Tools for Students
What is CaliforniaColleges.edu?
CaliforniaColleges.edu is the State of California’s official college and career planning platform for 6th-12th grade students enrolled in public school districts. It is a state-funded comprehensive digital platform with the tools students need to develop their college and career plans, available at no cost to students, educators, and parents/guardians in public school districts.
The platform enables 6th-12th grade students to obtain the information and guidance they need to successfully complete college and financial aid processes, while also providing tools for educators to identify students that need the most help and target their interventions effectively.
About the Student Tools
With an account on CaliforniaColleges.edu, students can do the following, all in one place:
Discover
their strengths and interests, learn how they connect to fulfilling careers, and understand the steps they’ll need to realize their goals.
Plan
and track high school courses and grades, college and major searches, and career exploration.
Launch
and track their applications to California’s three public colleges, as well as their financial aid application.
CaliforniaColleges.edu also collects student transcript data from school districts to support students’ admission and enrollment into higher education by seamlessly passing the data to the state’s public colleges.
Students can register either a Basic Account or a Partner Account on CaliforniaColleges.edu, depending on their school district. Students with Basic Accounts can access most of the tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu, unless otherwise noted. Students with Partner Accounts have access to additional tools and functionalities that require their transcript data to be uploaded into CaliforniaColleges.edu.
College and Career Exploration Tools
The College and Career Lessons on CaliforniaColleges.edu are designed to teach students how to create a plan for life after high school. In using the College and Career Lessons, educators with limited time and resources can be assured that they are delivering quality college and career guidance to students. Learn more about the College and Career Lessons by clicking on the blue bar below.
The lessons include topics appropriate for each grade level that help students understand:
- Their social, emotional, and personal needs and how those impact their college and career goals.
- Their personal values, skills and interests.
- How their values, skills, and interests align with different careers.
- Different pathways to desired careers such as vocational certificates, apprenticeships, degree programs, or professional licenses.
- College eligibility, so that students can thoughtfully plan their coursework and keep their college options open.
The College and Career Lessons do this by providing step-by-step guidance for how and when to use tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu, such as the:
- Career Assessments
- Career, College, and Major Search Tools
- Academic Planner and Life Planner
- California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) Eligibility Tools and application integrations
By completing the College and Career Lessons, students will have:
- Learned baseline information about college and career.
- Made a postsecondary plan that is intentional and informed by their skills, interests, aspirations, and needs.
- Developed soft skills, such as a growth mindset and self-advocacy, that will prepare them to navigate new environments.
CaliforniaColleges.edu’s Career Assessments can help students identify their values, interests, learning styles, and strengths and learn how they can connect to fulfilling careers. Learn more about each Career Assessment by clicking on the blue bars below to expand each section.
Middle School Only
Middle school students can access the Learning & Productivity assessment. The Learning & Productivity assessment asks students questions about how they learn best, then uses their answers to highlight which styles of learning and what kind of learning environments might work best for them.
It takes students about 20 minutes to complete the assessment. Students can take the assessment a maximum of three times. The results will give students suggestions to successfully adapt to different environments that are in and out of school.
See Learning & Productivity in Action
Check out the How to Use the Learning & Productivity Assessment tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **Middle School and High School
Middle school and high school students can access the Interest Profiler assessment. The Interest Profiler helps students discover how their interests connect to different careers by asking questions about how much they like or dislike different work activities. The assessment then provides students with a list of careers that match the activities they like.
It takes students about 10-20 minutes to complete the assessment. Students can take the assessment as many times as they wish. The results will also show students a list of careers they can research.
See the Interest Profiler in Action
Check out the How to Use the Interest Profiler tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **Once they reach high school, students will gain access to the Work Values assessment. The Work Values assessment asks students to rank values related to work, such as coworker relationships, creativity, and compensation. At the end, students are presented with careers based on the values that are most important to them.
It takes students about 20 minutes to complete the assessment. Students can take the assessment as many times as they wish. The results will also show students a list of careers they can research.
See the Work Values Assessment in Action
Check out the How to Use the Work Values Assessment tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **Once they reach high school, students will gain access to the Intelligences assessment. The Intelligences assessment asks students questions about how they think, solve problems, and come up with new ideas. Using their answers, the assessment presents students with information on their strengths, how to develop them, and what careers their strengths might match.
It takes students 20-30 minutes to complete Multiple Intelligences. Students can take the assessment a maximum of three times. The results will also show students a list of matching careers they can research.
See the Intelligences Assessment in Action
Check out the How to Use the Intelligences Assessment tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **Once they reach high school, students will gain access to the Personality assessment. The Personality assessment is similar to a Myers Briggs personality type assessment. It asks students to respond to different descriptions, then uses their responses to highlight characteristics that align to their personality and corresponding careers.
It takes about 30-40 minutes to complete the assessment. Students can take this assessment a maximum of three times. The results will also show students a list of matching careers they can research.
See the Personality Assessment in Action
To see the assessment in action, check out the How to Use the Personality Assessment tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **Once they reach high school, students will gain access to the Skills assessment. The Skills assessment asks students questions about their skills as they fall into five distinct categories: Conscientiousness, Creativity, Critical thinking, Leadership and Social-Emotional.
Using their answers, the assessment presents students with information on their skills, ways to develop them, and what careers match their individual skill set. Students can click a matching career and go to a corresponding fact sheet, as well as “favorite” (♥️) a matching career to add it to their My Career Plan.
It takes about 20 minutes to complete the assessment. Students can take the assessment a maximum of three times.
See the Skills Assessment in Action
Check out the How to Use the Skills Assessment tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **What Students and Educators Have to Say
Career, College, and Major Search Tools
The search tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu allow students to identify potential careers that match their interests, find what majors will help them achieve their career goals, and explore what colleges best meet their individual needs.
The Career Search Tool on CaliforniaColleges.edu helps students find the right career path by allowing them to explore careers that match their interests, learn what they involve, see what kind of pay and growth potential they offer, and understand what education and skills they will need to pursue them.
See the Career Search Tool in Action
Check out the How to Use the Career Search Tool tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **The College Search Tool helps students find the best colleges for their needs in California and across the country, based on the factors that matter most to them. Using the College Search Tool, students can:
- Search a database of all public and private non-profit postsecondary institutions in the country.
- Filter their search results by the type of degree they want to earn, application type, school size, type of environment, average net price, acceptance rate, field of study, major, state, and more.
- “Favorite” colleges they are most interested in and log them in their My College Plan for easy future access.
- Make helpful connections between their desired careers, the right major for those careers, and the postsecondary institution that can help them get there.
See the College Search Tool in Action
Check out the How to Use the College Search Tool tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **The Major Search Tool allows students to discover programs and majors that interest them, learn more about what they involve, and find colleges that offer them.
See the Major Search Tool in Action
Check out the How to Use the Major Search Tool tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **What Students and Educators Have to Say
CaliforniaColleges.edu for Career Pathways
College and Career Planning Tools
Preparing to succeed in college, career, and life begins by making a plan. Students’ My Plan is their portal to the college and career planning tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu. In their My Plan, students will find the tools to help them prepare for life after high school by tracking their activities, next steps, applications, and much more on CaliforniaColleges.edu.
The Academic Planner can help students review their completed courses and grades, make sure they’re on track to achieve their college and career goals, and plan potential future coursework.
Students with Partner Accounts will have their courses and grades automatically populated in their Academic Planner, while students with Basic Accounts must manually input their courses and grades into the Academic Planner.
Each year, students can revisit the Academic Planner to plan potential courses for the following year.
See the Academic Planner in Action
Check out the following tutorials on the Resource Hub:
Middle School
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **High School
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **CaliforniaColleges.edu’s Life Planner makes it easier for students to plan for life after high school by providing them a space to:
- Reflect on their life goals throughout their time in high school.
- See how their college and major options connect with potential careers.
- Focus their plans by helping them choose colleges or programs that are relevant to their life goals.
The Life Planner asks students to create a plan by choosing a career from their “Favorites” list. Students are then shown the education levels associated with the selected career, all majors associated with the selected career, as well as colleges which offer their chosen majors. Then, when a student selects a college, it is automatically saved to their College List so they don’t lose track of potential schools.
Students can create up to ten different Life Plans that help them map out pathways to achieving their goals and make more targeted decisions about college applications. Anyone who has access to a student’s CaliforniaColleges.edu account can see the student’s Life Planner entries.
Students receive guidance on using the Life Planner once they reach 8th grade and begin Module 1 of the College and Career Lessons. Once they reach the 10th grade, students receive guidance on using Life Plans, which allows them to document what they have been learning about themselves and their interests in one place.
My Career Plan helps students keep track of the careers they’ve “favorited,” Career Assessments they’ve taken, and the top careers that best match their interests and skills.
In their My Career Plan, students can:
Students can access the Career List tab to see all the careers they have “favorited” (❤). A column in the Career List tab, titled “Top Assessment Match,” will show which of the students’ “favorited” careers are a top match according to their Interest Profiler, Work Values, and Skills assessments results. If a “favorited” career also appears in their Top Careers list, students will see a green checkmark in this column. The green checkmark reinforces that this career matches well with the student’s interests, values, or skills.
Students can access the Assessments tab to view the Career Assessments they have taken and their results.
Students can access the Top Careers tab to see the top 20 careers that matched with their most recent Career Assessment results. In My Career Plan, the Career Results tab will display a tailored list of a student’s top 20 careers.
The Top Careers list is based on the most recent results from the Interest Profiler, Skills, and Work Values assessments. The ist will update once a student takes an assessment for the first time or when they retake one of the assessments. Students will see the Top Careers list once they have taken at least one of the three assessments (Interest Profiler, Work Values, or Skills).
If a “favorited” career also appears in their Top Careers list, students will see a green checkmark in this column. The green checkmark reinforces that this career matches well with the student’s interests, values, or skills.
The Top Careers tab benefits students by:
- Providing them with a starting point to focus their career research.
- Taking some of the work off the student to draw connections between the assessments taken and possible careers.
- Providing them with an understanding of how their interests, values, and skills inform their career options.
My College Plan helps students keep track of colleges and majors that they have “favorited,” document college visits or presentations they have attended, and organize all their college application dates and deadlines. Students can also launch their CCCApply, Cal State Apply, and UC Applications directly from the link(s) under the College Applications tab in their My College Plan. Students who launch their CCCApply, Cal State Apply, and UC Applications from the platform can also visit My College Plan to track the status of their applications.
My Goals helps keep students on track by allowing students to identify, set, and monitor their academic, college, and career goals. It prepares students for their future by helping them define Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely (SMART) goals.
The College and Career Lessons will guide students to review or add to their goals at appropriate times. Through My Goals, students’ counselors or teachers may also assign them goal prompts. Students can also create their own goals at any time, which they can edit or delete.
See My Goals in Action
Check out the How to Use “My Goals” tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **My Journal allows students to reflect about their past, make connections to the present, and plan for their future. The College and Career Lessons will guide students to complete journal prompts at appropriate times. Students can also add entries to their journal at any time, as well as edit or delete any entry they start themselves. Students’ counselors or teachers will be able to see all student journal entries, as well as assign students journal prompts to respond to in their My Journal.
See My Journal in Action
Check out the How to Use “My Journal” tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **My Experiences allows students to keep track of activities they will include in their college applications, and can help them build their future resume for internships and other opportunities. Any person who has access to a student’s CaliforniaColleges.edu account can see the experiences the student has listed in My Experiences. This includes a student’s parent/guardian, counselor, or other school and academic support staff.
See My Experiences in Action
Check out the How to Use “My Experiences” tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **My Documents gives students free storage space to save important college, career, and financial aid documents such as college essay drafts, letters of recommendation, award letters, and others.
Students can upload documents at any time. Counselors and educators can also guide students to upload documents relevant to their college and career plans. Acceptable file types include PDF and Microsoft Office documents. The maximum file size is 20 MB.
See My Documents in Action
Check out the How to Download and Upload Documents to Your CaliforniaColleges.edu Account tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **What Students and Educators Have to Say
College Application Tools
When students are ready to apply to colleges, they can use CaliforniaColleges.edu to make sure they’re eligible to apply to CSUs and UCs, as well as launch and track their applications to UCs, CSUs, and California Community Colleges—all in one place.
To achieve their college goals, students need to know what they have accomplished and what steps they still need to take. The CSU and UC Eligibility Tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu help students:
- Track their progress toward meeting CSU’s and UC’s minimum GPA and A-G course eligibility requirements.
- Identify subject areas they have not yet satisfied.
- Identify courses that may require special attention when a student submits a Cal State Apply or UC Application, such as dual enrollment courses or A-G courses that do not currently match a course title on the official Course Management Portal (CMP) list.
- Seek advice from their counselor with any concerns about their courses and grades.
Additionally, to make it easier to review students’ CSU and UC Eligibility progress, educators can download and print students’ individual CSU and UC Eligibility reports. Educators can bulk-print and distribute the PDF reports of students’ CSU and UC Eligibility progress to help them better inform their students’ course selections and to start their college application processes. This also helps educators conduct work when internet access is not readily available.
NOTE: The CSU and UC Eligibility Tools are not available to Basic Accounts. If you have a Partner Account, you’ll be able to access the tools.
See the CSU and UC Eligibility Tools in Action
Check out the How to Use the CSU and UC Eligibility Tools for High School Students tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **CaliforniaColleges.edu is the only college and career planning platform that is integrated with the three California public higher education college and university systems. The platform is designed to make it easier for students to apply to a California Community College (CCC), California State University (CSU), or University of California (UC).
The CCCApply application is a student’s gateway to all 116 California Community College campuses. By launching their application through CaliforniaColleges.edu, students and their counselors can track their application to CCC campuses in one place and verify that it has been submitted.
Students can also access the CCCs Info tab in their Academic Planner to get guidance on what they should look for in their CCCApply application, along other relevant considerations (e.g., transfer options, dual enrollment).
NOTE: Students with Partner Accounts will have their transcript data passed to the CCC Chancellor’s Office along with their application, which may then be used to inform their first-year Math and English course placements.
See the CCC Application Integration in Action
Check out the How to Launch Your California Community College Application tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **By launching their Cal State Apply application through CaliforniaColleges.edu, students can track the status of their applications to California State University (CSU) campuses. Students can link their CaliforniaColleges.edu account to the Cal State Apply Application at any point prior to application submission. The application status is refreshed nightly, which provides students, educators, and parents/guardians up-to-date application status information.
Students can also access the CSU Application Info tab to get guidance on what they should look for in their Cal State Apply Application, along with a clear outline of potential errors (e.g., missing courses, community college courses, and other courses that need special attention).
Basic Accounts
Students with Basic Accounts can import the courses and grades they manually entered into CaliforniaColleges.edu to their Cal State Apply application. However, since the courses and grades were manually entered into CaliforniaColleges.edu, they will not be considered pre-verified for the purposes of admission to a CSU.
Partner Accounts
Students with Partner Accounts can import their district-verified courses and grades from CaliforniaColleges.edu to their Cal State Apply application, which reduces the time required to submit an application and helps prevent errors that can delay or deny admission.
Upon logging in and accessing their Academic Planner, students with Partner Accounts can click on the CSU Application Info tab to get guidance on what they should look for in their Cal State Apply application, along with a clear outline of potential errors (e.g., missing courses, community college courses, and other courses that need special attention). Students with Partner Accounts who apply to a CSU and whose districts submit timely graduation files will seamlessly have their final high school transcript data sent to the CSU system.
Note, the final electronic transcript provided by CCGI does not replace the high school transcript for local purposes or graduation determination or replace the need to send final traditional transcripts (i.e., official paper or PDF transcripts generated by the student’s school district) to the higher education institutions that students will attend. Rather, the unified final transcript data provided by CCGI will be used to accelerate admissions and financial aid processing, where applicable.
See the CSU Application Integration in Action
Check out the How to Launch Your CSU Application tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **By launching their University of California (UC) Application through CaliforniaColleges.edu, students can track the status of their applications to UC campuses. Students can link their CaliforniaColleges.edu account to the UC Application at any point during the application cycle, including after they have submitted their application. The application status is refreshed nightly, which provides students, educators, and parents/guardians up-to-date application status information.
Upon logging in and accessing their Academic Planner, students with Partner Accounts can click on the UC Application Info tab to get guidance on what they should look for in their UC Application, along with a clear outline of potential errors (e.g., missing courses, community college courses, and other courses that need special attention).
Basic Accounts
Students with Basic Accounts can launch and track their UC Application, as long as their school district has filed an Educator Account Agreement for non-Partner Districts with CCGI.
Partner Accounts
Students with Partner Accounts can import their Course Management Portal (CMP)-verified A-G courses and grades from CaliforniaColleges.edu to their UC Application, which reduces the time required to submit an application and helps prevent errors that can delay or deny admission.
Note, only A-G courses that have been verified against the CMP will be imported to the UC Application. If an A-G course does not match against the course listed by the district in the CMP, it will not be imported into the application.
See the UC Application Integration in Action
Check out the How to Launch Your University of California Application tutorial on the Resource Hub.
Here’s an interactive tutorial
** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **What Students and Educators Are Saying
Financial Aid Lessons
Through CaliforniaColleges.edu, students can access guided Financial Aid Lessons that will help them learn about, plan for, and apply for financial aid.
The Financial Aid Lessons help students understand the costs of going to college and how financial aid can help them pay for college, as well as how they can access and apply for financial aid. They provide students with step-by-step instructions to help them track the status of and complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA), as well as compare financial aid packages from colleges that have accepted them.
We know that most California students will attend a California public college or university. That’s why they are designed specifically for California students and provide information about state-specific supports, such as the California Dream Act Application, Cal Grants, California Promise Grants, California Dream Loans, the Chaffee Grant for Foster Youth, and the Middle Class Scholarship. The Financial Aid Lessons are also curated, grade-appropriate, and help students build their financial aid literacy and understand what options they have to pay for college.
Most importantly, the California Education Code requires students to receive information on how to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) prior to the 12th grade. The Financial Aid Lessons on CaliforniaColleges.edu were designed to support educators in meeting this requirement and its content standards. Educators can additionally track which students have completed the Financial Aid Lessons’ modules.
Starting as early as the 6th grade, students can access the Financial Aid Lessons on CaliforniaColleges.edu. New lessons become available to students as they progress through their high school journey.
In 6th-10th grade, students will get an introduction to financial aid and learn about college costs.
Students in 6th-10th grade will have access to one module, “Paying for College.” We recommend that students begin to learn about financial aid in 7th grade, though educators can determine the best time for students to access the lesson.
In this lesson, students will:
- Estimate the true cost of college.
- Compare the different types of financial aid.
- Categorize financial aid into free money, earned money, and borrowed money.
- Learn the differences between direct and indirect costs associated with attending college.
In their junior year, students will get a deeper understanding of how financial aid works, what it’s like to apply, and how to figure out the real cost of college.
Students in 11th grade can access two modules: “Understanding Financial Aid” and “Finding Your College Costs.” 11th grade students can also review the 6th-10th grade lessons if they’d like a refresher.
From these lessons, 11th grade students will learn and understand:
- Differences between the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA).
- Eligibility requirements for federal and state aid.
- How to apply for financial aid.
- Types of documentation and information required for the FAFSA and California Dream Act Application.
- What kinds of questions to expect and how long it takes to complete the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application.
- What free resources are available to help with applying for financial aid.
- Financial aid application terms.
- Net price as the true cost of going to college.
Students in 12th grade can access six modules which provide step-by-step guidance on how to successfully complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA) and follow through on securing their financial aid.
12th grade students can also access any lesson from a previous grade if they need a refresher.
From these lessons, 12th grade students will:
- Complete prep work for FAFSA or California Dream Act Application.
- Launch and submit the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application.
- Review their Student Aid Report and Cal Grant GPA.
- Check their college portals.
- Review their financial aid offers.
- Secure state aid.
What Students and Educators Are Saying
How to Get a Student Account
Ready to get started on CaliforniaColleges.edu? Use our District Lookup Tool to see what your specific next steps are for getting a CaliforniaColleges.edu account.