SF State accepts applications from prospective students for part-time or full-time undergraduate programs of study in day or evening classes. Undergraduate applicants must file a complete undergraduate application at www.csumentor.edu and submit a $55 nonrefundable application fee. The application fee may not be transferred or used to apply to another term. The applications of persons denied admission to an impacted campus may be re-routed to another campus, at no cost but only if the applicants are CSU eligible.
Students applying on-line on CSU Mentor will receive an e-mail acknowledgement as soon as the application is successfully submitted and a confirmation number is issued. A notice is sent by the campus requesting submission of academic records necessary for the campus to evaluate the student's qualifications. Applicants may be assured of admission if the evaluation of relevant qualifications indicates that applicants meet CSU admission requirements, and in the case of admission impaction, campus requirements for admission to an impacted program. An offer of admission is not transferable to another term or to another campus.
Applicants who have received an application receipt notice and have submitted all required admission materials will begin to receive notification of acceptance or denial of admission to the fall semester on November 1, and for the spring semester on August 15. If the processing schedule permits, some applicants may be notified in advance of these dates.
The campus has established procedures for consideration of qualified applicants who would be faced with extreme hardship if not admitted. Petitioners should enclose with their applications a statement of the hardship situation. The application and statement should be sent to the Director of Undergraduate Admissions.
The CSU designates programs as impacted when more applications from CSU regularly eligible students are received in the initial filing period (October and November for fall terms, and August for spring terms) than can be accommodated. Some programs are impacted at every campus where they are offered; others are impacted only at some campuses. Candidates for admission must meet supplementary admission criteria if applying to an impacted program.
The CSU will announce during the fall filing period those programs that are impacted and the supplementary criteria campuses will use. Systemwide impaction of admission may be announced, when unexpected circumstances necessitate a curtailment of admission to specific campuses. Detailed information on campus and program impaction is available at www.calstate.edu/impactioninfo.shtml and via www.csumentor.edu. That announcement will also be published in official CSU publications distributed to high school and college counselors, and made available online at www.calstate.edu. Information about the supplementary criteria is also provided to program applicants.
Applicants must file applications for admission to an impacted program during the initial filing period. Applicants who wish to be considered in impacted programs at more than one campus should file an application at each campus for which they seek admissions consideration.
Each campus with impacted programs or admission categories uses supplementary admission criteria in screening applicants. Supplementary criteria may include rank–ordering of freshman applicants based on the CSU eligibility index or rank-ordering of transfer applicants based on the overall transfer grade point average, completion of specified prerequisite courses, and a combination of campus-developed criteria. Applicants for freshman admission to impacted campuses or programs are required to submit scores on either the SAT or the ACT. For fall admission, applicants should take tests as early as possible and no later than October of the preceding year.
The supplementary admission criteria used by the individual campuses to screen applicants are made available by the campuses to all applicants seeking admission to an impacted program. Details regarding the supplemental admissions criteria are also provided at www.calstate.edu/impactioninfo.shtml.
Freshman and transfer applicants who have fewer than 60 semester or 90 quarter units of transferable college credit are strongly encouraged to submit scores, unless exempt (see Eligibility Index below), from either the ACT or the SAT of the College Board. Persons who apply to an impacted program may be required to submit text scores and should take the test no later than November or December. Test scores also are used for advising and placement purposes. Registration forms and dates for the SAT or ACT are available from school or college counselors or from a CSU campus testing office. Or students may write to or call:
| The College Board (SAT) Registration Unit, Box 6200 Princeton, NJ 08541-6200 (609) 771-7588 www.collegeboard.org |
ACT Registration Unit P.O. Box 414 Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 337-1270 www.act.org |
TOEFL Requirement. All undergraduate applicants whose native language is not English and who have not attended schools at the secondary level or above for at least three years full time where English is the principal language of instruction must present a minimum score of 500 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 173 on the computer-based TOEFL. Second baccalaureate applicants must present a score of 550 on the paper-based test or 213 on the computer-based test. Students who attended a secondary level educational institution where English was the principal language of instruction for at least three years full time will not be held to the TOEFL admission requirement. Some majors may require higher scores. Institutional TOEFL scores are not accepted. Campuses specify the conditions for meeting the requirement of three years full-time English language instruction. Achieving the minimum TOEFL score shall be evidence of the applicant's English competency at a level that will allow the applicant to participate satisfactorily in and benefit from university study. For complete information regarding TOEFL, go to www.toefl.org.
The California State University requires that each entering undergraduate, except those who qualify for an exemption, take the CSU Entry Level Mathematics (ELM) examination and the CSU English Placement Test (EPT) prior to enrollment. These placement tests are not a condition for admission to the CSU, but they are a condition of enrollment. These examinations are designed to identify entering students who may need additional support in acquiring college entry-level English and mathematics skills necessary to succeed in CSU baccalaureate-level courses. Undergraduate students who do not demonstrate college-level skills both in English and in mathematics will be placed in appropriate remedial programs and activities during the first term of their enrollment. Students placed in remedial programs in either English or mathematics must complete all remediation in their first year of enrollment. Failure to complete remediation by the end of the first year may result in denial of enrollment for future terms. (For more information, see Entry Level Mathematics [ELM] examination and English Placement Test [EPT].)
Students register for the EPT and/or ELM at their local CSU campus. Questions about test dates and registration materials may be addressed to the Testing Center, HSS 206, 415-338-2271, or at the Testing Center web site: www.sfsu.edu/~testing.
A first-time freshman is a student who has earned no college credit beyond the summer immediately following high school graduation. Generally, first-time freshmen applicants qualify for regular admission if they:
Note: Applicants from outside of SF State’s six county service area may be held to different requirements.
Eligibility Index—The eligibility index is the combination of the high school grade point average and scores on either the ACT or the SAT. The grade point averages are based on grades earned in courses during the final three years of high school. Included in calculation of GPA are grades earned in all college preparatory "a-g" subject requirements, and bonus points for approved honors courses. (See Honors Courses below).
The CSU Eligibility Index (EI) can be calculated by multiplying the grade point average by 800 and adding the total score on the mathematics and critical reading scores of the SAT. Students who took the ACT, multiply the grade point average by 200 and add ten times the ACT composite score. California high school graduates (or residents of California for tuition purposes) need a minimum index of 2900 using the SAT or 694 using the ACT. The Eligibility Index Tables illustrate several combinations of required test scores and averages.
For admission to terms during the 2009-2010 college year, the University has no current plans to include the writing scores from either of the admissions tests in the computation of the CSU Eligibility Index.
Persons who neither graduated from a California high school nor are residents of California for tuition purposes need a minimum index of 3502 (SAT) or 842 (ACT). Graduates of secondary schools in foreign countries must be judged to have academic preparation and abilities equivalent to applicants eligible under this section.
All applicants for admission are required to take the SAT or ACT and provide the scores of such tests to each CSU to which they seek admission. Campuses use these test results for advising and placement purposes and may require them for admission to impacted majors or programs. Impacted CSU campuses require SAT or ACT scores of all applicants for freshman admission.
Honors Courses—Up to eight semesters of honors courses taken in the last three years of high school, including up to two approved courses taken in the tenth grade, can be accepted. Each unit of A in an honors course will receive a total of 5 points; B, 4 points; and C, 3 points.
NOTE: A grade point average of 3.00 and above qualifies with any score on the ACT or SAT. Applicants from outside of SF State’s six county service area may be held to different requirements. A grade point average of below 2.00 does not qualify for regular admission.
The California State University requires that first-time freshman applicants complete, with grades of C or better, a comprehensive pattern of college preparatory study totaling 15 units. A "unit" is one year of study in high school.
Subject Requirement Substitution for Students with Disabilities.
All freshman applicants are encouraged to complete 15 units of college preparatory subjects. If an applicant is otherwise qualified, but unable to complete certain subjects because of a disability, an appeal can be made to the Admissions Office. The appeal committee recommends that the appeal include disability documentation by a qualified professional that illustrates how the disability has affected academic performance.
Subject Substitutions for Students with Disabilities: After admission to and enrollment in the university, students with disabilities who find they need to seek a course substitution should consult with the Disability Programs and Resource Center and be aware that course substitutions may limit later enrollment in certain majors.
Language Other Than English (LOTE) Requirement. The language other than English subject requirement may be satisfied by applicants who demonstrate equivalent competence in another language comparable to two years of high school foreign language study. Consult with a school counselor or the campus admissions office or Student Outreach Services for further information.
Lower division applicants who did not complete subject requirements while in high school may make up missing subjects in any of the following ways.
Please consult with any CSU admissions office for further information about alternative ways to satisfy the subject requirements.
NOTE: Many CSU campuses, including San Francisco State University, are not accepting lower division transfers. Ask the CSU campus if you can apply as a freshman or sophomore transfer before taking college courses to make up high school subject requirements.
NOTE: All entering undergraduate students must take the Entry Level Mathematics (ELM) and the English Placement Test (EPT) after admission but prior to their first term of enrollment unless otherwise exempt. (See Systemwide Placement Test Requirements.)
San Francisco State University may conditionally admit first-time freshmen applicants based on their self-reported academic preparation through the junior year of high school and planned for the senior year. The campus monitors the senior year of study to ensure that admitted students complete their senior year of studies satisfactorily, including the required college preparatory subjects, and graduate from high school. Students are required to submit an official transcript after graduation to certify that all course work has been satisfactorily completed. Official high school transcripts must be received prior to deadline set by the university. In no case may documentation of high school graduation be received any later than the census date for a student's first term of enrollment. The University may rescind admission decisions, cancel financial aid awards, withdraw housing contracts and cancel any university registration for students who are found not to be eligible after the final transcript has been evaluated.
Applicants will qualify for regular (non-conditional) admission when the university verifies that they have graduated and received a diploma from high school, meet the minimum eligibility index, have completed the comprehensive pattern of college preparatory "a-g" subjects, and, if applying to an impacted program, have met all supplementary criteria.
Students still enrolled in high school are considered for enrollment in certain special programs if recommended by the principal and the appropriate campus department chair and if preparation is equivalent to that required of eligible California high school graduates. Such admission is only for a specific program and does not constitute a right to continued enrollment.
Authority for decisions regarding the transfer of undergraduate credits is delegated to each California State University (CSU) campus. Most commonly, college level credits earned from an institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education is accepted for transfer to campuses of the CSU.
General education requirements are the same for all CSU campuses, so California community college articulations of general education of general education courses (about one third of degree requirements) are handled centrally and may be accessed at www.assist.org.
Campuses may enter into articulation agreements on either a course for course or program to program basis. Such articulations are common between CSU campuses and any or all of the California community colleges, but may exist between CSU campuses and other institutions. Established CSU/CCC articulations may be found on www.assist.org.
No more than 70 semester units may be transferred to a CSU campus from an institution which does not offer bachelor’s degrees or their equivalents, e.g., community colleges. Given the university’s 30-unit residency requirement, no more than 90 total units may be transferred into the university from all sources.
Students who complete college units during high school or through the summer immediately following high school graduation are considered first-time freshmen and must meet those admission requirements.
Due to enrollment pressures, many CSU campuses do not admit or enroll lower division transfer students. Currently, SFSU is not accepting lower division transfer students. Students who have completed fewer than 60 transferable semester college units (fewer than 90 quarter units) at the time of entrance are considered lower division transfer students.
Students who have completed 60 or more transferable semester college units (90 or more quarter units) at the time of entrance are considered upper division transfer students. Generally, applicants qualify for admission as upper division transfer students if they meet all of the following requirements:
San Francisco State University may conditionally admit transfer applicants based on their self-reported academic preparation and courses planned for completion. The campus will monitor the final terms to ensure that those admitted complete all required courses satisfactorily. All accepted applicants are required to submit an official transcript of all college-level work completed. The University may rescind admission for any student who is found not to be eligible after the final transcript has been evaluated. In no case may such documents be received and validated by the University any later than a student’s registration for their second term of CSU enrollment.
If an applicant is otherwise qualified, but unable to complete certain subjects because of a disability, an appeal can be made to the Admissions Office. The appeal committee recommends that the appeal include disability documentation by a qualified professional that illustrates how the disability has affected academic performance.
As an alternative to regular admission criteria, an applicant who is twenty-five years of age or older may be considered for admission if he/she meets all of the following conditions:
San Francisco State University grants credit toward its undergraduate degrees for successful completion of examinations of the Advanced Placement (AP) Program of the College Board. Students who present scores of three or better may be granted up to six semester units of college credit.
The university also recognizes advanced placement (AP) courses undertaken by high school students in conjunction with a collegiate institution in those instances where the collegiate institution has recommended credit. For additional information, the student may call or write the Admissions Office or visit One Stop in the Student Services Building.
Credits earned in colleges holding regional accreditation are evaluated and advanced standing allowed on the basis of the evidence submitted on official transcripts. Credit toward the fulfillment of graduation requirements is allowed if the courses satisfactorily completed meet the standards and requirements of the university.
Credits earned in colleges lacking regional accreditation may be accepted as a basis for advanced standing only when an applicant can demonstrate by examination, after he/she has enrolled in the university, that a satisfactory degree of proficiency has been attained in the courses in question. See Credit by Examination for further information.
Credit earned in accredited community colleges will be evaluated by the Admissions Office in accordance with the following provisions:
Students may challenge courses by taking examinations developed at San Francisco State University. Credit shall be awarded to those who pass them successfully. See Maximum Credit by Examination or Evaluation for additional information.
San Francisco State University grants undergraduate degree credit for successful completion of formal instruction appropriate to the baccalaureate degree in non-college settings, either military or civilian, that has been recommended by the Commission on Educational Credit and Credentials of the American Council on Education. The Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experience in the Armed Services and the National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs establish the numbers of units allowed.