Riverside County high school seniors set to graduate in 2025 are part of a pilot program offering automatic admission to some Cal State University campuses.
An estimated 15,000 students have been offered a new streamlined application process and automatic admission to 10 universities, including Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State San Marcos.
Several Cal State campuses already had similar programs with school districts in their regions, but the partnership with the Riverside County Office of Education is the first that involves multiple campuses, Hazel Kelly, a spokesperson for the CSU Chancellor’s Office, said in a Thursday, Oct. 31, email.
The new arrangement is being welcomed by students, who learn of their eligibility when they receive a postcard.
Sophia Delgado, a senior at Eastvale’s Roosevelt High School in the Corona-Norco Unified School District, said she knew early on that college would be part of her journey.
Her parents made sure she knew the importance of an education but after the COVID-19 pandemic, her GPA dropped and she felt pressure to bring it back up and be competitive for college.
“I feel like that pressure was always there, but now receiving the letter again, it’s kind of lifted the pressure from that,” Delgado said.
Delgado meets the requirements for any of the 23 Cal State schools and will need to maintain her GPA and pass her classes. Still, Delgado said, knowing she already was accepted came as a breath of fresh air.
“I hope that this will inspire my little brother to decide to go to college,” Delgado said. “… I believe that if he sees me thrive with this opportunity that it will help him see, like, that college, like, can change people’s lives.”
Riverside County seniors on track to meet the requirements for Cal State admission will be offered automatic admission to one of the participating campuses for fall 2025. Requirements include a minimum 2.5 GPA and 15 required courses in math, science, history, English, visual and performing arts and a foreign language.
“Over 50% of our students will be eligible and will receive this notification that says, ‘Hey, you met the requirements, let’s have you apply,’” Catalina Cifuentes, executive director of the College and Career Readiness Unit at the Riverside County Office of Education, said Monday, Oct. 28.
A student’s information is tracked and shared between school districts and the Cal State system. Students who are on track to meet the requirements receive early notice that they will be automatically admitted. All they have to do is submit an application.
The 10 Cal State campuses in the program are: Channel Islands, Chico, East Bay, Humboldt, Maritime Academy, Monterey Bay, San Bernardino, San Marcos, Sonoma and Stanislaus. If a student applies to an impacted program or campus, additional criteria may be required for admission.
Students may apply to any of the 23 Cal State universities, but only these 10 are in the program.
Cal State San Bernardino, one of the closer campuses for Riverside County students, held a Saturday, Oct. 26, Fall Preview Day for prospective students that included tours, application workshops and tips on financial aid paperwork. It also included a session on the new opportunity for Riverside County students.
The program has started to roll out and postcards notifying students of their conditional admission — which is dependent on them meeting the requirements — are being sent to those whose records indicate they are eligible.
“It’s (Riverside County) a great location for this pilot,” Ginger Reyes, Cal State’s director of Admissions & Outreach said Monday, Oct. 28. “It’s ethnically and economically representative of the diversity of California and many of the students the CSU is proud to serve. And it’s also one of the fastest-growing regions in California, with the continued need for more college educated professionals.”
Cal State is looking to expand the program into other counties, Kelly said.
The initiative is about access, which is what the Cal State system is all about, she said.
Reyes added: “I think being able to offer this program of the direct admissions pilot is giving students the opportunity to know that college is possible. And we’re encouraging them to apply.”
The program aims to take some of the stress off students by letting them know in advance that they are accepted.
Once a student receives a postcard, they need to apply to one of the 10 schools and they will be guaranteed admission as long as they meet all the requirements during senior year. The postcard includes a one-time code for one free application.
“I didn’t realize how expensive applications were until I actually started doing it and seeing that only four applications was going to cost me, like, $200,” Tatiana Willies, a 17-year-old senior at Jurupa Valley High School in the Jurupa Unified School District, said Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Willies said the direct admission and free application lifted a weight from her shoulders and will help her decide which college to attend. She plans to work in sports medicine and is considering Cal State San Marcos.
“It was one less thing I had to worry about,” Willies said. “Kind of made it easier for me too, because, you know, being a senior is already a lot to deal with, already.”
California community colleges have a similar program, the Transfer Success Pathway program, that launched last year, Kelly said. As long as students meet the requirements, those in this program are guaranteed admission to a Cal State campus and the major of their choice.
