Admissions ~ Eligibility Index

Your CSU Eligibility Index (EI) is the combination of your high school grade point average and your scores on either the ACT or the SAT.

Your grade point average is based on grades earned in courses taken during your final three years of high school. Included in calculation of your GPA are grades earned in all college preparatory A-G subject requirements, and bonus points for approved honors courses.

Up to eight semesters of honors courses taken in the last three years of high school, including up to two approved courses taken in the tenth grade, can be accepted. Each unit of A in an honors course will receive a total of 5 points; B, 4 points; and C, 3 points.

You can calculate your EI by multiplying your grade point average by 800 and adding your total score on the mathematics and critical reading scores of the SAT. If you took the ACT, multiply your grade point average by 200 and add ten times your ACT composite score.

If you are a California high school graduate (or a resident of California for tuition purposes), you need a minimum index of 2900 using the SAT or 694 using the ACT. The CSU Eligibility Index Table for California High School Graduates or Residents of California illustrates several combinations of required test scores and averages.

For admission to terms during the 2009-2010 college year, the university has no plans to include the writing scores from either of the admissions tests in the computation of the CSU Eligibility Index.

If you have neither graduated from a California high school nor qualify as a resident of California for tuition purposes, you need a minimum index of 3502 using the SAT or 842 using the ACT. The CSU Eligibility Index Table for Nonresidents or Nongraduates of California High Schools illustrates several combinations of required test scores and averages. Graduates of secondary schools in foreign countries must be judged to have academic preparation and abilities equivalent to applicants eligible under this section.

If your grade point average is 3.00 or above (3.61 for nonresidents), you are not required to submit test scores. However, all applicants for admission are urged to take the SAT or ACT and provide the scores of such tests to each CSU to which you seek admission.

Campuses use these test results for advising and placement purposes and may require them for admission to impacted majors or programs. Impacted CSU campuses require SAT or ACT scores of all applicants for freshman admission.