Are CSU's (in general) that hard to get into?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm thinking of applying to some CSU's, because I want to go to a cheaper school in my home state of California. Some of the ones I've got my eye on are - CSU Long Beach, San Francisco State, and San Jose State. I'm also considering things like CSU San Bernardino and San Diego State. </p>

<p>In general, are state schools in California that hard to get into if you're a California resident? My raw SAT score (without studying, might retake) is a 1920. I haven't taken very many AP and Honors classes throughout high school - which is only three years where I live. My Sophomore year and this year - my senior year - I was/am attending a small, unconventional independent studies school that doesn't even offer AP or Honors courses. Although I attended a regular, large and competitive high school my junior year and only took 1 Honors course and only five classes (less than impressive, when you compare me to the other students attending), I don't * think * in the long run my lack of AP's can be held against me, can it? Especially since the high school I went to 2 out of 3 years during my high school career didn't offer AP and Honors courses, so I technically took those split site on my own initiative. </p>

<p>I'm not a super student. I've actually struggled a lot with school, because I hate it so much. I'm very, very pessimistic when it comes to "traditional" high school, although I'm not going to mention that anywhere in my personal essays. I took 7 classes and got all A's my sophomore year. However, I took only 5 classes and got two B's last year (junior year), because I was dealing with some personal hardships and health issues (mainly endometriosis). Now that I've returned to the independent studies school I loved my sophomore year, I'm taking 2 AP classes and a full course load of 7 classes, all of which I hope to get A's in. I think there's a clear pattern of which school I thrived at, although I'm worried it doesn't even matter since no one really looks at your senior year. </p>

<p>I don't play sports or have many extracurricular activities to brag about. I'm the least school spirited person ever, and I haven't been a part of any clubs (no yearbook, student gov, anything like that). I am a girl scout however, and am thinking of doing my Gold Award. That's about it though. My UC GPA is 3.8 I believe. </p>

<p>So, for a student like me, will getting into a CSU be that hard?</p>

<p>Also, if anyone could maybe answer some of these basic CSU questions I have, that would be amazing!</p>

<ol>
<li>On the CSU website, when you apply they ask you to state if you're planning on enrolling during the Fall or Spring semesters. If I chose Fall now, but change my mind to Spring later, is that ok? Is that even allowed?</li>
<li>How do you double major at a CSU? I know at some of the UC's you apply under one major, and approach the department of the second major at the start of the school year and ask to double major. Is that how it works at State Schools?</li>
<li>How do minors work at CSU's? In general, I don't know how to apply for a minor or how minors really work. </li>
<li>Is it difficult to double major? I'm planning on majoring in Criminal justice, but I'm thinking of picking up another major that relates to that somehow (maybe international relations, since I'm interested in Homeland security). I'd like to have a lot of free time to pursue some hobbies on the side whilst getting my degree. I know you're free time is drastically cut if you're pursuing a major in one of the "less soft" subjects like engineering or computer sciences. Would this be the case with something like Criminal justice?</li>
</ol>

<p>I know the last one wasn't really specific to CSU's, but I thought I'd go ahead and ask. ** Thanks so much! **</p>

2

<ol>
<li>Most CSU campuses only accept Fall 2015 applications for First Time Freshman. A few campuses will accept Spring 2016 applications if they have spots available such as CSU Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills and San Francisco. To apply as an undergraduate you need to graduate high school which wil be May-June 2015, so if you do opt to apply for Spring, it will be Spring 2016 not Spring 2015…</li>
</ol>

<p>2/3. At CSU’s, the double major or major/minor basically works the same way as the UC’s. You are accepted into 1 major and then during orientation, you can contact the advisor for the other Major or minor to help plan out your schedule of classes so you can fulfill both Majors or Major/Minor.</p>

<ol>
<li>The difficulty of double majoring would be if very few of the classes for the 2 degrees do not overlap and you need to spend an extra 1-2 to fulfill all the requirements. Some double majors are easier to plan than others. My younger son is currently thinking of double majoring in CS and Business, but very few required classes overlap which may add another 2 years to his undergrad studies.
Having free time while double majoring will depend upon your study habits and the difficulty of your classes. Many students have excellent time management skills, so they only way to know is to give it a try.</li>
</ol>

<p>Your CSU/UC GPA is 3.8?? and SAT is 1920? Then you have a good chance at all the schools listed. You however, do not seem like a traditional student, so having a structured program may be not be to your liking.
The CSU’s do not like having “Super Seniors” (undergrads that have over the required units to graduate, but for many reasons cannot complete their degree) which means that they would like to see you get your degree in 4 years and get out if possible.</p>

<p>Regarding not having many AP/Honors classes under your belt: You will be judged by how many of these classes are offerred at your school, so if you none are offerred, you will not be penalized.</p>

<p>SFSU/CSUSB: Safety
CSULB/SJSU: Match
SDSU: High Match</p>

3

<p>Depends on the CSU; top 3 most selective would be: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CSU Long Beach, and San Diego State…they are around 30-40% acceptance rate. The highest acceptance rate last year was Sonoma State by 90%, though very good school…9th best CSU. So you’ll have a good chance at the majority of them. However, the easiest one to get into is actually the CSU in your area/county…because they guarantee your admission, example would be that SDSU guarantees admission to students who graduated from a HS in the San Diego County or Imperial County with meeting all of the a-g requirements. </p>

<ol>
<li><a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU; - Here’s the site that allows you to see what campuses are open for admission.</li>
</ol>

<p>Gumbymom is right about all of the answers.</p>

<hr>

<p>SFSU: Safety
CSUSB: Safety
SJSU: Safety
CSULB: Match
SDSU: Match</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>The actual local areas for CSUs are listed here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf”>http://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>SDSU and CPSLO do not automatically admit local frosh applicants at baseline eligibility; instead, they add additional points to their applications.</p>

<p><a href=“http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html”>http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html&lt;/a&gt; indicates that baseline eligibility was not sufficient for local applicants at SJSU either.</p>