Apply to Guardian Scholars

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Guardian Scholars program, you must be:
  • Student must be admitted to SJSU and to the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) prior to being invited/eligible to apply to GSP.  
  • Under the age of 27 by the first day of instruction of fall semester.
  • A highly motivated student planning to apply to SJSU who was in foster care, ward of the court, under legal guardianship, have recently been emancipated from foster care, or a minor that is certified homeless by the Financial Aid Office
  • A US Citizen or permanent resident
  • A California Resident

SJSU - EOP - GSP FALL 2023 APPLICATON

STEP 1: SJSU ADMISSION

Apply  to SJSU for Fall 2023 between October 1 - November 30, 2022 via Cal State Apply. 
 
  • Be sure to indicate the following in both sections, if any of the statements apply:
    • CSU application: if one or more apply; former and current foster youth, ward of the court, unaccompanied or homeless youth, and youth under legal guardianship.
    • EOP application: a "Yes" response to the foster youth question.
 
STEP 2: EOP APPLICATION
Apply to EOP for Fall 2023 by November 30, 2022 for priority consideration via Cal State Apply. 
  • The final EOP deadline to submit your complete EOP application to SJSU is January 15, 2023.
  • To be fair and equitable to all students, we do not accept late or incomplete applications.
  • Students are only admitted to EOP at the start of their CSU/SJSU undergraduate career and are not eligible to apply for EOP at a later date or semester.
STEP 3: RECOMMENDATION FORMS
  • Applications to EOP must have two (2) recommendation forms submitted online via Cal State Apply by January 31, 2023. No late submissions for any reason may be accepted.
  • Due to the volume of applicants, EOP can not individually check the status of your application/form.
  • All recommendations must be submitted online via Cal State Apply ONLY, and paper letters/forms will not be accepted.
STEP 4: FAFSA/CA DREAM ACT APPLICATION
  • EOP applicants, as part of their EOP application,  must have the FAFSA or CA Dream Act application complete and submitted to SJSU by the EOP deadline of January 31, 2023.
  • If there is space in the program, we will review FAFSA/CADA applications submitted between February 1 - March 2, 2023.  
STEP 5: GSP APPLICATION
  • Only accepted EOP students under the age of 27 (as per eligibility criteria) will be invited to apply to the Guardian Scholars Progam.
  • The GSP APPLICATION for Fall 2023 will be open in April 2023, and a MySJSU message will be sent to new Fall 2023 SJSU/EOP admitted students that are eligible to apply to GSP.
  • All GSP documentation for Fall 2023 applicants (applications, essay, and documentation) is due: date TBA. 

Cal State Apply Help Center and Technical Support for any application questions or difficulties: https://help.liaisonedu.com/Cal_State_Apply_Applicant_Help_Center

Continually check Cal State Apply to keep track of your recommendation forms. You may also log back in to check the status of your recommendation form.

EOP Fall 2023 acceptance decisions will be sent out in mid April 2023.

Be on the lookout for the GSP Application Invitation in early May.

Make sure to follow all the necessary steps required by university admissions.

Regularly check your MySJSU account messaging for important information and To Do items.

If you are having difficulty obtaining any portion of the GSP application by the deadline, please reach out to us asap: guardianscholars@sjsu.edu.

The Guardian Scholars Program only accepts applications from new SJSU EOP students at the time of university admission. 

Please send email to guardianscholars@sjsu.edu if you have any questions.