ask about extracurricular activities, so it may not apply to all!
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Lanie Anton
Lanie’s Answer
Hi Nicky,
Similar to Stephanie, I also went to Cal Poly SLO and I believe they do put some weight on your extracurricular activities and leadership roles (e.g. were you the president of a club at your high school?). I think this is partially due to the fact that Cal Poly requires you to declare your major when you apply, so they are interested in applicants who show examples of them already have experience in the field of interest to show that you know what you want to study and will not try and switch majors (if you apply to Computer Science, they may want to see that you were a member of a computer science or similar club in HS).
If you are not confident in what you want to study, I would recommend looking for another CSU that allows you to apply undeclared.
