Over 1,000 Oakland Teens Are Getting Guaranteed Admission to Cal State East Bay

Updated 11:22 a.m. Thursday

Cal State East Bay is teaming up with the Oakland Unified School District to offer guaranteed admission to over 1,000 qualified high school students, marking the largest district so far to join the growing initiative.

Beginning with this year’s graduating class, 1,300 Oakland Unified seniors with a minimum 2.5 GPA who have completed required high school coursework received a letter in February informing them of their guaranteed admission and inviting them to tour the campus.

By allowing students to explore all the resources that would be available to them at Cal State East Bay, the hope is that first-generation college students will feel more supported, University President Cathy Sandeen said — who added that she should know, because she was once in their shoes.

“I myself am a first-generation college graduate, and I was born and raised in the East Bay, so I didn’t have that guidance,” Sandeen said. “I kind of figured it out on my own.”

The majority of Cal State East Bay students are the first in their families to earn a degree, Sandeen said.

The partnership with Oakland Unified announced this week follows a number of similar arrangements last year with the Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, New Haven and Castro Valley school districts.

Sandeen hopes that the streamlined admissions process will encourage and excite high school students who otherwise might not have considered higher education.

“This opens another door for a lot of our kids,” said John Sasaki, a spokesperson for Oakland Unified.

Sasaki said a major focus for the district is supporting would-be first-generation college students to unlearn assumptions that college is out of reach for them or that they don’t qualify.

In one of these endeavors, Oakland Unified has also partnered with the private Northeastern University, Oakland, to award up to 10 students a year with full tuition, room and board.

Although the prospect of lofty tuition fees and strained finances can often cloud high school students’ dreams of attending college, Sandeen said, 60% of Cal State East Bay students pay no tuition or fees.

According to Sasaki, the prospect of receiving a four-year degree with financial aid is sure to bolster the district’s already increasing number of students heading to college after graduating high school.

The partnership with Oakland Unified adds another layer of significance for Cal State East Bay, Sandeen said: One of the university’s most robust programs is its teacher education program, from which many current and former OUSD teachers received their certification.

“That’s a full circle moment, and we’re hoping that a lot of the students who come to us will think about going into education,” Sandeen said.

Sasaki echoed Sandeen’s sentiments, saying this “will be a great way to get more of our kids educated and ready to be teachers to come back, ready to be administrators, ready to work in our offices.”

Sandeen’s own journey started at San Leandro High School, where she returned last year to celebrate its induction into Cal State East Bay’s guaranteed admission program.

She said meaningful moments like this one are just another reason why her hopes for Oakland Unified students and beyond are so tremendous.

“It’s very meaningful for me to be able to stand there and to tell the high school students of today, ‘Yes you can, you can,’” Sandeen said. “Academically, you are prepared.”

May 8: A spokesperson for the Oakland Unified School District initially said the program would begin in 2026. In fact, members of this year’s graduating class have already received guaranteed admission letters, the district and Cal State East Bay later clarified.