O.C. School Districts Partner with Cal State University System to Offer Seniors Direct Admissions
“No essays, letters of recommendations and/or portfolios required,” for qualified students to gain admission to 16 CSU campuses.
College application season is here for many high school seniors in Orange County, especially those hoping to attend a University of California (UC) or a California State University (CSU) campus. The deadline to apply to these public universities is December 1, 2025.
But some members of the Class of 2026 could be admitted to a CSU without even formally applying. “No essays, letters of recommendations and/or portfolios required,” as the CSU website reads.
CSU is expanding a direct admissions program due to new legislation (SB 640) signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this month.
Here’s how it works: Students at California public high schools who meet the CSU’s minimum eligibility requirements will be notified that they have automatically been admitted to 16 CSU campuses.
The Capistrano Unified School District, Orange County’s largest, recently announced that all CUSD seniors should expect to receive a flyer in the mail in late October or early November about their status in the direct admissions program.
“If a student meets certain academic standards, they'll receive an offer and can decide if they want to move forward with the next steps,” Erika Gardner, Coordinator for CUSD’s College and Career Guidance, explained in a recent Instagram post.
Seniors with a grade point average (GPA) above 2.5 and on track to complete the CSU’s A-G coursework requirements will be “conditionally admitted to the CSU System,” according to the district. In the 2021-2022 school year, 64.1% of the district’s students had met the A-G requirements.
“[Students] will need to complete the application and financial aid information but have the satisfaction of acceptance right from the start,” Jimmy Knodel, Communications Coordinator for Capistrano Unified, wrote in an email to Spotlight Schools. Students who don’t meet the minimum requirements are encouraged to consult with their counselors or look into the Transfer Success Pathway program, which guides scholars from community college to CSU campuses.
The 16 CSU campuses that will be part of the direct admissions program include:
- CSU Bakersfield
- CSU Channel Islands
- Chico State
- CSU Dominguez Hills
- Cal State East Bay
- Fresno State
- Cal Poly Humboldt
- Cal State LA
- Cal State Monterey Bay
- CSU Northridge
- Sacramento State
- Cal State San Bernardino
- San Francisco State
- Cal State San Marcos
- Sonoma State
- Stanislaus State
The system’s most competitive campuses — including Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Cal Poly Pomona — are not participating in the program. The CSU also explained that "some impacted campuses and/or majors may have additional admission requirements."
The CSU’s direct admissions initiative started with a pilot program with the Riverside County Office of Education in 2024. Nearly 12,000 Riverside County students were given direct admission to ten CSU campuses for the fall 2025 school year. The pilot helped increase first-year enrollment from Riverside County public high schools by 6% compared to 2024, according to EdSource.
“By formalizing and expanding this proven model statewide, SB 640 will create a more streamlined, data-driven pathway from California’s public high schools to its public universities,” reads a statement earlier this month from the CSU.
Now the program widens to the hundreds of O.C. seniors at Capistrano Unified’s six traditional high schools. “This program encourages students who may not have considered applying to a CSU on their own to pursue that post-graduate path,” Knodel added.
The Los Alamitos Unified School District is also participating in the direct admissions program, according to Nichole Pichardo, Los Alamitos USD’s Communications and Public Information Officer. And the Cal State San Bernardino website lists Garden Grove Unified and Santa Ana Unified as other local districts participating in the direct admissions program. Ask your school’s college and career counselors if your campus is also taking part.
Find more information here: https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/community/Pages/Direct-Admission-Program.aspx.