On October 6th, Governor Gavin Newsom passed Senate Bill 640, which creates a new direct admission program for the California State University (CSU) system. Starting with students applying for the Fall 2027 semester, high schoolers who meet certain academic requirements will be automatically admitted to 1 of the 16 participating CSU campuses. This bill aims to simplify the college admission process and increase access to higher education, especially for students who might otherwise feel uncertain about applying to college.
Through this program, high school districts will upload students’ transcripts to a platform called College.edu. Students who meet the eligible criteria — completing the A-G course requirements and maintaining at least a 2.5 GPA — will then be notified of their admission without having to go through the traditional application process. Supporters of the program believe that this will encourage more students to pursue college, particularly those who might not have considered higher education.
However, the program doesn’t include all CSU campuses. The state’s most competitive universities — San Jose State, San Diego State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State Long Beach — have opted out of this program. Students who hope to attend these schools will still need to apply through the regular CSU application system…