CSUMentor, the online system that helps California State University applicants plan and apply for admission, has seen a 70 percent increase in online applications from 1999.

The CSUMentor, which handles all of the online applications for the CSU system, has processed 114,900 applications before the Dec. 5, 2000 deadline, which is up from 67,535 in 1999.

“The use of the CSUMentor continues to increase significantly. Students and parents have found it to be an extremely valuable tool in their college preparation, college search and college application process,” said Allison Jones, CSU assistant vice chancellor of access and retention.

Jones said that students begin preparing for college using the CSUMentor as early as middle school.

“This clearly has become a preferred way of applying for admissions,” said Larry Glasmire, assistant to the vice president for Student Affairs at Sacramento State.

Nearly 40 percent of applications at Sac State are received online, Glasmire said.He said that online applications give applying students the advantage of being able to pay the application fee by credit card, and the convenience of being able to send the application to several CSU campuses at once.

Online applications can be processed faster by the university, he said.

However, Glasmire said that the system had become bogged down with the large number of applicants near the end of the deadline, but has been improved since then.

CSUMentor offers several peripheral features including online applications for CalState Teach, a program that offers education for working teachers. It also provides academic portfolios that help prospective high school and community college students make sure that they are taking the right

courses for admission at a CSU campus, as well as online tours of the CSU campuses.The site can be accessed at www.csumentor.edu.