Both the CSU and UC systems require that incoming freshman graduate from high school before applying. The Ca.gov Postsecondary Education Commission further states that the CSU system will also accept those who did not graduate but have passed either the General Education Development (GED) Program or the California High School Proficiency Examination. In addition, applicants must have a grade point average (GPA) of 2.45 for a CSU and 2.8 to 3.0 for a UC. Nonresidents applying to the UC system must possess a 3.4 GPA or higher. According to the California Department of Education, graduation from high school entails both meeting course requirements and passing the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE).
Incoming freshman must fulfill certain testing mandates. The CSU system requires applicants to submit results from either the SAT or ACT test; however, California residents with GPAs of 3.0 or higher are exempt from submitting test scores. Additionally, the CSU system administers the Early Assessment Plan (EAP) at the end of 11th grade to determine a future applicant's skill levels in math and English for placement in appropriate courses and programs at the university. The UC system requires applicants to take either the ACT Assessment with Writing, the SAT Reasoning Test or complete two subject areas on the SAT Subject Test.
Both UCs and CSUs calculate your minimum eligibility based on a formula which factors in GPA and testing scores called the eligibility index. The eligibility index for California nonresidents or graduates of non-California high schools differs from that of California high school graduates. The index for nonresidents is generally higher, which means that nonresidents may encounter greater difficulty entering a California postsecondary institution.
High schools only require that students pass three years of college preparatory English to graduate. On the other hand, both the UC and CSU systems call for four years to meet minimum eligibility requirements for admission. Colleges in either system require applicants to complete English courses that encompass both composition and literature.
The UC and CSU organizations have the same requirements in mathematics. Both call for three years of high school math, which must include algebra, geometry and intermediate algebra. UC schools recommend an additional year of mathematics.
The UC and CSU require two years of science with laboratory. Science courses for entrance to CSUs must include one year each of biological and physical science; on the other hand, UCs insist that incoming freshmen take at least two prerequisite science courses, choosing from biology, chemistry or physics. The UC strongly recommends three years of science.
For social science or history requirements in the UC system, freshman applicants must take one course in US history or half a year of US history and half a year of US government plus one year of world cultures, history and geography. Incoming freshmen to a CSU school have the same requirement regarding US history, but they could substitute any approved social science course to satisfy the second-year history requirement.
Both UC and CSU colleges require that freshman applicants have completed two years of the same foreign language before applying. UC schools additionally ask their incoming freshmen for an extra year of the same foreign language. UCs and CSUs also require applicants to have completed one year of visual or performing arts and one year of an approved elective.