Applications – Elite4usa.com

One Cal State Apply application reaches all 22 CSU campuses. Submission opens October 1 and closes November 30, with a $70 fee per campus. With no essays and no recommendations, the self-reported a-g grades and the major you choose carry the application. Here is how the CSU GPA is calculated, what 'impacted' means, the bar for out-of-state students, and what California's Direct Admission letters do and do not cover.

Applications | College Admissions

The Cal State (CSU) Application — No Essays, So Your Self-Reported Grades and Your Major Choice Decide It

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 6, 2026October 6, 2026

The Common App has Additional Information (300 words) and Challenges and Circumstances (250 words). The UC application has two Additional Comments boxes (550 characters and 550 words). Four boxes, four different purposes and limits. Here is what belongs in each, and why leaving them blank is often the right call.

Applications | College Admissions

The ‘Additional Information’ Boxes on the Common App and the UC Application — What to Write, and When to Leave Them Blank

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 1, 2026