First Year Students

Preparing to Apply

As you begin thinking about college, it is important to consider a few important factors to be admitted as a First-Year Student, such as, choosing a major, developing a good set of study skills and setting a high standard for the grades you earn.

With no standardized tests being utilized by the CSU for admission, students now have the opportunity to have other assets and attributes considered in the admission process including but not limited to, participation in programs or clubs available at your school or in the community (AVID, Future Leaders, etc.)

This is also a critical time to begin saving for college expenses and learning about Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Take the opportunity to do your best in the Early Assessment Program (part of the CAASPP/Smarter Balanced Assessment) in the 11th grade. It’s results, along with your GPA, higher level courses during the 12th grade, affect your placement in English and math courses in College. 

Additional planning tools can be found at Cal State Apply.
 

Admission Requirements

First-Year applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

A first-year applicant is a student attending high school.  High school students can earn college credit while enrolled at their school, however, cannot earn college credit after the summer immediately following their high school graduation date in Spring. Students who take courses beyond the summer following the graduation date will need to follow the transfer path. If you are a non-traditional high school student who has graduated early or is homeschooled, please contact us if you have any questions.

You are eligible for admissions as a first-year student if you:

1. Graduate High School: All applicants must be a High School Graduate or Equivalent
2. GPA: Earn a qualified "A-G" grade point average (GPA) as described below
3. A-G courses: Complete the 15 unit comprehensive "A-G pattern with a grade of C- or better by high school graduation

Grade Point Average Requirements

As a first-year student level, California residents must earn a 2.50 or greater “a-g” GPA and Non-California residents may be eligible by earning a 3.00 or greater “a-g” GPA. Supplemental factors called the Multi Factor Admission Score, may be applied as space is available to all programs for California residents and graduates of California high schools whose GPAs are between 2.0 and 2.49 and non-California resident students whose GPAs are between 2.5 - 2.99.  

Program Level Impaction 

California State University, San Bernardino is impacted at the program level for Undergraduate First-Year and Transfer students. This means that, CSUSB receives more eligible applicants during our initial application filing period than can be accommodated in the incoming class for the following programs, Criminal Justice, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work and Kinesiology -Applied Health. As part of program level impaction additional admission standards have been set for students graduating from California high schools outside of our defined local area. 

Additional information about CSU Impaction, and how it can affect you can be found at the CSU, Chancellor's Office website.

CSUSB information, including Campus and Program Level Impaction can be found on our First-Year Impaction Criteria website.  

Multi-Factor Admission Score

CSU campuses will be utilizing a Multi-Factor Admission Score beginning in the Fall 2021 term. This MFAS score combines your GPA in A-G coursework, and additional applicant attributes such as work experience, participation in educational programs, veterans status, etc. The combination of GPA and attributes will provide a score that will determine whether you are eligible for admission to the campus and major you are applying for.

A critical component of the MFAS is the completion of the A-G college preparatory pattern of courses with grades of “C-” or better:

Comprehensive A-G Pattern

The CSU requires a minimum 15-unit pattern of courses for admission as a first-time freshman. Each unit is equal to a year of study in a subject area. A grade of C- or better is required for each course you use to meet any subject requirement.

For more information on the A-G Pattern, visit the CSU Freshman: Admission Requirements website. 

Acceptable courses from your high school may be found at University of California A-G Guide.