The California State University (CSU) system is taking all necessary steps to mitigate the disruptions caused by COVID-19 while ensuring the health and safety for our students, faculty, staff and communities.
The CSU system and CSU campuses are prepared to continue exercising flexibility and accommodation when working with our educational partners and Fall 2023 applicants in meeting admission requirements and the subsequent steps toward matriculation.
The following information is provided for school districts, schools, community colleges, colleges, educators, prospective students and applicants regarding CSU admission and provides a high-level overview of the guidance.
View Frequently Asked Questions
View First-time Freshman Supplemental Factors by Campus
- The CSU will consider course grades of “credit” or “pass” as fulfilling “a-g” requirements for those courses completed during Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall 2020 terms and during Winter, Spring or Summer 2021 terms. All other coursework must be graded and a grade of C- or better must be earned for the course to satisfy “a-g” requirements. Grades of credit/pass or no credit/no pass will not be included in the calculation of high school GPA.
- The CSU expects and assumes that high school Pass (Credit) grades will represent work completed at the C- or higher level.
- The CSU strongly recommends that ALL students enroll in a yearlong senior-year English course and a mathematics/quantitative reasoning course as student-specific Early Assessment Program (EAP) guidance may not be available at the time of senior year course registration. These courses could include Expository Reading and Writing (ERWC), Math Reasoning with Connections (MRWC), weighted honors and International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) or other advanced courses.
- The California State University (CSU) no longer uses ACT/SAT examinations in determining admission eligibility for all CSU campuses effective March 2022. First-time freshmen must meet the following eligibility requirements: be a high school graduate or equivalent; complete the 15-unit comprehensive “a-g” pattern of college preparatory course; and earn a qualifying “a-g” grade point average (GPA) as described below.
- California residents and graduates of California high schools will be eligible for admission by earning a 2.50 or greater “a-g” GPA.
- Any California high school graduate or resident of California earning a GPA between 2.00 and 2.49 may be evaluated for admission based upon supplemental factors such as number of courses exceeding minimum “a-g” requirements, household income, extracurricular involvement, and other available information that would inform the campus admission decision. Each CSU campus will determine the supplemental factors used with GPA to determine eligibility in these cases and communicate these criteria publicly for prospective students.
- Non-California residents may be eligible for admission to the CSU by earning a 3.00 or greater “a-g” GPA along with other supplemental factors utilized by the individual campus, including those outlined by impacted campuses and programs.
- This change of admission requirements will also apply to impacted CSU campuses and programs. Campuses and programs designated as impacted may utilize higher “a-g” GPA thresholds for applicants, as well as identify supplemental criteria and their relative weights, in making admission decisions. However, in no case will standardized test scores be utilized in making admissions decisions for applicants.
- The CSU will continue to honor Advanced Placement exams on which scores of 3, 4, or 5 are earned, regardless of the delivery mode of the exam.
- Students will continue to earn general education or lower-division major credits if they passed or received credit for a CSU-accepted International Baccalaureate (IB) exam.