It’s November, which means it’s time to focus on the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) applications. We have some great resources for you!
The UC and CSU systems have their own independent application platforms; neither of them is on the Common Application.
If you’re interested in any of the 9 undergraduate UC campuses, or the 22 campues within the Cal State system, watch the video to the right for tons of information about how they review applications and how to apply!
Basics About the UC Application
The UC application has its own platform and is a little bit different from most other college applications. Here are a few important things to keep in mind:
- You can apply to any or all of the nine undergraduate campuses through this application; you’ll pay an application fee of $80 per campus.
- The campuses to which you apply do not know which other campuses you’re applying to, and each campus will consider your application separately from the others.
- You will self-report all of your high school courses and grades from 9th through 12th grade, plus college courses if you’ve taken any. You’ll also report any high school level math (algebra 1 or above) and any foreign language you took in 7th or 8th grade. The UCs will not receive your transcript during the application process (if you enroll at a UC campus, you’ll need to send your transcript after you graduate from high school).
- The UCs do not ask for or accept teacher or outside letters of recommendation.
- The UCs give you 8 “Personal Insight Questions” and you must choose four of them to respond to. The word limit is 350 words per response. They very much do not consider these to be “essays!” They’re questions, and they are looking for a straightforward response, very different from the image-filled and flowery writing you may have chosen to write in for your personal statement for other college applications.
- If you’re applying to UC San Diego, the application requires you to rank your top four of their residential colleges. What the heck does that mean? More about how to do this here.
More About Applying to the UCs
We’ve shared lots of information in the past about the UC application process:
- This article breaks down all the factors the UC system considers in applications (it’s long, but it has important information for you to know if you’re working hard to earn admission to a UC campus!)
- This article is shorter and gives you some quick top tips on applying to the UCs
- Watch the short video in this post, and you’ll get some context as to why it’s so hard to get into the UCs! We know it’s frustrating, but California is a big state with a half million graduating high school seniors each year.
- This webinar from UC Santa Barbara Director of Admission Cuca Acosta will walk you through the UC Personal Insight Questions (tip: they’re not essays!)
- You can look up your classes on this website to find out if the UC system considers them weighted for GPA purposes.
Differences between UC and Cal State Applications
Last spring, we had a great conversation with admission counselors from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly Humboldt, and they walk us through the Cal State application step by step. We do talk a bit about impacted majors and campuses in the Cal State University system, and you can find more information about that here.
Finally, Michelle Silbernagel and I shared our tips for applying to the UCs during a visit to UC Irvine. As noted above, the main differences between the UC and Cal State applications (both on their own separate platforms) are that the UCs take a more holistic approach, asking students to submit responses to four of their eight “Personal Insight Questions,” as well as detailed descriptions of the activities in which they’ve participated throughout high school. You’ll also find another detailed breakdown of the UC application here.
We hope these conversationsare helpful to you! We’re passionate about helping students and families find the colleges that fit them academically, socially and emotionally – and financially! If you or your child need some help working through the college search and application experience, please feel free to get in touch with us.