The California State University (CSU) System
The CSU system has 23 different undergraduate universities to accommodate students in various locations all over California. Each school is different in its expectations, environment, majors offered, and compatibility. You should research each CSU to figure out if one of these universities is the right one for YOU, and you can start your research HERE.
If/ When you are ready to apply, you can go to CSU Mentor, and click on the "apply here" tab.
For a step-by-step tutorial on how to apply (which buttons to press and what they mean), click on the button below, marked "CSU Mentor Tutorial".
If/ When you are ready to apply, you can go to CSU Mentor, and click on the "apply here" tab.
For a step-by-step tutorial on how to apply (which buttons to press and what they mean), click on the button below, marked "CSU Mentor Tutorial".
Tips for applying to CSU (courtesy of Dr. Haddy & Ms. Kantack)
- What will students need to fill out the application:
- SSN (if they have one)
- Cal Statewide Student ID (SSID) – need to get this from the counselor (field 996 in SIS)
- Copy of their transcript
- SAT/ACT scores
- Parents’ income level
- Number of people living with you
A-G Requirement Equivalents:
- None except La Torre's 11th grade ROP class counts for university application (they are NOT A-G requirements). This includes Graphic Design, graphic fundamentals, digital imaging, graphic communication
- Spanish for Spanish speakers counts as 2-year requirement
- Journalism counts as elective
- Include the H for Honors
- Intro to Art counts w/ drama, theater, any LACC courses (creative writing, memoirs as an elective)
- ICS counts as a science
FEE WAIVERS
- Almost all of our documented students will qualify for application fee waivers
- Up through 2011-12, undocumented students were not eligible for application fee waivers – but last I heard, no one is sure if the California DREAM Act will now make undocumented students eligible for application fee waivers.
- Students who qualify will get waivers to apply for 4 campuses.
- The application fee waiver is located on the last page of the application. Students enter their family income and number of people living with them and the system determines if they are eligible.
- Students only get one chance to apply for the waiver. If you click to apply for the waiver and get denied because you accidentally put the wrong number for their parents’ income or didn’t include all people that live with you – you can’t go back and change the numbers and reapply for the waiver. So, you must make sure you have this info entered correctly before applying for the waiver.
APPLICATION
- Even though you will be applying to 4 campuses, they should pick out 1 CSU campus and fill that application out completely. (DON’T open up multiple campuses at one time… it is going to increase the work you have to do and possibly cause problems!) Once you are done with the application, you should get it looked over to make sure there aren’t any more mistakes, then submit it. After that first campus has been submitted, then they can open up a second campus. In the application for the second campus they will need to fill out the first page (term, major and alternate major, have you applied here before, etc). When they click Next and go to the 2nd page, everything from their first application will be transferred over. All you need to do is keep clicking Next until you get to the end of the application. Submit that 2nd campus, open the 3rd – fill out the first page, click Next, Next, Next… and submit. I tell students it takes maybe an hour to complete the first application, and then 5 minutes to complete the next 3.
- The next to last page asks if the student is going to apply to the EOP program. EVERYONE should answer yes to this. Again, as of last year, undocumented students were not eligible for EOP, but they may now be due to the California Dream Act. (See the EOP section in tab above for more info on EOP application)
- When entering classes – everything that the student will take prior to graduation should be listed. If they don’t list their senior classes, it will look like they are short credits and will get rejected. Classes that they are taking in the Fall are listed with a grade of ‘In Progress’ and classes that they will be taking the spring are listed as ‘Planned.’
- Make sure students list all of the classes they are planning to make up during their senior year, even if they aren’t enrolled in them yet.\
- For the CSUs, if you got a D or an F in a class and made that class up, you do not need to list the original class – only the grade from the make-up class. This only applies if the student made up the exact same class. A junior who got a D in AP Eng Lang and then made up the credit by taking Am Lit over the summer still has to list the AP Eng Lang grade. Also, this only applies if the class has already been made up. If a student got an F in W. History B and was planning to make it up in adult school in the Fall semester – they still have to list the original F grade, because at this point the grade hasn’t been made up.
- Economics goes under Area G – College Prep Elective… not in Area A.
- Classes should be listed when they took them, not what level the class is. (For instance, if a student failed Eng 9 as a freshman, then retook it as a junior. The class should be listed as Year: 2013-14, Grade Level: 11th, etc – even though it is a 9th grade class they were taking.