ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE

Few things are as agonizing to high school seniors as waiting to learn whether the college of their choice has accepted them. Time can appear to move oh so slowly to a 17-year-old--except during summer vacations--and the gap of three months or more between sending off a college application and getting the verdict in the mail seems to stretch on forever.

To its credit, the California State University system is helping to speed matters up for some applicants. That works to everyone’s advantage.

Cal State Fullerton and other campuses in the statewide system are offering “on-site” admissions at local high schools and some community colleges. Students who meet the school’s requirements and pay the $55 application fee can be accepted on the spot.

For the school, the gain is increased certainty over who is likely to attend. Colleges report that students are more likely to attend the school that accepts them first.

For the students, the process does away with months of uncertainty, waiting for the mail that brings a thick envelope signaling acceptance--because it contains so many forms to fill out--or a thin one if the answer is “sorry.”

Cal State Fullerton has accepted more than 1,100 students it interviewed in the field so far this year. That’s about one-fifth of its projected freshman class next year and about 300 more than last year’s total of on-site acceptances.

The Cal State system does not keep track of how many students are admitted on-site, but administrators at several campuses said the total ranges from several hundred to more than 1,000 students.

Another advantage of the outreach program is the opportunity to contact students personally and persuade them of the advantages of the state colleges. The 23 campuses experienced an overall drop of 50,000 students from 1990 to 1994, largely because of budget cuts and tuition increases.

Cal State Fullerton outreach officer Tom Mauck said many in south Orange County have their hearts set on the University of California system or private colleges and look on Cal State as their “fallback” choice. On-site interviews offer Mauck and others a chance to change that ranking.

The on-campus evaluations are based on students’ college prep courses and scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test or American College Test. There’s no need to submit a personal essay or other materials, so recruiters can decide quickly whether an applicant is qualified.

Students have it tough enough in school, competing for grades and trying to take part in extracurricular activities as well as sometimes holding down a job. Reducing their anxiety over getting into college is all to the good.