University of California - Admissions

Admissions

Each UC school handles admissions separately, but a student wishing to apply for undergraduate admission uses one application for all UCs. If it is not already in electronic form, the application is then scanned into a computer and distributed to the individual campus undergraduate admission offices. Graduate and professional school admissions are handled directly by each department or program to which one applies.

Prior to 1986, students who wished to apply to a UC for undergraduate study could only apply to one campus. Students rejected at that campus, but who otherwise met the UC minimum eligibility requirements were redirected to another campus with available space. Students who did not wish to be redirected were refunded their application. In 1986, that system changed to the current "multiple filing" system, in which students can apply to as many or as few UC campuses as they want on one application, paying a fee for each campus. This significantly increased the numbers of applications to the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses, since students could choose a campus to attend after they received acceptance letters, without fear of being redirected to a campus they did not want to attend.

The University of California accepts fully eligible students from among the top eighth of California public high school graduates through regular statewide admission, or the top 4% of any given high school class through Eligibility in the Local Context (see below). All eligible California high school students who apply are accepted to the University, though not necessarily to the campus of choice. Eligible students who are not accepted to the campus(es) of their choice are placed in the "referral pool", where campuses with open space may offer admission to those students; in 2003, 10% of students who received an offer through this referral process accepted it. In 2007, about 4,100 UC-eligible students who were not offered admission to their campus of choice were referred to UCR and UC Merced, the system's newest campus.

The old Undergraduate admissions are conducted on a two-phase basis. In the first phase, students are admitted based solely on academic achievement. This accounts for between 50 to 75% of the admissions. In the second phase, the university conducts a "comprehensive review" of the student's achievements, including extracurricular activities, essay, family history, and life challenges, to admit the remainder. Very rarely, students who do not qualify for regular admission are "admitted by exception." In 2002, approximately 2% of newly admitted undergraduates were admitted by exception.

Since then, UC campuses have been evaluating students under "comprehensive review", based on these 14 factors:

1. Academic grade point average in all completed "a-g" courses, including additional points for completed University-certified honors courses.
2. Scores on the ACT Assessment plus Writing or SAT Reasoning Test, and two SAT Subject Tests.
3. Number of, content of and performance in academic courses beyond the minimum "a-g" requirements
4. Number of and performance in University-approved honors courses and Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and transferable college courses.
5. Identification by UC as being ranked in the top 4 percent of the student's high school class at the end of his or her junior year ("eligible in the local context" or ELC).
6. Quality of the student's senior-year program, as measured by the type and number of academic courses in progress or planned.
7. Quality of the student's academic performance relative to the educational opportunities available in his or her high school.
8. Outstanding performance in one or more academic subject areas.
9. Outstanding work in one or more special projects in any academic field of study.
10. Recent, marked improvement in academic performance, as demonstrated by academic GPA and the quality of coursework completed or in progress.
11. Special talents, achievements and awards in a particular field, such as visual and performing arts, communication or athletic endeavors; special skills, such as demonstrated written and oral proficiency in other languages; special interests, such as intensive study and exploration of other cultures; experiences that demonstrate unusual promise for leadership, such as significant community service or significant participation in student government; or other significant experiences or achievements that demonstrate the student's promise for contributing to the intellectual vitality of a campus.
12. Completion of special projects undertaken in the context of the student's high school curriculum or in conjunction with special school events, projects or programs.
13. Academic accomplishments in light of the student's life experiences and special circumstances.
14. Location of the student's secondary school and residence.

The process for determining admissions varies. At some campuses, such as Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Santa Cruz, a point system is used to weight grade point average, SAT Reasoning or ACT scores, and SAT Subject scores, while at Davis, Berkeley, Irvine, and Los Angeles, academic achievement is examined in the context of the school and the surrounding community.

Race, gender, national origin, and ethnicity have not been used as UC admission criteria since the passing of Proposition 209. However, this information is collected for statistical purposes.