University of California: Updates & Info
The UC recently emailed high school counselors about changes for this year’s admission cycle. Here is a quick glance!
Dates & deadlines
August 1: Fall 2020 application opens
October 1: Financial aid: FAFSA and Cal Grant Verification Form opens for applicants to all terms
November 1-30: Submission period for the fall 2020 application
Campuses & Majors
UC Merced, UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz are accepting transfer applications for Winter Quarter / Spring Semester 2021. The filing period is July 1-31.
Each UC campus has its own set of majors
Some majors require you to submit supplemental application materials
Application Requirements - Updated for COVID19
Academic History – UC will allow pass/credit grades for A-G courses during COVID-19 impacted terms of winter, spring and summer of 2020.
Activities & awards –The character count for activity descriptions is reduced to 350 characters (from 500), and the character count for award requirements, use of work earnings, and organization descriptions is 250 characters (from 500).
The UC permits you to use up to 20 spaces to describe your activities, awards, etc. That much space means - it’s of course of vital importance that you continue being active in whatever ways you can, in your extracurricular activities (EA). Here are some posts about what can make your EAs more meaningful along with 50 examples of what they could be and how you can take advantage of your shelter-in-place conditions to set up great new habits! If you are lagging, and need some summer EAs ASAP, here’s the post for you!
Test Scores – ACT and SAT are optional for Fall 2021. Official score reports are not necessary. Order and send official scores only prior to enrollment.(For more information on changes to UC testing policy, see the press release.)
You are also welcome to read our blog post about the timelines/details of how the UC plans to handle standardized tests over the next five years.
Writing Scores – Applicants will not be asked to report ACT Writing and SAT Essay scores on the application.
Personal Insight Questions – No changes for Fall 2021.
Applicants must answer 4 Personal Insight Questions, and choose them from eight (8) options. That means, yes, you must choose four topics to write about - YOURSELF. If you have never written about yourself before - please use this summer to jump-start the process!!! Be sure to spend plenty of time on this writing process so that admissions readers can learn about you, and see you as a whole person - and not just a bunch of records. This is especially true now that the UC is not looking at test scores in this application season.
Hope you enjoyed a quick journey through the UC’s most recent updates about admissions and applications!!!