Current and prospective San Jose State students are reacting to new changes in admission standards caused by university impaction.
Impaction occurs when the university receives more qualified applicants than available space for incoming students. As a result, SJSU has implemented revisions to its standards for Spring 2021, according to a Sept. 23 statement released by the Division of Student Affairs.
According to the statement on Freshman Impaction Results by Major, SJSU began admitting Spring 2021 applicants in October.
SJSU’s Enrollment Manager Coleetta McElroy said admitted freshmen and transfer students who applied for financial aid awards will be notified at the beginning of February.
With impaction during the pandemic, new changes and factors will be taken into consideration for the future admissions cycle process.
“One important update is that we are not looking at SAT/ACT scores for Fall 2021 freshman applicants,” Alison Ross-Medina, a communications junior said over email. Ross-Medina is a student ambassador for the Student Outreach and Recruitment office.
Standardized test results, like SAT and ACT scores, have largely determined admissions decisions by most colleges and universities, according to a PBS timeline.
The California State University system suspended the use of standardized test scores as an eligibility measure for all CSU campuses for the Fall 2021, Winter 2022 and Spring 2022 admission cycle, according to its website.
According to CSU eligibility requirements, students may submit their official SAT or ACT scores upon acceptance and scores would be used for course placement purposes but will not be considered during the admissions process.
SJSU Office of Admissions has determined that as a result of impaction, admissions will prioritize high school or community college applicants from Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties over other out-of-area applicants.
McElroy said SJSU will also consider additional factors in the impaction process, including applicants who qualify for the Cal State Apply application fee waiver and first generation or U.S. veteran applicants.
Spring 2021 freshman applicants for every major, except those in the College of Engineering, are ranked based on the California State University Eligibility Index, according to the university’s statement on freshman impaction results by major.
Eligibility Index is calculated using the applicant’s grade point average and ACT or SAT score.
“All CSU campuses follow the CSU eligibility requirements for admission. CSU campuses that are impacted have different impaction requirements for admission selection,” McElroy said over email.
Nishta Waland, a Lower Lake High School senior located in Lake County, applied to SJSU for Fall 2021 as a biological science major. Waland said she is anxious about the impact of her major on her admission and what further effects the pandemic might entail.
“Being well aware of the pandemic, everything is impossible to predict,” Waland said over the phone. “No one can know for sure if I will be able to have my freshman experience in college but I give the positives more importance.”
She said the uncertainty of the pandemic has left an unclear vision of what to expect as a freshman applicant, especially coming from a low-income area.
According to a U.S. News article, 74% of LLHS students are economically disadvantaged.
“If my courses are online then I would save a lot of money on housing,” Waland said. “I know how expensive it is to live in the Bay Area and receiving on-campus housing in general so I am both nervous and excited to see what is destined to happen.”
