1. Introducing the University of California

2. UC Campuses When selecting where to apply, consider: Major Size
Location
Apply broadly!
As you consider which of our campuses you might apply to, you might want to consider what majors we each offer, where we are located, the size of campus, and the full array of opportunities that await you at any of our campuses. We encourage you to apply broadly to the University, and no matter which of our campuses you end up graduating from, you will have the prestige of earning a UC degree.
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3. Campus Locations UC Berkeley UC Davis UC Irvine UC Los Angeles
UC Merced
UC Riverside
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Cruz
The University of California is made up of 9 undergraduate campuses.
Our nine campuses include:
UC Davis
UC Berkeley
UC Santa Cruz
UC Merced
UC Santa Barbara
UC Los Angeles
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
And UC San Diego
UC San Francisco is for graduate studies focused on health.
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4. Our Mission & You We teach Choose from 700+ majors We conduct research
Be at the forefront of new ideas & pioneering efforts
We provide public service
Be part of a student body dedicated to the public good
Benefits of research university…
We teach, at both the undergraduate and graduate level. We offer majors across academic disciplines in the arts, humanities, social sciences, physical and biological sciences, and engineering.
We are a world-class research university, meaning you will be exposed to new ideas and pioneering efforts that lead to practical knowledge and innovations that benefit the world.
And we provide public service. Since our founding, public service has been at the core of the University of California.
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5. Global Recognition
62 Nobel Prizes, with one faculty member winning twice, and the most recent in 2014
UC research led to 86 new startups and 1,769 new inventions in 2015—the equivalent of nearly 5 new inventions per day
39M volumes in libraries, 2nd only to Library of Congress
More PhDs granted than any other US university
(NOTE: The faculty member that won twice was Linus Pauling who won in 1954 for Chemistry and in 1962 for Peace. He was a faculty member at UC San Diego. The 2014 Nobel Prize Winner is Shuji Nakamura from UC Santa Barbara in Physics for : “for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources")
The University is recognized around the world for accomplishments such as:
UC takes a global role in developing new industries – from nanotechnology to digital media to green technology.
UC develops more patents than any other university in the nation and has held that top spot for the past 15 years.
UC awards 7 percent of the nation’s Ph.D.s, more than Stanford, Harvard, Yale and other Ivy League universities.
UC graduates more than 55,000 students a year, over 40,000 of which are undergraduates.
UC has the highest proportion of low-income students among the country’s top research universities.
(Reference for UC Start-up:
Reference for UC Nobel Prizes:
Reference for UC Libraries:
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6. Exciting UC Programs Education Abroad Program (EAP)
Study in your choice of over 40 countries
UCDC/UC Sacramento Center Study our government in Washington D.C. or Sacramento
Intercampus Visitor Program Take courses at another UC for up to a year
Undergraduate Research Research is not just for science majors!
Work-Learn Programs/Internships Earn money while putting your education to use
There are so many opportunities that UC students can take advantage of, and here’s just a few:
Study Abroad – Education Abroad Program, offered in over 40 countries
UCDC and UC Sacramento – Get a taste of studying in the nation’s capital or the state’s capital
Intercampus Visitor – take advantage of studying for a term at another UC campus
Undergraduate Research – undergraduates can be a part of original research, and it’s across all disciplines, not just in the sciences and engineering.
Work-Learn Programs / Internships – multitudes of work experience programs
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7. Admission to UC

8. ACT with Writing or SAT with Essay
Minimum Admission Requirements
Subject
Years Required A.
History/social science
2 years B.
English
4 years C.
Mathematics
3 years D.
Laboratory science E.
Language other than English F.
Visual and performing arts
1 year G.
College-preparatory elective
Exam Requirement
ACT with Writing or SAT with Essay
These are the minimum qualifications for a freshman applicant.
Complete a specified pattern of college preparatory coursework known as the ‘a-g’ pattern. Please note that these are the minimum number of courses needed; most applicants present additional courses in many of these areas. In order to be a more competitive applicant, we encourage the completion of additional approved courses in as many subject areas in which you are interested and/or is as are available to you.
Your can view the UC approved (‘a-g’) course list for California high schools/community colleges on the UC web site: ( ). [Note: UC does not review/approve courses from outside of California; nonresidents can however select any CA list to gain a sense of the types of courses acceptable to UC.]
Earn a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all ‘a-g’ courses; we calculate your GPA on all of your sophomore and junior year “a-g” courses; not just on the minimums. Non-residents of CA need a minimum 3.40 GPA.
Complete the ACT with Writing or the SAT exam no later than December of your senior year.
Note: UC will accept either the “old” SAT or the “new” SAT with essay for applicants applying through the fall 2019 application filing period.
UC has no preference for one exam over the other.
Students are encouraged (but not required) to submit all exam results as UC will only use the highest ACT composite, or total SAT (from one test administration date) to the applicant’s advantage.
Some SAT subject tests may be recommended, but none are required. Recommendations can be found on our website. The web address appears on a slide at the end of this presentation.
GPA Requirement
California Resident
Non-Resident
3.0
3.4
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9. Systemwide Guarantees for Freshman Applicants
Statewide Path
Top 9% of California high school graduates
Applicants must meet general requirements and have a high score on UC admission index
Local Path
Top 9% of students in local high school
Applicants must have a 3.0 GPA or better in a specific set of courses
Applicants meet 9% benchmark GPA for the high school
UC has an historic guarantee for students that are residents of California. If you meet the qualifications for UC, either through the Statewide Path or the Local Path, we will guarantee admission to one of our campuses, provided that state funding is available and if you are not offered admission to any of the UC campuses to which you applied. We do not guarantee a specific UC campus.
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10. Requirements vs. Selection
Every UC Campus
Receives the same application
Reviews for minimum requirements
Reviews for admission individually using content of the application
There is a difference, however, between meeting the minimum admission requirements and being selected for admission. It’s important to note that each campus will receive the same application, and they’ll all review to make sure you’ve met the minimum admission requirements that we discussed above.
However, each campus will complete that review independently of one another, which means that they’re going to review your application using what you’ve put in your application and they’re going to do so without asking what the other campuses have decided. So UCLA won’t say to Riverside, “Hey, did you decide to admit this student? You did? Okay, well then we won’t.”
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11. Comprehensive Review Campuses Look For
Strong grades, test scores & course preparation
A comprehensive educational experience
Assess Student Within Context
Educational environment
Available resources and opportunities
Not just from responses to the personal insight questions.
In general, campuses are looking for well qualified students, which is hard to define. More specifically, we’re looking for students who are prepared academically (this is certainly the most important aspect of an application), but we’re also looking for students who have had a comprehensive or well-rounded educational experience. In other words, we’re looking for students who have taken advantage of the educational opportunities presented to them both inside and outside of the classroom.
We’re also going to look at a student’s achievement within the context of their educational environment and the resources and opportunities that were available to them. This is found in a number of areas of the application, not just your responses to the personal insight questions.
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12. Freshman Comprehensive Review
Grade-Point Average
Test Scores
Courses Completed/Planned
Honors Courses
Top 9% Local Context (ELC)
Quality of Senior-Year Program of Study
Academic Opportunities in California High Schools
Performance in Academic Subject Areas
Achievements in Special Projects
Improvement in Academic Performance
Special Talents, Achievements, and Awards
Participation in Educational Preparation Programs
Academic Accomplishment Within Life Experiences
Geographic Location
To give you a better idea of what we’re looking at when we say a “Comprehensive Review,” the above slides outline the 14 criteria that we use to evaluate an application. You’ll notice that there’s a heavy focus on academics, but there’s also a number of criteria that are more subjective. These are the criteria for freshman applicants.
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13. Transfer Admission
30 percent of UC undergraduates are transfers, most entering at the junior level
Six campuses have Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) programs with all 113 California community colleges
Prepare early - Use these online resources to help you:
ASSIST- assist.org
UC Transfer Admission Planner (UCTAP)
uctap.universityofcalifornia.edu
UC also has a very strong transfer population.
Roughly 30% of UC undergraduates are transfers, which is far greater than any comparable research institution. This is a great path to UC for many students.
Many students consider joining our campuses as junior-level transfer students. We welcome transfer students to all our campuses; in fact, the highest priority is given to students transferring from CA community colleges. 80% of the transfer students we admit come from a CCC.
Prepare early – Start thinking about the necessary steps for UC admission your first year and use these online resources to help you prepare:
Assist.org - This statewide transfer student information site is a great resource for understanding what you need to do and how you need to it.
Transfer admission planner: TAP is an online tool to help prospective UC transfer students track and plan their course work.
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14. Additional Requirements
Minimum Transfer Requirements
Seven-course pattern:
Two transferable courses in English composition
One transferable course in mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning
Four transferable courses chosen from at least two areas of arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and physical and biological sciences
Additional Requirements
Units
60 Semester/90 quarter units of UC-transferable coursework
GPA
CA resident: 2.4 minimum
Nonresident: 2.8 minimum
Courses
Major preparation and general education coursework
The minimum requirements for transfers are a little different than for freshmen. First, a student must take a seven-course pattern of two courses in English composition, one course in mathematical concepts and four courses taken from among two different subject areas, chosen from arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and physical and biological sciences.
In total, students need to take a minimum of 60 semester or 90 quarter units of UC-transferable coursework and they must achieve a minimum of a 2.4 GPA if they’re a California resident.
Meeting these basic requirements doesn’t guarantee admission to a campus or major of your choice. To be competitive, students should focus on meeting the requirements for the campuses and majors you’re interested in. Specifically, you should focus on completing the major preparation courses and the general education requirements at the lower-division level.
To find out more about what courses are required for any major at any campus, and which courses you should take at your community college, go to Assist.org.
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15. Transfer Pathways
Outline courses to take to prepare for transfer to ANY UC campus for 21 of the most popular transfer majors:
Anthropology History
Biochemistry Mathematics
Biology Mechanical Engineering
Business Administration Molecular Biology
Cell Biology Philosophy
Chemistry Physics
Communication Political Science
Computer Science Psychology
Economics Sociology
Electrical Engineering
English
Film and Media Studies
UC Transfer Pathways is for students who want to transfer to multiple UC campuses. The Transfer Pathways will help students who know what they want to study take a common set of courses at their community college that will be acceptable for the pathway major at ANY UC campus.
There are 21 pathways for the most popular transfer majors. You’ll also notice on our website that all of the “bio” majors (Biochem, Bio, Cell Bio, and Mol Bio) have the same life sciences pathway.
If you’re a community college student, this will help you narrow down the courses you have to take to prepare for multiple campuses. No campus will require more than this set of courses for admission, but it’s important to note that they will vary in their selectivity in terms of GPA requirements, so it’s still important to review the admissions website for the campuses you’re interested in to see if there is specific information on their selection criteria.
For majors not included in the pathways, use the detailed information available on the ASSIST website.
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16. Transfer Comprehensive Review
Grade Point Average in all transferable courses
Completion of courses to meet major preparation
Completion of courses to meet breadth requirements
Participation in academic honors courses or programs
Completion of an associate degree for transfer offered by a California community college
Special talents, achievements, and awards
Completion of special projects
Academic accomplishment within life experiences
Geographic location
Completion of a UC Transfer Pathway
Similar to freshmen, transfer applicants also go through a comprehensive review. Here are the criteria.
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17. Personal insight questions
Applicants must respond to 4 prompts.
Each response is a max of 350 words
View as personal interview on paper
Talking Points:
Responses to the Personal Insight Questions play an important part in the admission review process. The student’s selection of questions should be based on which questions are more applicable to the individual. The responses provide additional context for information provided in the rest of the application.
Each question addresses one or more of the comprehensive review factors
Freshman applicants select 4 questions out of 8 offered. They may select any 4 that they choose. There are no questions that “weigh’ more than others.
Transfer applicants must respond to a mandatory question about their choice of major because preparation and interest in the major is one of the 10 transfer comprehensive review factors we consider and is an important part of the selection process.
Transfer applicants are then free to select and respond to any 3 of the 7 remaining questions.
This is a student’s opportunity to showcase special talent, leadership, initiative, intellectual curiosity, etc.
And/or it can be used to present any opportunities, achievements, obstacles, and/or special circumstances.
Students should also be aware that there is an “Additional Comments” sections after the academic record where students can explain anomalies in their academic record (such as decreasing or improved grade trends, missing courses, unique grading systems, etc.).
There is also another additional comments section after the personal insight questions. This is a great location for students to let us know about anything else they haven’t had a chance to tell us about through the rest of the application. Note there is a word limit of 550 in each of the additional comments section. Students shouldn’t feel compelled to provide additional comments unless there is something important they could not tell us in the rest of the application. [NOTE: The purpose of the additional comments boxes is NOT to respond to another personal insight question – it will not be read.]
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18. Applying for Admission
Application available: August 1
Application Period: November 1-30
Application Fee: $70 (fee waiver available)/$80 International
UC does NOT have an Early Action or Early Decision process
Apply broadly across the system to the campuses that interest you!
Applying for Admission:
UC Application is available starting on August 1st but a student may not submit an application until November 1st.
One application to apply to each of the 9 undergraduate campuses of UC.
Application Fee= $70 domestic residents; $80 for International per campus
Application fee waivers are available for California residents – up to four campuses.
Fee waiver for low-income students/families for up to 4 campuses, available online as part of the application
Applications are not necessarily reviewed in the order in which they are submitted. (So students that submit on
Nov. 1st will not be reviewed any earlier than students who submit on Nov. 30th.)
Admission notifications begin in March of the following year for freshmen, and April for Transfers.
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19. Paying for UC

20. Financing a UC education is a partnership between the student, his or her parents and UC.
Talking Points:
UC financial aid philosophy is that paying for college is a partnership.
Parents are expected to contribute to the extent they are able from current income, savings and/or borrowing.
Students are expected to contribute to their education by working and taking out student loans.
We provide grants and scholarships from state, federal, and UC sources into fill in the rest.
There are other tools to help you pay for school, regardless of your income level, including non-need based loans, parent loans, and payment plans.
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21. Average UC Cost of Attendance (2016-17)
The actual cost for most students and parents is much less than the “sticker price.”
Over half of California students pay no systemwide tuition and fees because they are covered by grants or scholarships.
Talking Points:
The cost of attending college is more than tuition. You should also think about the costs of books and supplies, room and board, travel, and personal expenses.
For , the average UC cost of living on-campus is expected to be $34,600.
That includes $13,500 in tuition and fees, which you’ll notice are not the biggest expense.
The good thing is that UC’s strong financial aid programs take all these costs into account.
Most families will not pay this full price.
In fact, over half of UC’s California resident students pay no systemwide tuition and fees at all because they are covered by grants and scholarships.
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22. universityofcalifornia.edu/blueandgold
Blue + Gold Opportunity Plan
Guarantees that UC tuition will be covered by grants and/or scholarships for California students from families with incomes of $80,000 or less who have need.
universityofcalifornia.edu/blueandgold
Furthermore, low- and middle-income students may qualify for help to cover other costs as well. Two-thirds of UC students receive some gift aid (grants or scholarships that do not need to be repaid) averaging $16,600.
Talking Points:
The Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan is a university-sponsored guarantee for undergraduate students who are in their first four years of attendance at UC -- or two for transfer students.
The plan is intended to expand access to and address concerns about funding levels from the University for lower-income students by establishing a minimum level of grant aid for undergraduates with financial need and household incomes at or below $80,000.
The Blue and Gold is a promise that all systemwide education and registration fees will be covered by grant or scholarship. [Note: Other fees, including campus fees, are not covered under the Blue and Gold.]
To qualify, students must be California residents and meet other basic eligibility requirements for need-based financial aid, including meeting the March 2nd FAFSA deadline.
We need to stress that this is the minimum commitment. UC provides financial aid for other costs as well. Two-thirds of UC students receive grant and scholarship, which averages $16,600. That’s $3,000 more than the tuition and fees figure we saw on the last slide.
In California, we also have the Middle Income Scholarship, which helps families who make more than the $80,000 threshold for the Blue & Gold scholarship help pay for college.
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23. Apply for Financial Aid!
New this year! Filing period for financial aid starts October 1
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Opens doors for federal, state, and UC financial aid
Auto-fill your financial info from the IRS
Priority deadline: March 2
Application: fafsa.ed.gov
California Dream Act Application
For CA undocumented students
Opens doors for state and UC financial aid
Priority deadline: March 2
Application: csac.ca.gov
Talking Points:
All students should file an application for financial aid. Many families who don’t think they will qualify for financial assistance do! There is only one way to find out!
2. Furthermore, even if you don’t qualify for need-based financial aid, it will give you access to non-need based student and parent loans.
3. New this year, the financial aid application opens in fall. For student applying for Fall 2017 admission, they can file their FAFSA or Dream Application at the same time they apply for admission in October! (Keeping in mind that the admission application opens on August 1st)
4. Be sure to meet the March 2nd priority deadline.
5. Students who are themselves undocumented should complete a California Dream Act Application. [Note: Students who are documented but whose parents are not should file a FAFSA.]
universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/cost/index.html
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24. Useful links Local Path (ELC)
General admission information
UC Admission Selection Process for Freshman
UC Admission Selection Process for Transfers
admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/reviewed/index.html
Personal insight questions
Application procedures
A-G Course List
Determine which courses transfer from a community college
Local Path (ELC)
You rank in the top 9% of your high school class based on UC calculations
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25. More useful links Local Path (ELC)
Transfer Pathways
ACT Registration
SAT Registration
SAT Subject Test recommendations
Local Path (ELC)
You rank in the top 9% of your high school class based on UC calculations
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26. Financial aid and scholarship information
UC Financial Aid information
universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/index.html
UC Resources for Undocumented Students
undoc.universityofcalifornia.edu/
Middle Class Scholarship
universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/glossary/middle-class- scholarship/index.html
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
California Dream Act Application
dream.csac.ca.gov
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27. We wish you great success!