This year San Diego State welcomes students to the university through the College Avenue Compact.

The fall semester is underway with almost 4,000 first-time freshmen and 2,000 transfer students. This year’s incoming freshmen are another high-achieving class, entering SDSU with an average high school GPA of 3.63 and SAT test scores of 1110, an increase of 25 points in comparison to last year.

Among the new students this semester, 47 were admitted through the College Avenue Compact from Hoover High School. The program is part of the City Heights Collaborative, which partners with three schools in the San Diego Unified School District to ensure students in San Diego are college bound. If students who enrolled in the ninth grade meet the GPA, test and “a-g” requirements by graduation, they are automatically admitted to SDSU. There is no limit to the number of students who can be enrolled in the program. However, by the 10th grade, the students showing potential and desire to achieve those requirements are continuously helped throughout their high school career. Herbert Hoover High School, Monroe Clark Middle School and Rosa Parks Elementary School are all included in the program.

“We make sure that students are able to have the opportunity for secondary education,” Executive Director Tim Allen said.

Since the program started fall 2007, it has helped students of all races and socioeconomic statuses achieve college admittance. The program not only assists students in meeting the requirements, it helps them with applications as well. SDSU is not the only California State University in cooperation with the program: This year 88 students were admitted through the program at various schools. Allen described the program as giving students the opportunity to attend a junior college or even a four-year university.

Without the College Avenue Compact, many local students may not have been given the guidance and opportunity necessary to attend college.