Photo by Bryan Cole | Photo Illustration by Michael Uribes / The Collegian

Early deadline on freshman applications shifts university̢۪s admission guidelines

Due to the state̢۪s continuing budget crisis, Fresno State is no longer accepting freshman applications for the fall 2009 semester.

On Jan. 12, university officials announced that the deadline had moved up three weeks to Jan. 9 from the original Feb. 1 deadline.

Vivian Franco, director of admissions, records and evaluations, said this decision was reached after conducting a complete enrollment analysis that included looking at total enrollment numbers, goals for the coming year, the number of continuing and graduate students and the amount of space available for new students.

“The question was, ‘Where do we reduce?’,â€Â Franco said.

Enrollment to drop by 500

The Feb. 1 deadline, which has been the deadline for the past three years, was tentatively set based on past application trends.

Because of the deadline change, some procrastinating high school seniors with hopes of attending Fresno State in the fall may now not be able to.

Although this may cause some to suffer, Franco said the university generally receives 80 percent of its applications by the Nov. 30 priority deadline and students who got their applications in before that date will not be affected by the recent change.

Enrollment totals for fall 2009 will be cut by about 500 students. There are currently about 22,600 students enrolled and the university plans to have about 22,100 next fall.

“The incoming freshman class will only have about 30 less students than this year’s class,â€Â Franco said.

Waitlists, restrictions on applications to reduce student body

Explaining the priority for freshman applications, Franco said all qualifying freshman applicants who applied before the Nov. 30 priority deadline will be accommodated.

Further, qualifying freshman applicants who applied between Dec. 1 and the new Jan. 9 deadline will go on a wait list and will be accommodated if space is available, and those who live in the Central Valley will receive priority over applicants who live outside of the region.

The rest of the cuts will come from other enrollment categories. Franco said the university is not accepting any applications from transfer students with less than 60 units, students who want to earn second bachelor̢۪s degree or graduate students who do not have a major.

Fresno State is not the only school in the CSU system to take this action.

“We are encouraging students to apply to the few other CSU campuses that are still taking applications,â€Â Franco said.

Those schools are CSU Bakersfield, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Humbolt, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Sacramento, San Bernardino and California Maritime.

Officials see few students affected

Because Fresno State draws a majority of its students from local Central Valley communities, university officials did their best to get the word out to high school counselors that the Feb. 1 deadline was tentative and subject to change.

“The counselors have done a good job, but there are always a few students who really procrastinate,â€Â Franco said.

“It has been relatively quiet so far. Only two students that have been affected by this have come to my attention.â€Â

She said that if high-achieving students are unable to attend Fresno State as a result of moving this deadline, it is a loss for the university but the important thing is that the student still gets an education.

Geni Bird, a counselor at University High School, said, “As counselors we knew this was a possibility so we tried to keep our message consistent by telling our students to apply early, but the students also have a responsibility to stay on top of it.â€Â

Bird said Fresno State has become a top choice for many local students who cannot afford other schools because of the poor economy.

She said she has only dealt with a couple students who have been affected so far, but that, “it is only a matter of time before we see more as students start to receive those letters.â€Â

Upper-division transfer students, who have priority above all other applicants under the state̢۪s master plan for higher education, as well as returning students and new graduate applicants, tentatively have until April 1 to apply to Fresno State.

Franco said the university is continuing to monitor applications and enrollment numbers and that, like the freshman deadline, this deadline is also subject to change.

Who gets in?

The order of priority for applications is as follows:

̢ۢ Those qualifying freshman applicants whose applications were submitted prior to Nov. 30
priority deadline will be accommodated.

̢ۢ Those qualifying freshman applicants who applied between Dec. 1 and the new Jan. 9 deadline will go on a wait list. They will be accommodated as space becomes available.

̢ۢ Those qualifying freshman applicants who live in the Central Valley will receive priority over applicants who live outside of the region.

̢ۢ Upper-division transfer students, returning students and graduate students will have until April 1 to submit applications to the university.