pyroza

I heard that it's easier to get into CSUs depending on where you live in California. Is this true? Will living in LA County decrease my chances? Scores and GPA are pretty good but not stellar (3.6W, 590CR, 620M)

ralph4

This makes it sound like location within California does not make a difference.

"Cal Poly does not give priority to applicants in the Central Coast region, and only 9 percent of the current student body is from the Central Coast region. More than half of the current student body comes from the San Francisco or Los Angeles areas."

Admission | Mustang Daily - News for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

rc251

I don't know how authoritative this source is, but it states that Cal Poly SLO is the only Cal State school that does not consider "service area" in their admissions:

CSU designates geographical “service areas” for its campuses. Eligible applicants from high schools in a campus’s service area are guaranteed admission to some program at that campus with one exception: Cal Poly at SLO. Students in that service area who
don’t qualify are re-routed to a nearby campus.

gotpeter

That does not state, however, that applicants within the service area don't get preference. It just removes the guarantee.

ralph4

From the CSU website dated Oct. 1,2009:

California State University Opens Priority Application Today for Fall 2010 | CSU | Public Affairs

"High school seniors meeting the CSU eligibility criteria receive priority admission at the CSU campus in their local service area (with some exceptions including San Diego and the coastal region) and students are encouraged to apply to their local campus to ensure admission to a CSU for fall."

I'm pretty sure SLO is considered "the coastal region" and is an exception to the local service area priority admission policy.