By Minh Ngoc Le
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 640 into law on Oct. 6, 2025, expanding the California State University (CSU) system’s direct admissions program from the existing 43 school districts within Riverside County to all 937 school districts across California.
The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, with statewide participation beginning with the fall 2027 admissions cycle. Eligible high school seniors will automatically receive admissions letters from CSU campuses either notifying them of their acceptance, informing them that they are close to qualifying or outlining a community college transfer pathway if they are not yet eligible.
Under the new law, CSU campuses will collaborate with school districts to obtain high school transcript data through the CaliforniaColleges.edu platform, determining eligibility of senior applicants. Students who satisfy the required “A-G” college prep course requirements with a minimum of 2.5 GPA will be considered eligible for direct admissions.
A majority of CSU’s 23 campuses are set to participate in the program, with the exception of 6 campuses considered “impacted,” or overenrolled. These include San Jose State, San Diego State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach. Students who are interested in attending these campuses are encouraged to apply through the standard application process.
Students are still required to submit an application to receive an official acceptance from the campus. After receiving preliminary acceptance letters, students must decide which campus they are formally applying to and answer remaining application questions on the CSU application.
Through the new program, applicants will submit directly to the CaliforniaColleges.edu platform, instead of the typical Cal State Apply portal, where their high school courses and grades will be automatically uploaded.
Senate Bill 640 also extends CSU’s dual admission program with California Community Colleges, which guarantees future admissions for high school graduates enrolled in community colleges to specific CSU campuses and majors. Originally set to terminate in 2026, the program will now be sustained until 2036. It will also grant students an extra year to complete transfer requirements – from a total of 2 years to now 3 years.
California is joining a growing number of states incorporating direct admissions into public universities, including North Carolina, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, Hawaii, Idaho, Wisconsin, Georgia and Connecticut.
