Dear students (and parents), 
The University of California application filing period has just started. I think there is no better way to help you through the process than devoting this newsletter entirely to the UC admissions. It contains much useful information about admissions timeline, financial aid timeline, eligibility calculation, testing requirements, admissions policy update, quick facts, and useful resources.
Admissions Timeline:
- The filing period is November 1-30 (for Fall 2009 Enrollment).
- Admissions decisions are sent out between March 1 and March 30.
- All campuses provide online access to admissions decisions-students receive e-mail with instructions.
- Students must submit Statement of Intent to Register to one campus by May 1.
- Official high school and college records are due at enrolling campus by July 15.
Financial Aid Timeline:
Federal Student Aid: Students who wish to be considered for need-based as well as honorary scholarships must also submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) between
Jan. 1 and March 2, 2009,
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.
California Student Aid: Funded by the state of California and administered by the California Student Aid Commission, Cal Grants can reduce your college bill by as much as $9,700 a year. The GPA verification form is due by
March 2. You can follow all the steps,
http://www.calgrant.org/index.cfm?navId=21.
UC Eligibility Calculation
Use the online calculator to convert your SAT and/or ACT scores to UC Scores.
But before you do the calculation, you must know the following:
- Points for UC approved honors courses capped at 4 yearlong courses (8 semesters). No more than 2 year long courses (4 semesters) of honors credit may be applied to courses completed in 10th grade.
- Calculate your GPA for the UC approved a-g courses for grades 10 and 11. To get the correct GPA, you must first know what honors courses have been approved for extra credit in your high school. Go to https://doorways.ucop.edu/list.
- If you have taken community college courses, make sure the courses are considered "transferable" college courses in order for you to get extra credit. Go to ASSIST, an online course-transfer information system that shows how course credits earned at a local college can be applied when transferred to another, http://www.assist.org/web-assist/welcome.html.
Testing Requirements:
- Deadline for completing all admissions tests is December 2008
- UC requires official test scores sent directly from the testing agency
- UC uses the highest total score from a single test administration
- ACT Assessment with Writing or SAT Reasoning Test, and 2 SAT Subject Tests in 2 any different areas, chosen from history, literature, mathematics (Level 2 only), science or foreign language, required. Please note: Some programs/majors at some campuses have a preferred SAT Subject Test pattern.
Admissions Policy Update:
Currently, the University accepts approved online courses from UCCP, Cyber High and if principal certifies the course to be a college-preparatory course. Recently, faculty has approved UCI Extension, National University HS, and Stanford University's online program to count for meeting a-g requirements.
- 95,600 (approx.) students applied to UC
- 55,000 (approx.) were admitted
- 35,000 (approx.) California residents enrolled
- 38.9% enrolled students are Asian Americans
Useful Resources:
StatFinder
http://statfinder.ucop.edu
This is an online, interactive web tool for providing data from 1994 through 2007 on UC undergraduate admissions, graduation rates, time-to-degree and GPA
Order UC Publications
http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/ucnotes/form_ucpubs.html
All best wishes,
Wan Qiu Chen
College Admissions Consultant
Helping you get in!
