7 Easiest CSU’s to Get Into

California is a state riddled with prestigious academic institutions, and we’ll present you the list of 7 easiest CSU’s to get into. Needless to say, CSU stands for California State University. Of course, there’s much more to education in The Golden State than California State Universities, but this time we’ll keep it simple. Still, considering there’s around 160 colleges and universities of all types in California, CSU’s make up for a large percentage overall. There are a total of 23 CSU campuses across the state, and they make up around 15% of all institutions if we only consider a  sheer number of colleges. Cal State universities are also the home to more than 450,000 students, and they compose the largest 4-year public university system in the country. That itself speaks volumes about CSU’s importance to the US education system.

Some of Cal State universities are smaller, while other campuses are larger. If you’re only looking to be part of a larger program, regardless of state – you can also check out our list of 11 easiest big colleges to get into. This is a list of colleges with higher than national average acceptance rates and pretty high reputation as well. After all, the university has to have a high reputation in order to be considered big. A sheer number of enrolled students simply doesn’t cut it here.

While no university is easy to get into, it’s widely known that state universities like CSU are generally more welcoming toward students than most of the private institutions. For starters, California State University campuses have a number of different enrollment quantities from around 900 in California Maritime Academy, Vallejo to almost 40,000 in California State University, Northridge. As we have mentioned above, all 23 campuses add up to around 450,000 students. Needless to say, most of the future students should be able to find their place among the number. Still, CSU’s have some prerequisites. Admission selection is carried based on student’s school marks and test scores (either ACT or SAT) with emphasis on the former criterion. In fact, if a student has GPA above 3.00 (3.61 for non-California residents), he/she is not required to take the test. Students are, however, advised to take them anyway as they might be exempt from taking English and math placement tests after being admitted to the CSU. These two (GPA and ACT) will be our criteria as well while trying to discern which of the Cal State universities are easiest to get into. Furthermore, we’ll take respective campus’ acceptance rate into consideration as well. Most of the info can easily be obtained from Acceptance Rate’s webpage. All three categories will be assigned points, but the emphasis will be put on Grade Point Average which plays the most important role in student’s admission to the Cal State. Finally, note that differences between the campuses easy to get into are very low, so final positions are here mostly for aesthetics. Here’s the list of 7 easiest CSU’s to get into.

7. California State University, Dominguez Hills

Dominguez Hills campus is located in northern Carson – Greater Los Angeles. This urban university was established in 1960, and it enrolls around 15,000 students each year. While acceptance rate is only slightly larger than 50%, future Cal State students at Dominguez Hills campus aren’t required to exhibit soaring high school grades or ACT scores for that matter. In fact, CSU campus in Carson has the lowest such requirements of all Cal State campuses. Average GPA between 2.64 and 2.9 should be enough for most students (both residents and non-residents), and so should be ACT composite scores between 15 and 19.

6. California State University, Northridge

Northridge campus can be found on the opposite side of downtown Los Angeles from Dominguez Hills campus. This is the largest of all CSU campuses as it enrolls close to 40,000 students, and it was established back in 1958. To be admitted to Northridge, a prospective student usually needs to exhibit GPA of between 2.71 and 3.14, and ACT composite scores in a range between 16 and 22.

5. California State University, Fresno

Fresno State is a fine place to spend your college days being close to a number of national parks including Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. The campus was established in 1911, and it currently enrolls slightly above 21,000 students. Fresno State’s acceptance rate is around 60% while grade requirements are similar to those in Northridge; between 2.71 and 3.14 on average. ACT composite scores fall within the same region as well, being between 16 and 22.

4. California State University, East Bay

East Bay campus, just like Dominguez Hills campus enrolls around 15,000 students a year, and it is located in Hayward – Bay Area. Founded in 1957, California State University, East Bay offers Bachelor and Master degrees in all 6 major areas of study and many of their subfields. It also offers Doctorate degrees in most of the available fields. East Bay campus makes this 7 easiest CSU’s to get into list thanks to 16 to 22 requirement in ACT tests and 2.71 to 3.14 GPA. It has to be noted that acceptance rate of around 70% also plays an important role.

3. California State University, Bakersfield

Established in 1965, Bakersfield branch of Cal State enrolls around 9,000 students each year. With the city of Bakersfield being located between Fresno and Los Angeles, Bakersfield’s campus too represents a middle ground between Fresno State and number of Greater LA campuses. Acceptance rate to Bakersfield’s Cal State is higher than 60% but needed average high school grades and ACT scores are lower than it is the case with most other CSU’s. Average GPA needed falls within the range between 2.64 and 3.14, while needed composite ACT scores are between 15 and 22.

2. California State University, Stanislaus

CSU Stanislaus is located in Turlock, and it was founded in 1957. Similar to Bakersfield campus, it too enrolls around 9,000 students and is one of the smaller CSU’s overall. Acceptance rate to Stanislaus campus is higher than 70% which means that chances of getting admitted are rather high. Needless to say, GPA and ACT requirements are on the low side with former being between 2.71 and 3.14, and latter falling within the range between 16 and 22.

1. California State University, Los Angeles

Number one spot on this list of 7 easiest CSU’s to get into belongs to CSULA. Los Angeles campus was established in 1947, and it enrolls around 21,000 students a year. Acceptance rate is higher than 70%, and it’s actually the highest of all campuses that have made this list. To get admitted to the LA Cal State, a prospective student will need ACT composite scores between 15 and 20, and GPA between 2.64 and 2.97. Apart from highest acceptance rate, it’s clear to see that LA campus exhibits the lowest requirements of all CSU’s. This is why it’s the easiest Cal State campus to get into.