Cal State to Move Up Application Deadline

Faced with a growing number of applicants that threatens to break a record, Cal State Fullerton said Monday it will stop accepting undergraduate applications July 31, a month earlier than usual and the earliest closing date in recent years.

The university already has received 16,800 applications, a 4% increase over the same period last year. If the pace continues, and admissions officials do not foresee any let up, applications will easily surpass the 18,800 received last year.

Admissions director James Blackburn said the stream could overwhelm his staff of 25 admissions officers, counselors and support personnel, who must also assist admitted students with class registration and other tasks.

Usually, the university accepts applications until the first day of fall classes, with hundreds received in August, Blackburn said. It can take applications so late because of the system’s policy of guaranteeing enrollment to all who meet the minimum SAT, grade-point average and course requirements.

Cal State Fullerton has not closed the application period early since the early 1990s, he said. Cal State San Marcos and San Diego State also are closing earlier than usual, CSU spokeswoman Colleen Bentley-Adler said.

Systemwide, applications are up 3.4%.

The reasons for the surge are myriad, including increasing numbers of high school graduates, more employed people returning to obtain or finish degrees and, possibly, more minority students seeking admission to the University of California are opting to apply to Cal State out of concern with UC’s ban on affirmative action in admissions decisions that takes effect next year, she said.

At Fullerton, enrollment has crept up over the last few years, from 22,174 in fall ’94 to 25,097 in ‘97, a 13% jump.