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¹ú²ú´«Ã½ and Fresno Unified Launch Guaranteed Admission Path with Scholarship Opportunity

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September 19, 2025
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Fresno Unified School District Superintendent Misty Her and ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz make the MOU between the two organizations official.

A new program between ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ and the Fresno Unified School District guarantees admission to ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ for qualified high school juniors and offers each student the chance to earn up to $12,000 in scholarships.

The Merced Automatic Admission Program (MAAP) agreement notes that both ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ and Fresno Unified “recognize the importance of higher education and its transformative impact on Fresno and neighboring communities.â€

¹ú²ú´«Ã½ Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and Fresno Unified Superintendent Misty Her made the agreement official at a signing ceremony Sept. 19 at McLane High School in Fresno.

"We are deeply committed to our Valley neighbors, to their families and their success, and we know that the best path to social mobility is through higher education,†Muñoz said. “We want local students to join our community. We want to show them the universe. We want them to know that ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ is a place where there are no limits on your intellectual and professional journeys.â€

Her leads the third-largest school district in California, serving about 71,000 students.

“This new guaranteed admissions partnership will pave the way for more of our students to pursue their education at ¹ú²ú´«Ã½, enhancing opportunities for a rich college experience,†Her said.

Muñoz also announced an exciting expansion of college access for Fresno Unified students: those who meet the program’s requirements will be eligible to receive a $3,000-per-year scholarship, renewable for up to four years for a total of $12,000.

To be eligible for automatic admission, students must meet requirements such as completing the minimum of 15 A-G courses required for freshman UC admissions with a weighted GPA of 3.0, submitting the Guarantee Admissions Application starting March of a student’s junior year, and submitting the University of California Undergraduate Application for Admission and Scholarships during the Oct. 1 --Nov. 30 priority filing period.

Fresno Unified is the latest of dozens of school districts across California that have partnered with ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ for the MAAP partnership.

For more information on the MAAP partnership and to learn more about the program’s complete requirements, visit the MAAP webpage.