Cal State closing the door earlier

Jaime Ulloa Jr. is going to make it -- his deadline, that is. The 17-year-old Carson High School senior made sure Tuesday that he electronically filed his Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a final step in his college application process.

But thousands of other California students could miss an important deadline -- and that’s what state officials apparently want them to do.

Midnight on March 1 -- Saturday -- recently became the deadline for students to apply to seven Cal State campuses that traditionally accepted applications months later. An even earlier deadline, Feb. 1, has already passed for 16 other Cal State campuses

The root cause of the time crunch is a multibillion-dollar state deficit. In his provisional budget for next year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set Cal State’s share of reductions at $386.1 million. If that figure holds, schools have much difficult budget-cutting ahead. As a precaution, Chancellor Charles B. Reed limited the number of students by shortening the application period.

“An effort was made to try to slow down what was otherwise going to be a record year in enrollment,” said Jim Blackburn, director of enrollment management services in the chancellor’s office. Blackburn did not know of another time when Cal State sought to curtail students in this fashion. He noted, however, that campuses frequently stop reviewing new applications when they reach enrollment thresholds. The priority application period ended Nov. 30, which was the deadline for Cal State Long Beach and four other especially popular schools. Three other campuses would have closed by Feb. 1 regardless.

But 15 other schools still had room for freshmen. Reed compromised somewhat, allowing seven campuses to accept applications until March 1 because they serve great numbers of disadvantaged students, who often apply later. The seven schools are Cal State L.A., Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Sacramento, Cal State East Bay, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay. The Cal State system serves about 450,000 students.

Applications are running about 12% higher than this time last year, continuing a trend of recent years. With a record number of high school seniors, officials said, it is impossible to determine the effect of the coming deadline.

“It’s not fair, but all of this happened due to the budget cuts,” said Pilar M. Simi, a Dominguez Hills outreach officer who handles 30 area schools. “We had a few stragglers that were like, ‘Oh, yes, I should put in my application soon.’ And we told them: the sooner, the better.”

On visits to Carson High and Banning High in Wilmington on Tuesday, Simi encountered no last-minute panic, but found numerous students who had yet to send transcripts, complete required courses with a grade of C or better, and meet minimum scores on a college entrance exam. For these items, students have more time, although she urged them not to delay.

She advised Banning senior Eduardo Antonio, 17, that he still must earn a C in Algebra II, but that he seems largely on track.

“We really pushed November as being the month to apply,” said Ana Maria Lopez, Banning’s sole college counselor.

Because most of the school’s students would be the first in their families to attend college, “it alerted me to make more announcements about March 1, March 1, March 1.”

How good are students at meeting deadlines?

“As good as adults are at hitting their tax deadline of April 15,” she said. “And many students are used to getting extensions in their classes.”

At Carson, Ulloa was focused on a different but also important deadline, the March 2 due date for the standard federal aid form, which is used to calculate federal and state grants and other aid packages.

He wants to begin pursuing a medical career at UC Santa Cruz. “In the last few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do in life,” said Ulloa, who would be the first in his family to attend college. “I have a strong interest in how the body works and in helping people.”

He wasn’t about to miss out on financial aid: “I know it takes many years of study, but I think I have the potential to get there.”

Aspiring nurse Daisy Crespo, 18, has not submitted an application and professed no knowledge of deadlines, but the community college program she wants at Los Angeles Harbor College will accept students long after Saturday.

Community college is a refuge for many latecomers, said students who work as peer counselors. Banning has 14 peer counselors; Carson has 55. Both schools credit these students with disseminating vital information.

“They do their own applications first, and we correct any mistakes,” said Carson college counselor Honey Koletty.

Carson senior Evette Gonzalez, 17, said her peers are “pretty informed because we keep on summoning them to counseling.” Gonzalez was steered right by her Mexican immigrant parents -- a paint factory worker and a housecleaner -- neither of whom finished high school. She’s waiting to hear from UC Berkeley, where her older sister already attends.

Students may apply online, the preferred method -- and also get help -- at . The Cal State application fee is $55 per school, but fee waivers are frequently granted. Mailed applications must be postmarked no later than March 1 for incoming first-year students. Deadlines for transfer students fall later and vary by school.

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howard.blume@latimes.com

Times staff writer Jason Song contributed to this report.