SAN DIEGO — For many new graduates, attending a four-year university directly out of high school may be out of reach for either financial or academic reasons.
A new program launching this summer aims to make a Cal State degree more of a reality.
It's called the Transfer Success Pathway, allowing students enrolling in one of California's 116 community colleges to be eventually guaranteed admission to one of the 23 CSU schools, including San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos.
"If more programs like this were available, that would be great!," said San Diegan Bianca Moreno.
She added that if a program like this were around when she was a student at Grossmont Community College, she would have taken the idea of completing her four-year degree more seriously.
"It definitely would have motivated me to stay in school a little bit more," she told CBS 8.
Moreno pointed out that the financial savings of this plan are also enticing: something that recent Kearny High grad Arnold Yumul agrees with.
"It is too expensive, especially living in California," Yumul said. "I think many families aren't able to afford that type of thing."
The Transfer Success Pathway will begin with students graduating high school in 2023 who either aren't academically eligible to head directly to a Cal State school, or are eligible, but choose not to attend for financial or personal reasons
Instead, students sign agreement with the Cal State system, selecting the specific campus and major they're interested in up-front.
If students meet all of the transfer requirements within three years time, they are then guaranteed admission to that university.
Students will also be provided counseling services, to make sure they're on track to transfer on time.
"I think that is definitely appealing," Yumul added. "It's an opportunity that not a lot of people get."
It is an opportunity that the Cal State system is hopeful a lot of soon-to-be-graduates will take advantage of.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, less than one-fifth of California community colleges students who are interested in transferring actually do so within four years.
But for those who do, 40% of CSU transfer students graduate within two year. and 80% graduate within four years of transferring.
Now a mom herself, Bianca Moreno is hopeful her kids can take advantage of this new program when the time comes.
"As a parent, that's also a big motivator for me to push them a little bit more," she said. "There's all these options out there!"
WATCH RELATED: $3.4 million of federal funding secured for San Diego community colleges to support services (March 2023).