California
This is the oldest California State University College
San José State University (tracing its roots to the Minns Evening Normal School founded in 1857, and established as a state school in 1862)
Founded in 1636, this is the oldest college in the United States. It also regularly admits fewer than 4% of applicants.
Harvard University
Roughly this share of 2024 U.S. high school graduates were enrolled in college by October 2024.
62.8% (about 6 in 10)
This is what the acronym FAFSA stands for.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Students in crisis can call or text this three-digit number 24/7 to reach the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
988
A classification that determines whether a Student is charged Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (NRST). Residency Classifications include Resident, NRST Exempt, and Nonresident.
Residency Classification
This 1862 federal law created land-grant colleges.
Morrill Act
Climb high! This job, which keeps giant energy-producing propellers spinning, is of the top 4 fastest-growing occupation in the U.S., projected to grow about 50% from 2024 to 2034.
This is the maximum Pell Grant for the 2026–27 award year.
$7,395
This Cal State campus on the coast chose a playful, shellfish-cracking sea mammal as its mascot.
CSU Monterey Bay Otters
This is the number of UC Campuses.
10 campuses (9 undergraduate, plus the graduate-only UC San Francisco) operating as the state's primary public research universities.
This 17.5% of undergraduates enrolled in 4-year institutions in Fall 2025 declared themselves as this major, making it the most popular bachelor’s degree.
This disease-tracking science career typically requires a master’s degree and is projected to grow 16.2%.
Epidemiologist
The Pell Grant is named after this senator from Rhode Island.
Claiborne Pell
under the Tuition Stability Plan, UC tuition remains flat for up to how many years?
6
This is the oldest Operating Institution of Higher Education.
Santa Clara University (founded in 1851 as Santa Clara College), which was the first to actually open its doors and begin instructing students.
In 2010, Postsecondary enrollment peaked at how many million students?
Projected to grow 40.1% and add 128,400 jobs, this is the fastest-growing healthcare career, with a 2024 median pay of about $129,000
This FAFSA number replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Student Aid Index (SAI)
This small Southern California college’s team is the Poets, named after the famous American poet the college and city are named for.
Whittier College (named for John Greenleaf Whittier)
This Pasadena science and engineering school admitted only 427 of 11,285 applicants for the Class of 2029, about 3.8%, one of the lowest acceptance rates in the country.
Caltech (California Institute of Technology)
In 2024, the median wage for STEM jobs was more than double the median for non-STEM jobs. What was the STEM median?
$103,580 (non-STEM: $48,000)
This cybersecurity job is projected to grow 28.5% from 2024 to 2034.
Information security analyst
Before it was named after a senator, the Pell Grant started in 1972 with this much clunkier name, often shortened to “BEOG.”
Basic Educational Opportunity Grant
This team name means “little bear,” a nod to the older Cal Golden Bears.
UCLA Bruins (UCLA began as the “Southern Branch” of the University of California.)