I can’t find any info on their site concerning a gap year, if I applied before my gap year and was accepted, could I defer my admission for a year to take a gap year?
UC’s rarely give deferrals (mainly for Military purposes) and each is evaluated on a case by case basis. It is worth contacting them to ask, but I would expect them to decline and say you will need to reapply next year if you plan to take a Gap year. Explaining what you plan to do during your Gap might help sway them.