What's at stake?
As state debates SAT requirements, more Fresno Unified students are getting into California’s universities.
Over the last half decade, more Fresno Unified students have been getting into top California universities than ever before, a potential bright spot for a district that has historically struggled academically.
A Fresnoland analysis of University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) admissions data finds that, since 2021, the number of high school students around Fresno applying and getting admitted into the state’s universities has been climbing.
Fresno Unified, the third largest school district in California, has seen admissions rise at UCs from both its neighborhood high schools and its charter schools from 78% in 2021 to 82% in 2025.
The district’s charter high schools still have higher college application rates than their neighborhood counterparts.
Fresno Unified is hardly alone in the trend: Clovis Unified has seen a double digit jump in UC admissions in the same time frame, rising from 65% to 77%. Over on the west side, Central Unified also had a major jump in its UC admissions rate, rising to 87% from 75% in 2021. Statewide, the rate of first-year California residents admitted into UCs rose to 78% just last year.
The state’s third largest school district’s success comes as policymakers are debating whether to reinstate requirements for SAT/ACT scores for admission, which were removed in 2020 after concerns emerged around racial disparities in admission from their use. More faculty are raising alarm bells, saying students are entering the state’s universities completely unprepared for the challenges of college-level classes.
But school counselors in Fresno Unified say that they’ve changed their approach to be more proactive and hands-on in the past few years – and that has more influence than dropping the SAT requirement.
McLane and Edison High School have seen significant jumps in the number of students applying and getting into UCs since 2021. In the last year alone, McLane High more than doubled both applications and admissions, from 45 applicants and 33 admissions to 104 applicants and 80 admissions.
Berenice Tapia, a counselor at McLane High, doesn’t attribute their rise in applicants to the UCs dropping of SAT/ACT test scores.
Instead, she says that the increases she and other counselors are seeing come from efforts by the counselor team to make the application process more accessible and to build a stronger college-going culture on campus.
“We provide application workshops, individual support and consistent communication throughout the college application process,” Tapia said, adding, “rather than simply telling students to apply, we work alongside them to help them understand their options and successfully navigate the process.”
This includes a new multi-part UC application workshop series for students and the Rising Scholars program, which takes students on trips to UC campuses. Tapia noted that student exposure to higher education helps build students’ confidence in applying.
Marie Aguirre, head counselor at Edison High School, shared a similar sentiment, attributing the rise to efforts by her team in identifying students with A-G eligibility – necessary classes to get into college – and reaching out regularly to check on their applications status, financial aid opportunities and ways to prepare for the transition into higher education.
Aguirre identified the period of time between high school graduation and college as a gap that she feels requires more investment and a structure of support for students, especially first-generation students.
Is dropping the SAT/ACT requirements increasing admissions?
But others will tell you that dropping the SAT/ACT requirements made a massive difference in admissions rates.
UC Merced’s vice chancellor for enrollment management says that the dropped SAT/ACT requirements gave more students the opportunity to apply for college.
Scott Hagg, who has served in his position for the last three years and previously worked in admissions for the CSU, said that UC Merced’s enrollment increased around the same time as the exam requirements were dropped.
“It provided greater access to students and applications went up,” Hagg said.
Hagg explained that 2023 saw a peak of around 9,100 students at UC Merced, a trend that has declined in 2025. Part of the increase, according to Hagg, could also stem from the university’s efforts to get more students from the Valley into higher education through the Merced Automatic Admission Program, a program that creates a pathway for local seniors. The program launched its partnership with Fresno Unified in 2025.
Hagg also attributes the rise in student applicants to UCs to its quality of education and the experience it offers for students on campus.
Similarly, Fresno State launched a guaranteed admissions program in 2023 called Bulldog Bound, which also partners with FUSD and other school districts to hold spots for both freshman and community college transfer students that meet minimum grade requirements.
Jesse Farias, the interim director of undergraduate student recruitment at Fresno State, said that the program has helped increase awareness for accessible pathways into higher education, especially for low-income families and for first-generation students who are unfamiliar with applying to college.
“Many of the students as early as ninth grade are saying ‘You know what? This is a possibility for me,’” Farias said in an interview.
Since 2021, the admission rates of Fresno Unified students to the California State University system has stayed steady at around 97%, but the number of students applying is up from 2,125 since then to 2,311 in 2025.
Also, despite dropping the SAT/ACT requirement in 2022, Farias says that access to information and help during the process is what is critical to getting students started on pursuing a higher education.
“I think students becoming more and more familiar with the process is really important, but I think the direct admission program, like Bulldog Bound, has really helped our students really realize the opportunity that they have in front of them,” Farias said.
But a lot of university faculty and policymakers are wondering whether the increased admissions rates are worth it, as more students struggle to maintain good grades or stay enrolled as they hit hardships.
Over 3,000 University of California faculty members have signed a letter supporting the return of admissions testing. A handful of Republicans in the state senate have introduced a bill that would require the University of California regents to reinstate those testing requirements.
Once admitted, the journey is not over
From the high school level to the university level, counselors and administrators both agreed that support for students needn’t stop as soon as they’re committed to a school. Instead, they say that continued support for students along the whole journey is needed to help them both attain their degree and independence.
“We already help students review cost of attendance, financial aid, housing, meal plans and other steps before they leave us, but there is so much more to navigating college successfully,” Tapia, the McLane counselor said, adding, “students need to know how to budget, manage their time, read a syllabus, connect with professors, use campus resources and most importantly, figure out who to contact when they need help; especially for our first-generation students, they may not know what they don’t know.”
Hagg at UC Merced echoed the same sentiments, adding that there is space for universities to improve their support of new incoming students and their families.
Hagg and Farias said that historic barriers like transportation, healthcare and affordability remain top of mind for many families in the Valley.
“We really want to try for students to understand how we can help them overcome those barriers and those challenges,” Farias said, “but all those are still continuous barriers that we still encounter as well.”
In the wake of outcry from faculty over students’ entering college without basic math or writing skills,, leaders at the UC system are still looking for other avenues to evaluate college readiness.
In particular, the UC admissions board announced on July 23 that it would be working on a report studying standardized testing and would give a recommendation on whether to require SAT or ACT scores by June 2027.
On top of that, the admissions board said that it would also be submitting a report on high school course requirements by May next year, with the UC Board of Regents expected to make changes to the course review at a later date.
Hagg said that “it’s always a good thing for any institution” to review its admissions processes. He’s notably interested in how the UC admissions board will approach the topic of math requirements, a topic that has led to outcry from professors because of high demands from students for remedial courses.
Whether colleges require the tests or not, at Edison, students are still encouraged to take the SAT or ACT, with Aguirre herself saying that a test score could make the difference for some forms of financial aid. They waive the fees for students who want to take the standardized tests.
“They don’t use the SATs as a determining factor, but when he went to apply for a scholarship, he was automatically awarded $5,000 because of his score,” Aguirre said, using his son’s own experience as an example.
Regardless, Aguirre says that she would like to see the gap in the transition period for students receive more attention, as sometimes it’s hard to see if the journey that people like Aguirre have helped students embark on is completed.
“What I would like as an educator is to see the data that once our kids get there, do they graduate? We as educators have always said there’s a gap,” Aguirre said.
