The Educational Opportunity Program assists first-generation, historically low-income students with admission to the University. Open to all undergraduate applicants, the EOP application is embedded in the CSU undergraduate admission application.
Students must apply to EOP before they begin their first term at CSUB. There are no opportunities to apply to EOP after your first term in attendance.
We suggest that you complete the EOP Autobiographical Questions before you start the CSU Undergraduate application. Having your responses typed out and saved into a Notepad or Word document will greatly speed up your application process. Please see the CSU EOP Application Preparation Worksheet, which has the EOP Autobiographical Questions and helpful tips.
Two Student Groups, One Application
EOP First-year Students
EOP First-Year students (sometimes called "first-time freshmen") are currently in high school or very recent graduates who have not started attending college. This group includes high school students who have earned college credit through dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment, as well as those who will be submitting AP scores for college credit.
You will apply to the University and to EOP through CalStateApply.
EOP Transfer Students
EOP Transfers are students who are currently attending a junior college or another CSU. All EOP Transfers must be EOP&S students at their junior college/community college, or EOP students at another CSU.
The EOP application will request two recommenders. One of these recommenders must be an EOP&S staff member from your junior college; alternatively, CSU transfers should include one recommendation
from an EOP staff member at the CSU they first attended.
We still require two completed recommendations for all applicants, per California State Education Code.
You will apply to the University and to EOP through CalStateApply.
EOP Income Guidelines
Click on the button above to see the EOP Income Guidelines.
In addition to meeting our income criteria, students must also be first-generation and historically disadvantaged.
We define "first-generation" as neither parent having a Bachelor's degree (some college coursework is allowed).
We define "historically disadvantaged" as a history of being low income, facing a lack of educational opportunities and support, and attending a low-socioeconomic school. This condition should extend back 10 years from the date of application.
Applying to the Educational Opportunity Program is easy!
When you apply to CSUB or any CSU campus on the CalState.edu/apply website, you will be asked if you are interested in applying to the Educational Opportunity Program. Click "yes" in response to the question. Complete all of the subsequent EOP autobiographical questions in order to finish and submit your application — simply checking the "yes" box does not complete your EOP application.
Please be thorough in your open-ended responses to the autobiographical questions. The more detail you include, the easier it is for us to understand your background, living arrangements, educational obstacles, and desire to go to college.
You will also be asked to submit two email addresses of people who can complete the two required EOP Recommendations. Your recommenders will receive an email from CalStateApply, and they will need to create an account and set up their profile. It is every applicant's responsibility to ensure that their recommenders submit their recommendations on time.
PRIORITY FILING PERIOD for EOP at CSUB is October 1 through November 30. We assign priority to complete EOP applications (i.e. the complete application plus both recommendations) submitted before midnight on November 30th. Though the website lists a deadline of January 15 for the application and January 31 for the recommendation forms, these are simply the last days that EOP at CSUB will accept new applications and recommendations.
Financial Aid
EOP does not pay for your tuition or books. Students should fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act application (CA Dream Act) in order to receive financial aid for the year they plan to attend. Visit fafsa.ed.gov to complete your FAFSA (U.S. Citizens and Permanent Resident Alien "green card" holders). Visit CA Dream Act to complete your application (for undocumented/dreamer students).
If you have any questions about who counts as a "parent" on your FAFSA, CA Dream Act, or EOP application, please check out the infographic here.
EOP&S Transfers
Good news for transfers! If you were EOP&S at your junior college, you are eligible for EOP at CSUB. You still need to complete the EOP portion of the CSUB Undergraduate Application, and acceptance to EOP at CSUB is not automatic.
You must have the EOP&S Director or an EOP&S Counselor from your junior college complete one of the recommendations required for the EOP application as verification of participation in EOP&S. We do require a second recommendation from transfer students, though the second can be completed by a counselor, instructor, professor, or any of the other suggested people.
If you have any questions regarding the application process, please feel free to call the EOP Admissions unit at 661-654-2276 or Rocky Maraccini, the EOP Admissions and Retention Coordinator, at 661-654-3219. He can also be reached via email at rmaraccini@csub.edu.