California College Guidance Initiative
Introducing CaliforniaColleges.edu
Introducing CaliforniaColleges.edu![]()
Introducing CaliforniaColleges.edu
CaliforniaColleges.edu is the State of California’s official free college and career planning platform for 6th-12th grade students enrolled in public school districts. It works to smooth the path from K-12 to college and career for California students. The platform provides students and families with direct access to online tools and resources. It also allows students to easily connect their applications and academic records to their selected California public colleges and to the California Student Aid Commission from one place—making the college and financial aid application process easier not only for students, but for their school districts and the colleges to which they are applying.
CaliforniaColleges.edu also serves as a crucial component of the California Cradle-to-Career (C2C) Data System with career and college research tools for students and parents. The California College Guidance Initiative ("CCGI") manages CaliforniaColleges.edu on behalf of the State of California and is a legislatively authorized service provider to California school districts, as established in California Education Code Section 60900.5.
How does it work?
How does it work?![]()
How does it work?
As shared in the SDUHSD Annual Notification and authorizations during enrollment and data confirmation, to facilitate CCGI SDUHSD provides student data for all students enrolled in grades 7-12 including name, grade level, demographic information, courses and final grades. The CaliforniaColleges.edu platform will show student progress toward the California State University and University of California subject area “A-G” requirements.
In grade 12, students will be able to choose to transmit information shared with CCGI directly to:
- Their selected CA public postsecondary educational institutions (CA Community Colleges, CSU, UC) for purposes of admissions and academic placement. This link saves time in manually entering information as well as results in more accurate applications.
- The CA Student Aid Commission (Cal Grant, FAFSA, CADAA) for purposes of determining financial aid eligibility for, and increasing uptake of, student financial aid.
OPTING OUT OF CCGI
OPTING OUT OF CCGI![]()
OPTING OUT OF CCGI
If a student has not been opted out in writing, the information will be shared with CCGI, as of June 2026 as required by CA law.
Only if the parent/legal guardian of a student under 18 years of age or a student 18 years of age does not wish for the school to electronically send student data to the CCGI, they may complete this Opt-Out form and submit to the school to be removed from sharing.
- Adult students and students whose parents/guardians have opted out of sharing their data with CCGI will be excluded from participation in CCGI services, including resources, tools, application integration and final transcript provision.
- These students may track A-G course progress in Aeries and will manually enter their records for CA college and financial aid applications.
- They will need to request that their high schools send transcripts to CA higher education institutions via other processes.
