Application Procedures

Introduction

Requirements for admission to Cal State Fullerton are in accordance with Title 5, Chapter 1, Subchapter 3, of the California Code of Regulations. Complete information is available on the California State University website. 

All CSU applications must be submitted online on the Cal State Apply website. An acknowledgment will be sent to the applicant when the online application has been submitted. 

Importance of Filing Complete, Accurate and Authentic Application Documents

Cal State Fullerton advises prospective students that they must supply complete and accurate information on the application for admission, residency questionnaire and financial aid forms. Further, applicants must, when requested, submit authentic and official transcripts of all previous academic work attempted. Failure to file complete, accurate and authentic application documents may result in denial of admission, cancellation of registration or academic credit, suspension or expulsion (Section 41301, Article 1.1, Title 5, California Code of Regulations).

Undergraduate Application Procedures

Prospective students applying for part-time or full-time undergraduate programs of study must submit a completed undergraduate application. The $70 nonrefundable application fee should be paid online at the time of application via credit card or PayPal and may not be transferred or used to apply to another term. An alternate major may be requested on the application if desired by the university. The applications of persons denied admission to an impacted campus may be redirected to another campus at no cost, but only if the applicant is CSU eligible.

Impacted Programs

The CSU designates programs as impacted when more applications from regularly eligible applicants are received in the initial filing period (October and November for fall terms, June for winter terms, August for spring terms, February for summer terms) than can be accommodated. Some programs are impacted at every university at which they are offered; others are impacted only at a few universities. Candidates for admission must meet all of the university’s specified supplementary admission criteria if applying to an impacted program or university. 

The CSU will announce during the fall filing period those CSUs or programs that are impacted. Detailed information on university and program impaction will be available on the Impaction at the CSU website.

Each university will communicate supplementary admission criteria for all impacted programs to high schools and community colleges in their application service area and will disseminate this information to the public through appropriate media. This information will also be published on the Cal State Fullerton website at fullerton.edu. 

Applicants must file applications for admission to an impacted program during the initial filing period. Applicants who wish to be considered for impacted programs at more than one CSU should file an application at each university for which they seek admission consideration.

Cal State Fullerton has been declared impacted on the first-time freshman level and upper-division transfer level.

Supplementary Admission Criteria

Each university with impacted programs or class-level admission categories uses supplementary admission criteria in screening applicants. Supplementary criteria may include rank-ordering of freshman applicants based on the combination of student’s “A-G” GPA and supplemental factors or rank-ordering of transfer applicants based on verification of the Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) or Associate in Science Transfer (AS-T) degrees, the overall transfer grade-point average (GPA), completion of specified prerequisite courses and a combination of campus-developed criteria. Applicants for freshman admission to impacted universities or programs may need to have a higher “A-G” GPA. In no case will standardized test scores be utilized in making freshman admission decisions.

The supplementary admission criteria used by individual CSUs to screen applicants are made available by the universities to all applicants seeking admission to an impacted program.

Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate Application Procedures

All graduate and post-baccalaureate applicants (i.e., doctorate, joint Ph.D. applicants, master’s degree applicants, those seeking educational credentials or certificates and, where permitted, holders of baccalaureate degrees interested in taking courses for personal or professional growth) must file a complete graduate application as described in the graduate and post-baccalaureate admission materials on the Cal State Apply website. Applicants seeking a second bachelor’s degree must submit the undergraduate application for admission. Applicants who completed undergraduate degree requirements in the preceding term are also required to complete and submit an application and the $70 nonrefundable application fee. To be assured of initial consideration by more than one CSU, it is necessary to submit separate applications (including fees) to each. All CSU applications must be submitted online via the Cal State Apply website. An acknowledgment will be sent to the applicant when the online application has been submitted.

Cal State Fullerton does not accept applications for undeclared post-baccalaureate study or for second baccalaureate degrees (except in nursing).

Graduate Application Deadlines

Application deadlines for graduate programs vary. Some graduate programs only admit for the fall semester. Consult the program website or contact the graduate advisor for current information, fullerton.edu/graduate.

Application Filing Periods

Application Acknowledgment

On-time applicants may expect to receive an email acknowledgment from the universities to which they have applied within two to four weeks of filing the application. The notice may also include a request that applicants submit additional records necessary to evaluate academic qualifications. Applicants may be assured of admission if the evaluation of relevant qualifications indicates that applicants meet CSU admission requirements, and in the case of admission impaction, supplemental criteria for admission to an impacted program. Unless specific written approval/confirmation is received, an offer of admission is not transferable to another term or to another university.

Hardship Petitions

The campus has established procedures for consideration of qualified applicants who would be faced with extreme hardship if not admitted. Petitioners should write to the university Admissions Office regarding specific policies governing hardship admission.

admissions.fullerton.edu/prospectivestudent/appeals.php

Record Retention

The university retains the admissions materials for those who apply, but who for whatever reason do not enroll, for two years. For those who do enroll, the university will retain the materials including transcripts of the record of work completed elsewhere for five years beyond the date of last attendance. Records of academic performance at Cal State Fullerton, including individual student records, faculty grade lists and graduation lists are kept permanently.