California State University (CSU)

What is EOP? 

The Educational Opportunity Program designs, administers, and supports programs that deliver access and retention services to historically low income and educationally disadvantaged students. An EOP student has the potential to perform satisfactorily in the CSU but has not been able to realize this potential because of economic or educational background. 

The program provides admission, transitional, academic, and financial assistance to EOP-eligible undergraduate students. To find out more about the goals of EOP, services provided, and eligibility requirements, visit the Questions about EOP webpage. 

To apply, submit the EOP application electronically as part of your Cal State Apply application. The EOP application is automatically part of the Supporting Information tile of your Cal State Apply application. Make sure to select “Yes” when asked if you are interested in applying to EOP, and complete the EOP application. 

For more information about deadlines, visit the EOP Deadlines by Term page; and to learn more about the required materials for the EOP application, visit the Apply to EOP page. 

EOP Materials Preparation & Information:

Below is information that you need to gather in order to complete the EOP application. This does not reflect all required information needed for EOP admission. For example, the Parent/Guardian Education Level and Educational Programs Participation questions are in other sections in Cal State Apply but the responses are needed to evaluate your EOP application. 

• Parent(s)/Guardian(s) name(s) and occupation(s) 

(If you do not have any Parent/Guardian information to report (e.g., foster youth) enter "Does not apply") 

• Parent(s)/Guardian(s) estimate/actual income for 2020 and 2021 

(Income information is required to be considered for the program) 

• Information about participating in any public assistance programs such as CalWorks, CalFresh, welfare, AFDC, TANF, Social Security, disability, etc. 

• Information about participating in publicly funded programs such as subsidized housing (public or affordable housing programs, Section 8), employment/training programs (i.e., CETA), school lunch programs, etc. 

• Full names and email addresses of two individuals who can complete the EOP Recommendation Forms. 

The biographical questions listed below are included in the EOP application. It is recommended that you prepare your responses in advance and ask a teacher and/or counselor to help with proofreading. Having completed responses in advance will save time when completing the EOP application. 

Answers to these questions will help EOP determine your eligibility to the program. Please be sure to respond as precisely and honestly as possible and expand on each answer. Use complete sentences and avoid responses such as "yes" or "no." Responses to each question have a 2500-character limit. 

1. Briefly describe your family's economic background. Include information about your financial challenges. 

2. Why would you like to attend college? Discuss your career and personal goals. Are there any particular circumstances, school experiences, or persons that influenced your preparation or motivation to attend college (e.g., cultural/financial background, family, teachers, schools you attended)? Please explain. 

3. Briefly discuss your academic background. Did you utilize any additional support at your high school, such as tutoring? Do your grades in high school and/or college reflect your academic ability or potential? 

4. List any volunteer, extracurricular activities, or work experience in which you are or have been involved in the past two years. 

5. Is there any additional information you would like EOP to consider in determining your admission to the program? 

To apply to EOP, you must have two recommendations. You should contact the individuals who you will use as recommenders before submitting the EOP application to get the correct spelling of their names and accurate email addresses. Talking to your recommenders in advance will help determine if they have the time and are willing to complete the recommendation form. The recommenders will be answering questions about your academic skills, characteristics, motivation, achievements, and barriers to success. 

Who to Select as Your Recommenders 

1) One recommendation must be from an academic counselor/teacher that can comment on your academic preparedness for university academic work. 

2) The second recommendation can be from an individual who can comment about your potential to succeed in college. For example, a counselor, a teacher, a community member, or employer. Recommendations from friends or relatives are not accepted. 

The systemwide EOP Recommendation Forms deadline is January 31, 2021. Some campus deadlines may vary, please check EOP deadlines at: EOP Deadlines by Term. The Cal State Apply application will automatically set the deadline at two weeks from the day you request the EOP recommendation. Recommenders can complete the form after the two week automated deadline but must be received by the campus deadline. 

Once you add in your EOP Recommenders names and email addresses into the EOP application and submit the Cal State Apply application, they will be emailed with a request to complete the recommendation by the deadline. 

It is your responsibility to ensure the two recommendations are submitted by the deadline. You can check on the status of the recommendations on your Cal State Apply application by using the Check Status tab. 

https://www.calstate.edu/attend/student-services/eop/Pages/campus-contacts-accessible.aspx