Starting with the fall 2023 application cycle, UC will extend the application submission period. You will be able to submit your UC application between October 1 - November 30.
The application deadline will not change.
It’s that time of year again as the UC application will open on August 1 and submission starts October 1 as noted above. I am @Gumbymom one of the two UC Forum Champions/Moderators. My Co-Forum Champion is @lkg4answers and we are knowledgeable on the increasingly complicated UC admissions process and hopefully we can help any prospective UC applicants with their questions.
If you have General UC questions, then this discussion can be used as your sounding board. If you have questions to any specific UC campus, then there will be a 2026 Discussion Thread available for each campus.
UCSB has many helpful tutorials (posted on YouTube) on filling out the UC application and tips on how best to present yourself on the application.
When asking questions, please use your UC GPAs. To calculate your UC GPAs, first look up your school’s courses to confirm whether or not you received an honors bump for the classes you took. University of California A-G Course List. Many traditional freshman and sophomore honors classes do not receive an honors bump in GPA and it is variable from school to school.
We have a question about the UC application. Is this the right place to ask?
My son has transcripts from two different colleges, but he only took 1-unit courses at these colleges. (The units are UC/CSU transferable.)
The “Colleges attended in high school” section states:
“You must enter all colleges you’ve attended while in high school—regardless of how long you attended, whether courses were completed or whether you believe your record will affect your chances for admission.”
However, the “College courses taken in high school” page states (emphasis mine):
“Please report all grades you received for all academic courses you enrolled in, including withdrawals, incompletes and courses you may have repeated at a later date. Do not list athletic courses or courses that are under 3 units (courses under 3 units do not satisfy the UC “a-g” subject area requirements).”
Does this mean that he is required to list the two colleges, but he should not list any courses taken at the colleges? It seems like this would look strange on the application!
Edited to add: Should he add an explanation in the “Additional Information” section under Academic History?
So according to Assist.org the 2 one unit courses are UC/CSU transferable correct? The UC application academic history only wants a-g courses taken to be listed.
Coursework Other than A-G - Academic courses that do not fit in the “a-g” categories of history/social science, English, math, laboratory science, language other than English (foreign language), and/or visual and performing art should be reported in this section. Examples include leadership courses or religion courses. Do not include non-academic courses, such as PE, office/teacher assistant, etc.
So based on the restrictions of not reporting the courses due to the 1 unit credit, I would make a note in the Additional Information section, the course titles and which course was taken at which college and list the colleges attended in the appropriate section.
You might want to confirm with the UC application customer service:
I understand in wanting to be complete. I would list the 2 colleges and then explain in the additional information section. If any of the UC’s have specific questions, they can always ask for a copy of the transcripts.
My 12th grade daughter attended Pre-college Credit courses at CMU during summer. She has Letter grades on those two courses, will that be used to calculate UC GPA?
Thanks!
If the courses are UC transferable a-g courses, yes they will be included in the UC GPA calculation and need to be listed on the UC application. The UC GPA calculation uses approved courses taken the summer after 9th grade through the summer prior to 12th grade.
If you are unsure they are UC transferable, you will still need to list them and allow UC admissions to make that determination.
In the “Activities & Awards” section, the order DD entered seems to stick (both on screen and the printed draft). Does anyone know (perhaps from last year) if this order sticks for the final copy used by admissions officers?
With 20 slots available, do you recommend listing even the insignificant activities (e.g. Running Club freshman year only)?
Is there a requirement to fulfill the “G” college elective course load? (may have to talk to a school counselor asap if this is true).
DD took two summer AP courses and is planning to take the AP tests next spring (will mark accordingly in the UC app). What happens if she does not take them? Will her offer get rescinded if she doesn’t and submits her AP scores next July 2023?
DD missed two AP exams last spring due to illness. By next July, she will have a total of 12 out of 14 AP exams reported. Should she explain this (highlighting this gap) or do you advise we ignore this because it will be glossed over by the admissions officers?
We’re seeking advice because with UC’s being SAT test-blind this year, they’ve stated that course rigor and AP scores are now being looked at more (not sure how though).
To answer your question 3, page 12 states that the “G” requirement can be satisfied by “one year (two semesters) beyond those required in A-F areas above.” So you don’t need to take a course that is specifically classified as G in the course list for your high school (although you can), because “G” is satisfied by taking additional A-F courses.
This is copied from another post but answered by @lkg4answers regarding the activities and award section:
The activities and awards section should be created on a Word doc and copy and pasted onto the application. There are no arrows to move listings up or down after they are completed. The same holds true for the PIQ - they should be typed onto a Word doc and copy and pasted when you are ready to submit.
You can use all 20 slots but make sure the most relevant activities are listed. Many times less is more….
As noted by @tamagotchi, Category G can be fulfilled with any extra courses over the minimum requirements in Categories A-F.
UC’s do not rescind for not taking AP exams listed on the UC application, however several UC campuses would like to be notified if a student lists them but ends up not taking them.
No explanation for not taking the AP exams due to illness. Depending upon the UC campus, students will not take the AP exams if they will not garner any credit.
AP exam scores are considered but the actual grade in the AP class is more important.
Excellent! @tamagotchi thank you so much for this guide! Very helpful! I believe her one-year of Journalism course will count towards this requirement. Thanks!
Thank you so much @Gumbymom! You were extremely helpful and trustworthy back in 2018 when my DS was going through this (now in his final year at UCLA), and you continue to be so helpful. Thanks again!
Is there a way to save a copy of our UC application after we submit it? I am assuming that once it is submitted there won’t be any access to view it, correct?
I would print out a copy of the application and you will have access to the application after submission by logging into the UC application website if you would like to review.
After submission, if necessary, you can change your telephone number, email, mailing address or exam scores. You can also apply to additional campuses if they’re still open.