Community College |
California State University (C.S.U.) |
University of California (U.C.) |
Private Colleges |
|
Program/ |
Two-year schools |
Four-year schools |
Four-year schools |
Varies |
Selectivity |
Open enrollment (any student may enroll, regardless of Grade Point Average - G.P.A.) |
Basic eligibility based on courses taken, G.P.A., and Scholastic Aptitude Test (S.A.T.) I scores |
Basic eligibility based on courses taken, G.P.A., S.A.T. and Subject Test scores (no Subject Test scores required for Class of 2012 on) |
Range from highly selective to not very selective, based on transcript (courses chosen and grades in those courses), test scores, teacher and counselor recommendations, essays, extracurricular activities, and other criteria; requirements vary |
Testing Required |
No testing required for admission; placement testing required before registration |
S.A.T. (or American College Testing - A.C.T.) for admission; |
S.A.T. (or A.C.T.) |
Depends on campus |
Letters of Recommendation |
None required |
None required |
None required |
Depends on campus |
Application Essays |
None required |
None required |
1,000 words (personal statement, two prompts) required |
Depends on campus |
Application Deadlines |
Usually several weeks before beginning of each new quarter or semester |
October 1 - November 30 priority filing period; Early Decision Program at Cal Poly, October 31 |
November 1-30 |
Depends on campus |
Financial Aid |
File FAFSA between January 1 and March 2 |
File FAFSA between January 1 and March 2 |
File FAFSA between January 1 and March 2 |
File FAFSA between January 1 and March 2 |
- List of Test Optional Schools
- Peterson's College Search: Use Peterson's online site for alphabetical, geographical, majors lists and more.
- Princeton Review Online: Provides rankings of colleges, lists of colleges and more.
- College Net: Check under College search and virtual tours for lists of schools.
- U.S. News College Online: Use the College planner, College search or other tools to find and rank colleges or explore the other resources available in this Educational Section of U.S. News.
- College Board Online: Provides search access to colleges by criteria beyond geographical.
- California State University: Information center.
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities
- California Community Colleges: List of community colleges with addresses, phone numbers, and Internet links.
- U.S. Universities and Community Colleges: Lists of colleges, links to college and university servers.
- Alphabetical List of American Colleges and Universities