Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, High School Principals, and High School Counselors:

CSU Fall 2021 Priority Application Deadline Extended to December 15

Please don’t let the circumstances of this year unnecessarily set back a generation of students. On behalf of California State University (CSU) Chancellor Timothy P. White and the California Department of Education (CDE), I want to remind all of you that the CSU priority application deadline for fall 2021 has been extended until December 15 to better serve high school students facing university admissions challenges caused by COVID-19.

At this time, the CSU system is scheduled to return to in-person instruction in fall 2021. However, college applications have decreased this year, with an unusually high number of applications that have been started but not completed.

We know that our teachers and counselors are going above and beyond for our students during an extraordinary school year, so we are grateful for everything you are doing to help students take advantage of this opportunity—from reminding students during class this week, to helping them finish their applications. Anything you can do to raise awareness of the deadline extension is greatly appreciated.

As a reminder, financial concerns can be overcome in the application process: Financial aid is available for eligible students, and application fee waivers are also available.

More information can be found on the CSU Cal State Apply web page at https://www2.calstate.edu/apply. Thank you for your partnership to help more students jumpstart their futures.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction