California’s Master Plan for Higher Education, first written in 1960, established student eligibility criteria for the three segments of the state’s higher education system, the community colleges, the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC).

Students’ eligibility for CSU and UC is based on their completion of specific high school courses (called the a-f requirements), the grades received in high school, and performance on college admission exams (most notably the SAT). The latter two are typically computed together to form an eligibility index. Students with higher grades can score lower on the SAT, while those with lower grades must get a higher score.

Periodically, both CSU and UC change their admission requirements in order to keep their respective eligibility pools within the Master Plan criteria. They did so in 1996, increasing the course requirements for CSU and raising the eligibility index. Additional changes in the eligibility criteria for both university systems will be implemented over the next few years.

Some California high schools students are able to improve their chances for college admission by taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These courses are weighted more heavily than standard courses in a student’s grade point average (GPA). Students can also earn college credit for this work by passing the AP exam associated with each course.

Back to prior page