The California State University (CSU) System
The California State University system (CSU) is one of two public university systems in California. There are 24 CSU campuses located throughout California – the CSU system offers a college education that is hands-on and career-focused.CSU campuses have a variety of majors. To view list of majors offered by campus, click on the campus name on this CSU map.
The Application Process
- Complete UC/CSU “A – G” requirements with “C” or higher during high school.
- Applications open October 1, deadline to apply is November 30.
The Selection Process: Impacted vs. Non-impacted Campuses
A non- impacted campus has enough space to guarantee admission to all applicants that meet the minimum admission requirements above.
An impacted campus is when a campus receives more applications than space allows. Impacted campuses rank applicants and admit based on Eligibility Index. Some campuses rank your index by major.
How to calculate your Eligibility Index: (suspended for fall 2021 and 2022 applicants)
If you took the SAT, campuses you apply to will calculate your index by multiplying your CSU (10th & 11th A-G) GPA x 800. Then the campus adds the highest SAT Critical Reading and Math score from any test date.
- For ex: (GPA x 800) + (Highest Critical Reading + Math Scores) = SAT Eligibility Index
If you took the ACT, campuses multiply your composite ACT score by 10 and multiply your weighted 10-12 A-G GPA by 200. Then they add the sums.
- For ex: (ACT x 10) + (GPA x 200) = ACT Eligibility Index.
CSU campuses will super score if you provide more than one test date. This means they use the highest section in Critical Reading and Math from any SAT test date and/or they use sub-scores from more than one ACT test to give you a higher ACT composite score.