Students strongly encouraged to apply before the November 30 Application deadline

 With two weeks remaining until the application deadline, San Diego State University has received 5,400 more undergraduate applications for the fall 2010 semester compared to the same time last year. Still, the university is encouraging all local high school and community college transfer students to apply if they are interested in attending SDSU.

 As of Friday, November 13, SDSU had received 2,218 applications from high school students from within the university’s service area, which is south of State Route 56 and the Imperial County. That’s just 52 more than it had received as of November 14, 2008. Meanwhile, 19,008 applications have been received from first-time freshmen from outside the service area, an increase of 3,308. The university has received applications from 2,310 local transfer students, an increase of 170 from last year at the same time.

 SDSU received a total of 56,232 undergraduate applications for the fall 2009 semester. For the prior fall semester, the university received 62,330 undergraduate applications, making it the No. 2 most sought after university nationwide.

 With historic budget cuts forcing reductions in enrollment across the California State University system, SDSU will have 4,600 fewer spots available than it did at the start of the fall 2008 semester. Still, the university is encouraging local students to continue to apply.

 “Over the past 11 years, an average of 37 percent of our first-time freshman has come from within the local service area,” said Sandra Cook, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs for Enrollment Services. “It’s very important that we maintain at least that level of local students on our campus. But they can’t get in if they don’t apply, and apply on time.”

 To manage the unprecedented challenges California’s budget situation has created, SDSU is making changes to its undergraduate admissions process for fall 2010. Changes include applying directly to a major/pre-major or undeclared, rather than to the university, with admission based on the applicant’s CSU Eligibility Index (calculated from grades and SAT/ACT scores). Students from SDSU’s service area will be given extra eligibility index points as part of SDSU’s commitment to the community.

 SDSU will continue to honor its Transfer Admission Guarantee with its first admissions priority, requiring that applicants complete 100 percent of their transfer work at local community colleges. Additionally, the university will continue to honor its highly successful “Compact for Success” with the Sweetwater Union High School District and the City Heights Collaborative “College Avenue Compact” with Hoover High School.

 The fall 2010 application period closes on November 30, 2009. Letters of acceptance are expected to be sent out in early March.