Cuesta College offers “open door” admission for:

• any person with a high school diploma;

• any person 18 years of age or older who does not hold a high school diploma or the equivalent to a high school diploma;

• any person who has passed the California State Proficiency Exam or equivalent. A copy of the certification is required if under 18.

• transfer students from colleges, universities, and other post-secondary programs;

• any person who has served in the Armed Forces of the United States;

• students interested in completing postsecondary coursework for personal development, vocational training, and/or transfer to a four-year educational institution;

• minors, known as Enrichment students, currently enrolled in grades K-12, who in the opinion of their school principal, would benefit from concurrent enrollment in “advanced scholastic” or “vocational” college coursework. The following is required:

• A Permit to Enroll with specific courses identified and approved by the school principal, along with the parents’ signature is required prior to registration.

• Minors, grades K-8, will need to meet with the Director of Admissions and Records, or designee, prior to registration.

• Enrichment students may not enroll in more than 11 units each semester (4 units in summer session) and may not be approved to take physical education courses.

• Students enrolled in home school must attach a copy of a current Private School Affidavit to the Permit to Enroll.

You will need to submit an admission application if:

• you are a former Cuesta student but have been absent two or more semesters;

• you will be attending grades K-12 at the same time as courses at Cuesta College as an Enrichment student;

• you have never attended Cuesta College.

Students wishing to enroll in special programs may have additional admissions requirements to complete prior to registering.

The printed admission application is available at any Cuesta campus.  Allow five working days for a paper application to be processed before attempting to register or access online services.

Applicants are urged to provide their social security number when applying to Cuesta College.  The social security number will be needed for financial aid, employment, education tax credit, and for many special programs that require California certification. Cuesta will provide a student identification number if the social security number is not provided.  The student ID number will not replace the social security number.

Any person enrolling at Cuesta College in credit or non-credit courses is subject to residency requirements as outlined by the California Education Code. New students and those who are absent two semesters or more are required to complete an admission application in order to determine applicable fees.

Non-Resident Student: A non-resident student is one who has not had a legal residence in California for more than one year immediately preceding the beginning of the semester. Such students are required to pay non-resident tuition in addition to enrollment fees.

Exemption to non-resident tuition exists when documentation is presented for any one of the following:

• Attended a California high school, or high school equivalent, for a minimum of three years and earned a California high school diploma, or equivalent (Assembly Bill 540 - AB540);

AB 540 provides an exemption from nonresident tuition for students who attended a California high school for three or more years and graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent thereof (GED or Certificate of High School Proficiency). In the case of a person without lawful immigration status, the student must sign an affidavit with the institution of higher education stating that the student has filed an application to legalize his or her immigration status, or will file an application as soon as he or she is eligible to do so.

Students who are admitted under AB 540 are not entitled to resident classification and are not eligible for the Board of Governors Enrollment Fee Waiver, EOPS services, or other programs that require California residency as a condition of eligibility.

• Full-time credentialed employee of a California public school enrolling in college for purposes of fulfilling credential-related requirements;

• Seasonal agricultural worker for at least a total of two months of each of the past two years;

• Full-time employee, or spouse, or dependent of a full-time employee of any of the following college/universities: California Community Colleges, California State University, University of California, or Maritime Academy;
   

• Applicants under the age of 19, who have lived under the direct care and control of an adult, other than a parent for two years immediately preceding the resident determination date; and such adult has for the year immediately preceding the residence determination date, had California residence.

Selective Service System (SSS) Information
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