The CSU will announce before the opening of the fall filing period which programs are impacted and the supplementary criteria campuses will use. That announcement will be published in the "CSU Review," distributed to high school and college counselors. Information about the supplementary criteria is also sent to program applicants.
Students must file an application for admission to an impacted program during the first month of the filing period. Further, students who wish to be considered for an impacted program at two or more campuses must file an application to each.
The supplementary admission criteria used by the individual campuses to screen applicants appear periodically in the "CSU Review" and are sent by the campuses to all applicants seeking admission to an impacted program.
Unlike unaccommodated applicants to locally impacted programs who may be redirected to another campus in the same major, unaccommodated applicants to systemwide impacted programs may not be redirected in the same major but may choose an alternate major either at the first choice campus or another campus.
The College Board (SAT I) | American College Testing Program (ACT) |
Registration Unit, Box 592 | Registration Unit, P.O. Box 168 |
Princeton, NJ 08541 | Iowa City, IA 52240 |
(609) 771-7588 | (319) 337-1270 |
TOEFL Requirement. All undergraduate applicants, regardless of citizenship, 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 score of 500 or above on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Systemwide Tests Required of Most New Students
The CSU requires all new students to be tested in English and mathematics as soon as possible after they are admitted but prior to their first semester of enrollment. These are not admission tests, but a way to determine if the student is prepared for college work and, if not, to counsel him/her on how to strengthen the preparation. A person might be exempted from one or both of the tests if he/she has scored well on other specified tests or completed appropriate courses. (Consult Index for page reference on Entry Level Mathematics [ELM] Examination and English Placement Test [EPT].)FIRST-TIME FRESHMAN APPLICANTS
A student qualifies for regular admission as a first-time freshman if s/he:
A student can calculate the index by multiplying the grade point average by 800 and adding the total score on the SAT I. Or, if the student took the ACT, multiply the grade point average by 200 and add ten times the ACT composite score. A California high school graduate (or a resident of California for tuition purposes), needs a minimum index of 2900 using the SAT I or 694 using the ACT; the Eligibility Index Table illustrates several combinations of required test scores and averages. If a student neither graduated from a California high school nor is a resident of California for tuition purposes, a minimum index of 3502 (SAT I) or 842 (ACT) is needed. (See Eligibility Index Table.)
Applicants with grade point averages of 3.00 or above (3.61 for nonresidents) are exempt from submitting test scores. However, applicants are urged to take the SAT I or ACT since campuses use test results for advising and placement purposes.
Subject Requirements
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 fifteen units. A "unit" is one year of study in high school. Within the fifteen units completed, up to one unit (one year) in visual and performing arts or foreign language may be missing and offset by a college preparatory course(s) in other areas. The missing unit of visual and performing arts or foreign language must be completed either prior to, or by the end of, the first year of CSU enrollment. This provision is effective through the 2000-2001 academic year.Provisional Admission
San Francisco State University may provisionally admit first-time freshmen applicants based on their 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 those so admitted complete their senior year of studies satisfactorily, including the required college preparatory subjects, and graduate from high school.High School Students
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 given program and does not constitute the right to continued enrollment.Re-entry Students
San Francisco State University offers a Re-entry Admissions Program (R.A.P.) to facilitate university entrance for individuals who would not otherwise qualify for regular admissions. Additionally, students must: be twenty-five years of age or above; be high school graduates or equivalent (through either the Tests of General Educational Development or the California High School Proficiency Examination); have not been enrolled as full-time students for more than one academic term within the last five years; and have at least a C average in any college work completed within the last five years. Contact the Advising Center at 338-2101 to attend the Re-entry Orientation Workshop to be considered under this programTRANSFER APPLICANTS
Transfer Requirements
A person qualifies for admission as a transfer student if she/he has a grade point average of 2.0 (C) or better in all transferable units attempted, is in good standing at the last college or university attended, and meets any of the following standards:
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. (Consult Index for page reference under Test requirements.)
The university also recognizes advanced placement 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.
Students may challenge courses by taking examinations developed at the campus. Credit shall be awarded to those who pass them successfully. See Credit by Examination or Evaluation (consult Index for page reference) for additional information.