Up to 100 students already accepted into the freshman class at Sonoma State University this fall are being told there may not be a spot for them when classes start in late August.

Instead, university officials said this week, Sonoma State will bend its admissions policy and offer students on the overflow list admittance when the spring semester begins in January.

They blame the foul-up on the state budget crisis and orders that both the California State University system and the University of California system admit fewer students this fall.

As a result, Sonoma State may be forced to renege on its letters of acceptance to between 50 and 100 applicants. It has been directed to reduce its 2004 freshman class to 1,100 students -- 200 fewer than previously planned.

"Our goal was never to admit first-time freshmen to the spring semester, but we are doing it because we want to accommodate them," said Gustavo Flores, interim director of admissions at Sonoma State University. "That is completely different than saying, 'No, go away.' "

Flores said he believes that when budget cuts forced the University of California to turn away 7,600 qualified students who normally would have been admitted to one of its nine campuses, it caused a ripple effect on Sonoma State and some of its sister campuses in the California State University system.

As a result, some of those UC-rejected students -- who had applied to both university systems -- accepted offers from state university campuses.

When the Sonoma State slots began filling up faster than expected, campus officials put some students on a waiting list based on when they sent in their $200 deposits. Officials are now deciding how many of those students the campus will have space for in the fall and how many will be asked to wait until spring.

Flores said he hopes all students will get spots in the fall freshman class, but he is sending a warning letter to between 50 and 100 students just in case.

"It has been very, very difficult to deal with the demand," Flores said.

Patrick Callan, president of the nonprofit National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, which has an office in San Jose, said it is rare to defer students once they are admitted.

Jenifer Levy-Wendt, director of counseling at St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, had two students who were put on the waiting list.

"I hope that students stand up and fight the decision because they have been admitted," she said. "It is like breaking a promise. To me, it is terrible."