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Higher Education

There are 4 main California systems of education you can attend after high school. Depending on your goals, you will choose one system over the other. The 4 main systems are:
  • The University of California (UC)
  • The California Sate University (CSU)
  • Private Universities
  • Community College
 

The CSU and UC Systems

Each system has it's own set of requirements for admission. There are two major admission requirements that are common among the UC and the CSU systems.
Each university in the CSU and UC system will have different standards in who they will accept. They will base their acceptance of applicants on a Eligibility Index. The index is a combination of the SAT or ACT score and GPA. You can find more information about the Eligibility Index by clicking on one of the links below:
 

CSU (Cal. State University)

UC (University of California)

Community College

College Application Chart

Keeping track of the minimum requirements for each system can be confusing. Below you will find a comparison chart that can help:

 
 

CSU's

UC's

Private Colleges

Community College

Application  Cal State Apply UC Application   Common App CCC Apply 
Admission Type
Regular Decision Regular Decision
Varies
 Rolling admission
 
 
 
 
 
Minimum Application Requirements
 
 
 
  • 2.0 GPA
  • A-G Courses
  • SAT or ACT (Waived for Fall 2021)
 
  • 3.0 GPA
  • A-G Courses
  • SAT or ACT with Writing (Waived for Fall 2021 admission)
  • 4 Personal insight questions
  • SAT or ACT with Writing 
  • Personal Statement
  • 2 Teacher letter of rec.
  • School Counselor Letter of rec.
 
 
 
  • High School Diploma
  • Complete the CAP assessment
 Application Opens October 1st August 1st August 1st February
Submission Period Oct 1st - Nov 30th Nov 1st - Nov 30th Varies Rolling
 
  • Send official SAT and/or ACT scores to the University you are applying to. The counseling office does not have a record of your SAT/ACT scores. You will have to go through college board.
  • An official transcript will be required at some point during the Spring semester of your senior year
 

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