ABC News reports about the new California law that has just been passed. SB 640, sponsored by State Senator Christopher Cabaldon, establishes a CSU Direct Admissions Program and is intended to increase enrollment at many CSU-affiliated campuses, as well as reduce stress on high school seniors and encourage more of them to pursue higher education. Time will tell how effective this move will be at keeping smaller campuses afloat, but if it proves effective, other state universities could follow suit.
California joins other state schools—the University of Texas, Arizona State University, the University of Iowa, the University of Nebraska, the University of Missouri, and others—in paving the road to automatic admission.
The Full Details
Automatic admission is for students who meet the follwing criteria:
- Completion of the state mandated A-G courses (college prepatory)
- Minimum of a 2.5 GPA
- Must earn a high school diploma or equivalent
- Data from californiacolleges.edu will be evaluated to determine eligibility
Students must attend a participating high school or Local Educational Agency; pilot schools have been designated for Fall 2026 applications, and the program will expand to all districts by 2027.
The automatic offer of admission currently applies to 16 campuses—CSU Bakersfield, CSU Channel Islands, Chico State, CSU Dominguez Hills, Cal State East Bay, Fresno State, Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal State LA, Cal State Monterey Bay, CSU Northridge, Sacramento State, Cal State San Bernardino, San Francisco State, Cal State San Marcos, Sonoma State and Stanislaus State.
Students may also apply to six more popular campuses, but admission there is NOT guaranteed as of 2026—CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, San Diego State, San Jose State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.