The UC application cannot be submitted until Nov 1. UC Dates & Deadlines
The CSU application can be submitted Oct 1 - Nov 30
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Maybe the app has changed this year, but there is a second question that also is a drop down menu that has the volunteer hour questions. So the first question (from what I interpret) is for hours worked for money.
Extracurricular Programs Hours of Participation and Leadership
Extracurricular Programs and leadership participation includes activities such as arts, Asian American Club, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Boyâs Week/Girlâs Week, cheerleading, drama/theater, inter-scholastic athletics, marching band, MEChA, Pride Club, science club, student government, yearbook, Young Democrats/Young Republicans and all other extracurricular activities.
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That âhoursâ section was really difficult because there were times when it was possible to do more volunteer and internship hours over summer, some virtual volunteer hours during COVID, then Varsity sports season where it was easily 18 hours per week (including practice taking up 2+ hours 6 day per week for 12 weeks). Does that make sense?
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Just a clarification requested before I hit panic mode!
@Luanne - Do you need to submit your ED application 2 weeks in advance of NOV 1 ?
Yes, as we understand and I tried to get a clear answer. She told us it takes that much time to make sure the info from the GC is sent to the school. Seems like a long time to me, but I donât know how it works, exactly.
Itâs not a hard deadline, but it made me think that if he submits on Oct 30 or something, there is a chance the rest of the information wonât be in on time.
When I looked at this yesterday with my daughter the 36 month window for employment certainly makes me pause. Not sure how many kids are working at age 14 - seems like the work related question could be better worded but Iâm not sure most CSUâs even consider this except for Cal Poly SLO and Iâm guessing when you add them to the application there will be more detailed program level questions. Anyways, right or wrong we are using our âbest judgementâ in answering this question.
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No, there is no additional drop down.
It is not based upon if you were paid or not. There is a difference between participating in an extracurricular activity and working. One wouldnât work in science club. They might be a leader in the club but that wouldnât be considered work. Work would be if they had an unpaid internship, volunteered as a docent a museum, volunteered at a hospital, etc. Work isnât a one and done activity (ex. beach clean up).
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Yes and they want you to add it all up and divide by the total number of weeks (ie. 36 mos =144wks) to get average number of hours per week. They expect kids to do more over the summer/breaks or during certain club/sports seasons.
@my2caligirls: Is the work hours under the Program Materials section for specific campuses or just under the General CSU application?
From the CSU application guide:
Completing the Educational Programs & Work Experience
This section is specific to freshman Fall 2022 admissions. To assist programs in evaluating studentâs admissions eligbility, the Cal State Apply application is collecting this suporting information of all freshman applicants. If you do not have additional information to provide in this section, this does not automatically make you ineligible for admission to a CSU campus. For more information, please visit the Cal State Apply Fall 2022 High School Guidance page.
Educational Programs Participation
Select Yes for any of the programs you have partiicpated in during your high school experience. If you have not participated in the program, select No. If you select Yes, please write in the number of years you participated in that specific educational program (e.g. 1 year).
Work Information
Please select the average number of hours you worked per week over the most recent 12 months using the drop down box to selec the appropriate range.
Extracurricular Programs Hours of Participation and Leadership
Please select the average number of hours you have participated in extracurricular and/or leadership participation over the most recent 12 months using the drop down box to selec the appropriate range. Once you complete this section, select Save and Continue.
Program Materials
For each program you are applying to, you will see one blue tile. So, if you are applying to two programs, you will see two tiles.
Click into each tile to find information for the specific
program and if applicable, questions or documents for you to complete.
Once you have selected the tile, you will see information about that program on the Home tab.
Some programs have included additional required and/or optional questions or documents as well. In the example, the applicant is asked some additional questions to apply, which can be found by clicking the Questions tab.
Note that you cannot submit your application if you do not complete all required information in Program Materials, similar to the other quadrants.
I hope this helps and I will link the guide:
Also if you have specific CSU application questions, you should post the California State University, General discussion thread.
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Work Hours referred to is for the General CSU App under the Supporting Information area and for Educational and Work Experience. When you click on the Help Center link from within the app it clearly says to enter average hours worked over the past 36 months consistent with the drop down. Odd that the application guide you shared says 12 months.
With regard to an opportunity to enter more detailed information I was curious if any of that might be found under a given Program but Iâm not seeing it for Cal Poly Slo under Questions which is where I thought Iâd see it. Possibly they follow up with a supplemental app or just go off the answer provided in the main part of the app noted above.
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Ours were done, but there shouldnât be any need to wait for them before submitting. The schools will hold all of the individual components and match them as they arrive.
But different schools may have different processes/rules. D22âs NMSF application was due to the school 10/1 so they could do their thing by the 10/6 deadline. Thatâs defined as a serial process, whereas the Common App is designed to work in parallel. But school districts sometimes do odd things. It would be frustrating to have a school cut two weeks off the time available because they canât work as effectively as most schools do.
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In the past they used 12 mos or 52 weeks. They may have changed it this year to give kids credit for EC, work, leadership, etc. before the pandemic.
The CSUs are very stat driven. SLO is different in many ways. They calculate their own GPA (using 9-11 grade) and use those activity questions in their MCA calculation. The MCA calculation has changed since they no longer use test scores but you can read about the relative weight of the different questions on the SLO forum.
SLO does not routinely send out supplemental questions after the application. Both SLO and SDSU have honors colleges that have their own application with essays but one doesnât receive an invite to apply until after they are accepted into the university. SDSU sends out acceptances to potential Weber Honors College students in December. SLO sends invites a week or two after regular admissions notifications in the spring.
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I canât speak for SDSU, but thereâs minimal advantage to the honors program at Cal Poly. Classes are already small and professor taught, plus it adds instead of replacing hours. The big advantage is priority registration. Bring in AP/DE hours and the net effect will be similar. After considering all the variables, my son turned his invite down.
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Very odd that the 2022-23 CSU guide says 12 months instead of 36 months. If there is any supplemental information needed for the specific CSU campuses, then it will be under the Program Materials. I know that SLOâs EC information was under this section last year when my niece and nephew applied. The application can change from year to year so that is probably what happened. Due to going test blind, campuses are asking for supplemental information and taking these factors into consideration in determining eligibility and for application review.
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Quick question: We are currently completing the FAFSA although we are unlikely to be applying for financial aid this year. Given this, which college should we list under School Selection (i.e., a school my D22 is applying to or a different school)? Also, how will this information be used? Thanks.
I am far from an expert, but you list the schools where you want the FASFA information to be sent. How it will be used depends upon the school, but some require it for merit scholarships even if you do not qualify for need based aid.
I suggest if you have any more questions, post in the Financial aid forum: Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums
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Many thanks, @Gumbymom.
So I think this is a novel occurrence: I just received an invitation to write a letter in support of my D22âs application to one of her colleges. They say they like to see all sides of a student. It is not required, but welcomed. Never heard of this before!
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How interesting! Wonder how one approaches that? One possibility: provide examples that fit D22âs narrative not found elsewhere on the app. Another: address some relative deficiency you may know exists in her app.
Of course there are plenty of strategies for something like this beyond those options.
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I had this happen also recently. I have done anything with it yet, not sure how to handle it. It is a safety school for my daughter, and is a state school that offers minimal scholarship opportunities.