Application Tips

The Cal State Apply Applicant Help Center can be accessed in either of these two ways:

• Applicant Help Center
• After logging into the Cal State Appy application, click the blue question mark icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and select "Help Center" from the dropdown list.

In the Cal State Apply Applicant Help Center, you will be able to access pages and sections detailing various parts of the application, from creating an account, to clarifying how to answer specific questions in the application, through to submitting your application. A link to a "Live Chat" is also available in a blue box located on the lower right corner of the page.

Filling Out Your Cal State Apply Application

The California State University system has created comprehensive guides for each application cycle.

This page also provides instructions on how to complete each section of the Cal State Apply application.

For more information, please click on the specific section of the application:

• Personal Information
• Academic History
• Supporting Information
• Program Materials

Before starting the application, please make sure you select the correct application term from the drop-down menu and then click 'Apply'.

Cal State LA uses email as the official means of communication with applicants. To ensure that you receive all communications regarding your application, please use a personal email address rather than an email address provided by your current school. Some schools may have blocked University email communications or may restrict or terminate access to your school email once you are no longer attending. If you do not already have a personal email address, please considering using a free email service such as Google's Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Microsoft Outlook, or Apple iCloud.

Be aware, we found that the following international email hosts have blocked emails from the University:

• qq.com
• 126.com
• 163.com
• yeah.net

Please add calstatela.edu as a safe sender in your email account so Cal State LA communications are not flagged as spam/junk mail.

In case of financial hardship, the CSU allows for a limited number of undergraduate application fee waivers for residents of California. If you file the admission application via Cal State Apply, the fee waiver request is included in the online system as part of the application process. You will be notified at the time you apply online if you qualify for the fee waiver. If granted a fee waiver, it may be used for up to 4 campuses for each application term. To check if you qualify for an online fee waiver in Cal State Apply, click the "CHECK MY FEE WAIVER STATUS" link in the Submit Application page.

To be considered for the application fee waiver, you must be:

• An undergraduate student (you cannot be in an extension program)
• A California resident for more than one year
• A U.S. citizen, or someone without lawful immigration status who qualifies for an AB540 non-resident tuition exception

Application fee waivers are not available for residents of other U.S. states, international students, and Graduate/post-bac program applicants. The CSU does not accept College Board fee waivers, nor any other external waiver form.

Mistakes to Avoid

The following common information reporting errors may cause an eligible applicant not to receive an application fee waiver:

• If you report yourself as a dependent applicant with a family size of one
• If you report the same dollar amount in the Adjusted Gross Income field as well as in the Untaxed Income field
• If you select "None" in answer to "What U.S. State/Possession do you regard as your permanent home?"

Applicants who incorrectly report any of the items above will not be granted an application fee waiver.

For more information about the CSU Application Fee Waiver for undergraduate applicants, view the Application Fee Waiver Checklist.

Select the US state which you regard as your permanent home, regardless of your legal capacity to establish residency. If you select 'California,' indicate whether you claim California residency and, if so, whether you have lived in California continuously since birth.

DACA, undocumented, or AB540 students:

1. In your Cal State Apply Extended Profile, select "No" when it asks if you require an F1 or J1 visa.
2. Select "California" as the state of residence if you consider California to be your permanent home.
3. In the Citizenship/Residency Information section of the application, select "None" for your U.S. citizenship.

Be aware that missing or inaccurate information will result in you being considered a non-California resident for CSU tuition purposes.

Accurately finding your high school(s) from the list of available schools in the Cal State Apply application is very important. Doing so will ensure a smoother application process by making it easier for you to complete the High School Coursework section.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when using the High School search:

• When searching by the school's address, do not use the city or zip code where you live; always use the school's address.
  • For example: Although many students from the city of Monterey Park, CA attend Mark Keppel High School, the school is located in Alhambra, CA. If these students search for a school in Monterey Park, they will not find their high school. They must search for the high school in Alhambra.
• If searching by city, do not abbreviate.
  • For example: "Los Angeles" should not be entered as "LA".
• If you can't find your school by location, you may also search by the College Board's CEEB code. You may also check your school's website or ask your guidance counselor for your high school's CEEB code.

• To learn how to enter your high school coursework in the Academic History section, review the High School Coursework Instructions.
• For detailed instructions, you may also review the 2024-2025 Freshman Application Guide.

To use a college course to fulfill an A-G requirement for freshman admission, you must make sure to assign the correct A-G subject category to the college course.

1. Add the college(s) in the "Colleges Attended" section.
2. Add the college course(s) in the "College Coursework" section.
3. Go to the "A-G Matching" section. It will display the number of years that you reported for each A-G subject.
4. Click the "Update A-G Courses" button.
5. For each college course taken, enter the appropriate category code in the A-G field.

• To view the Calculated GPA based on your entered high school coursework, check the A-G Subject Totals box in the A-G Matching area of the Academic History section of the Cal State Apply Application.
• If the GPA or the subject year counts look incorrect (too high or too low), please double check your High School Coursework entry.

For Fall 2022 applications, if you are a transfer student who has earned or will earn before Spring 2022, an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) from a California community college, complete the Degree Goal questions as follows:

• What degree, credential or certificate are you applying for?
  • Select "First Bachelor's Degree (Seeking your first bachelor's degree and have not earned a prior bachelor's degree)".
• Which of the following best describes your current educational status?
  • Select "Transferring with an Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T / AS-T) awarded by a California Community College".
• California Community College
  • Select the California community college at which you have earned or will earn your ADT.
• ADT Program
  • Select the ADT program/major.
• Do you have or will you have a second ADT from your community college?
  • Select "Yes" if you have or will earn a second ADT either at a different California community college or in a different program/major. You will have the opportunity to select the second California community college and ADT program.
  • Select "No" if you will only have one ADT by the end of Spring 2022.

To apply as a transfer student without an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) (including Returning Cal State LA students), select the following:

• What degree, credential or certificate are you applying for?
  • Select "First Bachelor's Degree (Seeking your first bachelor's degree and have not earned a prior bachelor's degree)".
• Which of the following best describes your current educational status?
  • Select "Transferring from a community college or four-year institution".
• By the time you enroll at the CSU campus you are applying to, how many college credits will you have earned?
  • Select the option based on how many semester units you have completed (and will complete) prior to enrolling at Cal State LA.

For detailed instructions on how to complete the Cal State Apply application as a transfer student, review the 2024-2025 Cal State Apply Transfer Application Guide.

Accurately finding your colleges and universities from the list of available schools in the Cal State Apply application is very important. Doing so will result in a smoother application process by making it easier for you to complete the College Coursework section.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when adding a college or university:

• Never abbreviate. The college search cannot locate institutions by acronyms or abbreviations. The following are some examples:
  • East Los Angeles College: Not found under East LA College or ELAC
  • Pasadena City College: Not found under PCC
  • California State University - Los Angeles: Not found under Cal State LA or CSU Los Angeles
  • University of California - Los Angeles: Not found under UCLA
  • University of Southern California: Not found under USC
• Several schools have different entries for their main campuses and extension programs. Please make sure to pick the correct "location" based on where you completed the courses.
  • For example: University of California - Los Angeles vs University of California - Los Angeles (Extension)

• To learn how to complete the College Coursework area of the Academic History section, review the Transcript Entry/College Coursework Instructions.

• Don't forget to also enter course credit awarded for AP, IB, CLEP or other exams noted on your college transcript as coursework. Add test credit to your first term of college attendance. YOU MUST REPORT TEST CREDIT IN BOTH THE COLLEGE COURSEWORK AND STANDARDIZED TEST SECTIONS.

• To view the Calculated Transfer GPA and Units based on your entered college coursework, go to the College Coursework area of the Academic History section of the Cal State Apply Application, and click the "Calculate my Transfer GPA" button.

• After clicking the button, it will display the calculated Transfer GPA and Transfer Credit Hours (i.e., the total number of completed transferable semester units).
• If the Transfer GPA or Transfer Credit Hours look incorrect (too high or too low), please double check your course entry, including repeats, grades, unit counts, and transferable flag for each course.

Please make sure to match a course from the College Coursework section for each General Education area (Oral Communication, Written Communication, Critical Thinking, and Math Concepts/Quantitative Reasoning). Failure to properly assign a course (or exam credit) to each General Education area will affect your admission eligibility.

Students applying to Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering are not required to complete the General Education Critical Thinking (A3) course for admission.

In the General Education section, if you did not take a course that fulfills the A3 requirement, check the "Opt Out" box.

All majors have additional major-specific criteria for admission. Please see the Major-Specific Criteria Page for more information and specific program requirements.

You will report your progress with the major-specific criteria in the Program Materials section of the Cal State Apply application.

Before you start working on the Program Materials section, please make sure you have already completed the following:

• Added every college or university that you have attended in the Colleges Attended section.
• Fully completed the College Coursework section, which includes listing all courses taken (or in progress, planned) for each college/university attended. You must also report credit earned from examinations/tests (AP, IB, CLEP, etc.) and repeated coursework.
• Double-check everything on your application. You will not be allowed to make edits once it is submitted. Any false or incorrect information may negatively affect your admission eligibility.

Once you are confident the first three sections (Personal Information, Academic History, and Supporting Information) have been accurately completed, click the Program Materials section, and find the name of the Cal State LA program to which you are applying, and click on it.

In the Program Materials section, you should find the following additional tabs:

• Home tab – Read the information carefully before moving on to the next steps.
• Prerequisites tab
  • You must have already entered your college courses in the College Coursework section of the Academic History section.
  • Read the instructions at the top of the screen before proceeding.
  • We strongly recommend that applicants complete the required major-specific criteria prior to the desired admit term. However, if there is still space available after offering admission to applicants who have met all the major-specific requirements, others may be considered for admission based on their progress in the courses.
• Questions tab – Answer all supplemental questions accurately.

Completing the Prerequisite Tab

• To assign a course(s) to the prerequisite(s), click the Assign Course button.

• On the prerequisite selection screen, you can assign which of your college courses will meet the prerequisite. Click the + button next to the course, or courses, to indicate which courses are being used to satisfy the specific prerequisite.
  • If you have not taken the course(s) by the required term that satisfies the prerequisite, click the I Am Not Matching Any Courses to this Prerequisite button near the top of the page.
  • If you have taken your courses at a California community college, please use the ASSIST website to match your community college courses to the Cal State LA prerequisite course codes.
  • If you are unable to find an equivalent course in ASSIST, please review the Determining Course Equivalencies section of this tips page to learn how to determine which of your courses may be used to satisfy a prerequisite.

• Once you are finished assigning your course(s) to the current prerequisite, click the Save and Exit button to go back to the main prerequisite page. Repeat this process for each prerequisite listed.
• When all prerequisites have been assigned or skipped, a green checkmark icon will be displayed in the Prerequisites tab.

Completing the Questions Tab

• Answer all questions and click the Save My Responses button at the bottom of the page.
• Once saved, you will see the following green checkmarks, and will have completed the Program Materials section of the application!

Be Aware: A California Community College Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T/AS-T) in a major deemed similar may be used in lieu of the specific required and recommended preparation courses.

To determine if a course you have taken is equivalent to a specific prerequisite course, you may:

• Use ASSIST to look up course equivalencies; or
• Use Courses with a C-ID Designation to look up courses by C-ID; or
• If major articulation is not available for your school in ASSIST and no C-ID designation is available, you should compare course descriptions to determine if a course is reasonably similar to the Cal State LA prerequisite course.

Using ASSIST for courses taken at a California Community Colleges, UC, or another CSU campus

1. Under Search below for articulation agreements, select your institution, .

   

2. Select To: California State University, Los Angeles.

   
3. Click the View Agreements button.
4. Select how you would like to view the course articulation agreements:

   • By Cal State LA Major

     

   • By the Cal State LA course department

     
5. Click either the View Agreement button to open the course articulation agreement PDF in your browser or Adobe Acrobat, or the Download Agreement button to download a copy of the articulation agreement to your computer or other device.

C-ID Designators

C-ID Designators, if available, are noted in the Cal State Apply prerequisite description.

Go to the Courses with a C-ID Designation page and enter the C-ID designation into the C-ID # search field. A list of courses matching that C-ID designator will automatically be listed in the table below.

Comparing Course Descriptions for institutions not in ASSIST and without a C-ID

Students who are transferring from institutions where formal articulation does not exist, or if a match is not available in ASSIST and does not have a C-ID designator, must compare course descriptions to determine whether a course 'reasonably' matches the specified Cal State LA course.

• Cal State LA "Course Descriptions" can be found in the University Catalog.

  
• When comparing course descriptions, it is important to pay attention to the following key information:
  • Does the course cover the key content areas of the Cal State LA course?
  • Does the course have the same or higher prerequisites to enroll in the course?
  • Does the course contain a lab or other required activity?
  • Are the unit values the same or greater at the student's current institution?
  
  The courses have similar topics, both require labs, and same unit value – the two courses are reasonably similar; may be considered equivalent for Major-Specific Criteria prerequisite reporting.
• Additional Tips for Comparing Courses
  • The course should normally count for at least as many units as the course at Cal State LA. If the other institution is a quarter based school, multiply the quarter units by 0.66 to convert them to Cal State LA semester units.
  • Many Cal State LA courses have stated prerequisites. Check the prerequisites for the course of the other institution to ensure that they are similar. A course that requires Calculus as a prerequisite is probably at a higher level than a course that only requires College Algebra as the prerequisite.
  • Look for similarities between the two course descriptions:
    • Do they use some of the same vocabulary/words?
    • Do they cover similar content areas?

Be Aware: Although students may be admitted with coursework that reasonably meets the Cal State LA course objectives, additional coursework may be required for graduation should the course be deemed not fully equivalent upon formal review.

If you were previously admitted and earned units at Cal State LA, please create your Cal State Apply profile as follows:

1. Degree Goal

• What degree, credential or certificate are you applying for?
  • Select "First Bachelor's Degree (Seeking your first bachelor's degree and have not earned a prior bachelor's degree)"
• Which of the following best describes your current educational status?
  • Select "Transferring from a community college or four-year institution"
• How many college credits will you have earned when you enroll at the CSU campus to which you are applying?
  • Select the option based on the total number of semester units you have earned at Cal State LA and from other colleges/universities you have attended (if any)

1a. Returning

• Are you applying to return to the CSU campus which you previously attended, and intend to complete the same major?
  • Select "Yes"
• Which CSU Campus did you previously attend?
  • Select "Cal State LA"
• What was your Student ID?
  • If known, enter your Cal State LA campus ID number (CIN)
• Select the scenario that applies to you:
  • I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus – Select this option if you have previously attended Cal State LA but are also interested in applying to other CSU campuses, and you have not attended any other colleges since leaving Cal State LA.
  • I attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU – Select this option if you previously attended Cal State LA but attended other colleges since leaving, including Cal State LA's College of Professional and Global Education (PaGE).
  • I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus AND I attended other colleges or universities since attending CSU – Select this option if you previously attended Cal State LA but are also interested in applying to other CSU campuses AND you have attended other colleges since leaving, including Cal State LA's College of Professional and Global Education (PaGE).
  • I have not attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU and am only applying to my original campus – Select this option if you previously attended Cal State LA and have not attended any other college or university since leaving, including Cal State LA's College of Professional and Global Education (PaGE).

Returning Student: Only Re-Applying to Cal State LA (Do Not Need to Report)

If you selected "I have not attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU and am only applying to my original campus" as the Returning Student scenario in your Extended Profile (see the "Report your Returning Student Status" section above), you will not enter in any college coursework information into Cal State Apply.

For the Program Materials section of the Cal State Apply application, please opt-out of reporting Major Specific Criteria courses. See above "Transfer Tips: Major-Specific Criteria Matching" to learn how to select the "I Am Not Matching Any Courses to this Prerequisite" button.

Returning Student: Applying to Multiple CSU Campuses (Must Report)

If you selected "I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus" as the Returning Student scenario in your Extended Profile (see the "Report your Returning Student Status" section above), you are considered a Returning Student at Cal State LA. However, because you are also applying to other CSU campuses, you must complete the College Coursework section to ensure that they receive all the information they need to perform an accurate assessment of your admission eligibility to their campus. Therefore, please report coursework from all colleges attended, including Cal State LA. See the "Transfer Applicants" tips section above for more details.

Returning Transfers (Must Report)

If you selected "I attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU" or "I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus AND I attended other colleges or universities since attending CSU" as the Returning Student scenario in your Extended Profile (see the "Report your Returning Student Status" section above), you are held to the transfer admission requirements and must complete the College Coursework section of the application. Please report coursework from all colleges attended, including Cal State LA. See the "Transfer Applicants" tips section above for more details.

For detailed instructions on how to complete the Cal State Apply application as a graduate or post-baccalaureate student, review the 2024-2025 Cal State Apply Graduate Application Guide.

In the Colleges Attended section, please accurately and completely report your degree information and dates that you attended each institution. Without this, you may not qualify for graduate admission.

Please complete all tabs as requested.

In this section, some programs may request additional information, documents, and/or recommendations.

Be aware: In addition to the Cal State Apply admission application, some Academic Programs also require a separate supplemental program application. To view which programs require a separate supplemental application, visit the Admissions Deadlines webpage, and select the desired graduate admission term.

For detailed instructions on how to complete the Cal State Apply application as an international student, review the 2024-2025 Cal State Apply International Application Guide.

In the Application Profile section, you will be asked if you have or will require an F1 Visa (student) or J1 Visa (exchange) to study at the California State University (CSU)?

If you are an international student, please select "yes."

If you are working with an individual or third-party organization to complete this application, select “Yes” and enter the representative type, name, and contact information of the individual or organization in this section.

Applicants who attended U.S. colleges and universities must update their Cal State Apply application during the January Application Update window.

This is a required step in the Fall 2024 Cal State LA admissions process, and it must be completed no later than January 31, 2024.

The accurate reporting of your Academic History is very important! Please review your Cal State Apply admission application, and make the necessary updates to the following sections:

• Academic History – You are required to report all schools attended, and enter all U.S. college coursework.
  • If applicable, add new colleges, new terms, and new courses.
  • Enter earned grades for Fall 2023 courses.
  • Update courses as needed to reflect your planned Spring 2024 enrollment.
  • Confirm the accuracy of your calculated GPA and completed transferable units by reviewing your entered courses’ grades and transferable flags in College Coursework.
  • Double-check that you still fulfill the General Education (GE) requirements. This is a very important step, especially if you did not pass a Fall 2023 GE course with a grade of ‘C-’ or better, or if there are changes to your Spring 2024 courses.
• Program Materials-Prerequisites Tab
  • If applicable, confirm that you have attempted to assign a course for each of the major-specific prerequisite courses. If you have any course changes, please re-assign course(s) as appropriate.

Be aware: If you do not submit the required updates during the Application Update window, we will assume you are no longer interested in Cal State LA, and we will withdraw your admission application. Requests for late updates will not be accommodated.

To view the information you submitted when you first applied to Cal State LA, log back into your Cal State Apply account and download your application in PDF format. To find the pdf, go to the application dashboard and:

• Navigate to the Check Status tab and click the download button next to a program, or
• Navigate to the Submit Application tab and click the download button next to a program.

After you download the application PDF, please review it for:

• ACADEMIC HISTORY – Did you report every college/university that you have attended?

• CALCULATED GPA – Review your calculated transferable units and GPA
  • Graded Hours = Transferable Units
  • GPA Score = Transferable GPA
  • Does it look correct? If no, check your reported classes for accuracy and confirm that your transferable courses are indicated as "transferable."

• GENERAL EDUCATION – Did you report the correct equivalent classes? If no, check your reported classes and make any necessary corrections.

• DESIGNATIONS-PREREQUISITES – Did you accurately report your chosen major's Prerequisite courses? If not, please make the necessary updates.

Be aware: Applicants can add new colleges but cannot delete or edit previously added colleges and dates of attendance. If you need to edit attendance dates to add Spring and Summer courses, contact Cal State Apply Applicant Support who can extend the dates for you.

It is important that we have your complete college history. Please report all colleges/universities that you have attended, and plan to attend prior to enrolling at Cal State LA.

Be aware: For Fall 2024 admission, grades must be reported for all college courses taken through the Fall 2023 term (December 2023). Failure to do so will result in the withdrawal of your Cal State LA admission application.

ENTER GRADES: For terms that were in progress at the time of initial application submission, but for which you now have grades (e.g., your Fall 2023 courses), you must do the following:

1. Go to the College Coursework page and click the "Edit" button for the college/university whose classes you want to add grades or make changes.

2. Find the term you want to change (e.g., Fall 2021), then click the term edit button.

3. If you need to add or remove any courses from the current term, do this now. Once you are satisfied with the courses listed, change the term's Completion Status from "In Progress/Planned" to "Completed".

4. Enter the grade earned for each course. When finished, double-check that all grades are accurate then click the "Save" button. If you know a course is CSU Transferable, make sure the "Transferable" box is checked!

UPDATE PLANNED COURSES: In addition to entering the grades for completed courses, please review your reported Spring 2024 coursework, and add/delete courses as appropriate.

FINAL CHECK: Make sure all courses and grades are entered accurately, and the transferable box is checked for all transferable college coursework! This information will be used to calculate your GPA and completed units for admission eligibility determination.

The CSU honors "the grading policies of the institution where credit was earned by accepting official transcript entries including those reflecting academic renewal, repeat, and incomplete grades."

• If the transcript identifies the course as repeated and excludes the course from the institution's GPA, enter a grade of RP. This applies to district transcripts that may include repeats at different colleges within the district and note them on one transcript.

• If your college offers Academic Renewal, use a grade of AR for courses noted as such on the transcript.

• If you forgot to add AP/IB/CLEP test credit, add it under the current spring term coursework.

• To view the Calculated Transfer GPA and Units based on your entered college coursework, go to the College Coursework area of the Academic History section of the Cal State Apply Application, and click the "Calculate my Transfer GPA" button.

• After clicking the button, it will display the calculated Transfer GPA and Transfer Credit Hours (i.e., total number of completed transferable semester units).
• If the Transfer GPA or Transfer Credit Hours look incorrect (too high or too low), please double check your transcript course entry, including repeats, grades, unit counts, and transferable flag for each course.

• Check your reported courses, and verify that you reported an equivalent course (or qualifying AP or CLEP exam credit) for each GE subject area.
  • If you only attended U.S. colleges, do not select 'I am not adding any General Education Courses.'
  • Do not leave one or more Subject areas incomplete.
• Applicants with international coursework that cannot be entered select 'I am not adding any General Education courses'. If credit history includes some U.S. credits that qualify for GE, designate credit towards the eligible subject categories.

If you applied to a major with Major-Specific Criteria for admission, and need to make changes to your reported prerequisite courses, do the following:

1. Click on the "Program Materials" section;
2. Click the "Prerequisites" tab; and
3. Select the course(s) to edit, and reassign for the appropriate prerequisite.

For more information about how to match Prerequisite courses, see the TRANSFER APPLICANTS section above, and review the Determining Course Equivalencies for Major-Specific Criteria information.

Review page 50 in the Cal State Apply Transfer Application Guide.

After you have made all the necessary updates/changes, hit the "Update my application" button on the Application Dashboard to "resubmit" the application to the CSU campuses that you've have already applied to.