Freshman Admission

Admission to the University of California is a two-step process:

1. Eligibility: To be eligible, students must meet the minimum requirements the University has established to ensure incoming students are prepared for university-level work. UC guarantees a place on one of its campuses to all eligible California residents who apply on time, although not necessarily to the campus or program of choice.

2. Selection: When campuses receive applications from more eligible students than they can admit, as is most often the case, they use factors that go beyond the minimum admission requirements to select students. This process is called comprehensive review.

Freshman admission requirements

You are considered a freshman applicant if you are still in high school or have graduated from high school but have not enrolled in a regular session (i.e., a session other than summer) at any college or university.

California freshman applicants can become eligible in three ways:

• Eligibility in the Statewide Context — Students who meet minimum requirements for coursework, grade point average, and test scores are eligible for UC by this path.

• Eligibility in the Local Context (E L C) — Students who rank in the top 4 percent of a participating California high school's graduating class are eligible for UC through this path.

• Eligibility by Examination Alone — Students can also qualify for admission by achieving high scores on two SAT Subject Tests in different subject areas and either the ACT Assessment with Writing or SAT Reasoning Test.

Because most campuses receive applications from more eligible students than they have space for, meeting the minimum requirements for any of these paths may not be enough to gain admission to the campus of your choice. There may be different degree programs at several UC campuses that can help you reach career goals; knowing what they are will give you more options when you apply. Students who research and apply to several campuses are more likely to be admitted to a campus they know they want to attend.

• Learn about the freshman selection criteria for each campus.
• See the freshman admission profiles to learn more about who is admitted to UC.
• Important dates and deadlines are available here.

Freshman admission requirements for students from other countries (international students)

Information for international students is available on the University of California website.