The online application usually becomes available during the first week of October. I recommend you start on the application as soon as possible so you can fill in the general information and look at what other data that you will need to gather to complete the application. Make sure you use a "respectable" email address. Email addresses like "foxylady47" or "deathmetaldude" do raise some questions. Whatever email account you use, check it on the regular basis. Most UCs have moved a majority of the application and enrollment communication online, so questions about your application and invitations to apply for housing or orientation will likely come through email. UCs also send snail mail if there is no response by email, but that will usually add another couple of weeks of delay.

Complete Your Brag Sheet

I developed this brag sheet to help you think about how to write your UC personal statement. You can also use it to help you fill out the application.

Brag sheet is mandatory if you want me to work with you on your personal statement. Please click on the "Services" tab above to see the Premium and Free services I offer.

To prepare a Ms. Sun's Special Home Made Brag Sheet for Freshman Applicants, you will need:

A list of everything you do outside of school starting from your freshman year in high school to what you project you will be doing to the end of senior year

Include things like:

sports
church or temple activities
Sunday/Chinese/Hebrew schools
clubs or student government
music/dance/art lessons
volunteering or community service
competitions of any kind
recognition by any organization
jobs (even if you work "under the table")
hefty chores (caring for your siblings for more than 4-5 hours per day, having to cook for the family, having to pay bills and balance household finances, etc.)

Exclude things like:

sleeping
brushing your teeth
shopping
texting

The name of your high school and the city where it is located (for CA only; this enables me to look up the UC-approved curriculum of your high school online in order to evaluate the rigor of your course schedule)
List the a-g courses you completed between 9th and 11th grade, the grades you received, and your planned 12th grade schedule (denote the UC-approved Honors, AP, IB, and/or community college courses on your list)
Scores for SAT Reasoning, ACT plus Writing Assessment, SAT Subject Tests, and/or AP exams
List and explain the two proudest things you achieved in high school and two most disappointing things that happened in high school (and not about the Homecoming Dance or your significant other)
Any medical/family/personal situations or problems you intend to discuss in your personal statement
I strongly encourage you to disclose situations such as learning disabilities, deaths in the family (during high school), divorce, working illegally (under the table) and/or abuse in your personal statement and how they impacted your academic performance and/or extracurricular participation
A list of all the colleges to which you are interested in applying
What you expect to major in college and what you want to do with that major when you graduate. If you don't know what you want to major, then what fields do you think you may be interested in pursuing and what do you think you might want to do in those fields?
What legacy do you want to leave behind? What is the one thing you want people to remember about you?
The UCSB Personal Statement Worksheet
Please answer the questions on page 2 of the PDF form.

Personal Statement Writing Guidelines

The UC personal statement prompts change every few years; if they were to change, it will usually happen by late summer, before September. Make sure you check the current personal statement prompts before starting your personal statement.

I strongly encourage you to follow some kind of writing process. While a personal statement is not your regular English paper, it should, at the very least, have a central idea, evidence to support the idea, and transition from paragraph to paragraph. Please do NOT use essays that you wrote in your English class as your personal statement. English teachers tend to dissuade students from using first-person perspective, narrating, or getting into descriptive details, and these are precisely the type of tools that help make a personal statement successful.

Prompt 1 for Freshman Applicants

The way Prompt 1 is worded can be a bit misleading. According to what I heard from Berkeley admissions, application evaluators (or at the very least, Berkeley and Irvine - confirmed by a student who attended a seminar at Irvine) want you to discuss your dreams and aspirations, and what you have done so far to achieve those dreams and aspirations. While it is important for you to define your world, you should NOT use your personal statement to describe your family, school or community.

I recommend approaching the first prompt by figuring out what your world is, what your dreams/aspirations are, and what you have done in the context of your world to achieve those dreams/aspirations.

Your world can have physical boundaries (for example, your bedroom, the church prayer room, or the community center) or mental boundaries (for example, your upbringing or cultural tradition). Another way to think about your world is by imagining yourself as a fish; are you in a fishbowl, a stream, a pond, or an ocean?

Your dreams and aspirations can be broad or specific; perhaps you aspire to help people (broad) or maybe your dream is to be a TB specialist serving with Doctor Without Borders in Somalia (specific). Either way, you should discuss how your achievements (academic and/or extracurricular, within the context of your world) have helped you move toward achieving that dream/aspiration. You also want to consider talking about how you plan to continue these achievements in college.

Whatever you choose to discuss in this prompt, remember the main focus should be on YOU; what you have accomplished, what your goals are for the future, and why you will succeed (in life and/or in college).

Prompt 2 for All Applicants

Prompt 2 is a way for you to showcase something about yourself that makes you stand out from your peers. You can do that by discussing a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience (pq/t/a/c/e for short). Make sure you cover 1) why this pq/t/a/c/e is important to you, 2) why you are proud of this pq/t/a/c/e, and 3) what the pq/t/a/c/e says about you as an individual. You may also consider discussing how this pq/t/a/c/e will help you succeed in college. Again, the main focus of your essay should be on YOU; what makes you different from other applicants, who you are as a person (beyond your grades and test scores), and what interests you have. You can also think of Prompt 2 as a commercial spot for yourself. What would be the theme of the commercial? What clips from your life would be featured in the commercial?

How Do I Know If My Personal Statement Is Good?

Swap personal statement with friends or put away your personal statement draft for couple days so you can read it with fresh eyes. Then evaluate the personal statement using this rule from Collegewise founder, Kevin McMullin: pretend you are reading the personal statement to pick your college roommate.

After reading the personal statement, ask yourself if you have a good idea of what the person is like and whether you would want to be friends with that person. Revise the personal statement if anything sounds cliché, obnoxious, or intellectually-challenged. Your personal statement should leave a positive impression even if you are discussing hardships (the focus should be on how you overcame the hardships). Avoid famous quotes (one of the worst kind of clichés), racially charged comments (even self-deprecating ones, because that's just not cool), and grandiose life lessons you didn't actually learn (yes, people can tell when you are being insincere).

Additional Resources

There is a plethora of books on writing college essays (over 10,000 if you search "college essay" on Amazon). These are good sources to flip through if you want to see essay samples and get a general idea on the different ways you can organize your personal statement. You can also find them at your local library or bookstores.

The Berkeley Book of College Essays: Personal Statements for California Universities and Other Select Schools is a collection of more than 60 college essays from the students at Berkeley High School in California. Out of those, about 4 essays are from students who got into UCLA, 3 essays are from students who got into Berkeley, and couple essays each from students who got into San Diego, Davis, and Santa Cruz. The rest of the essays have a high concentration of Vassar and Yale admits and a few other admits to private universities across the nation. While the personal statements in the book are from the old three prompt format (prior to November 2007), you will get a good idea of what a successful personal statement should look like.

Other personal statement help - Quirky Essays a Window to Future Success? is a story from NPR on the trend of college essay questions. The moral of the story is that no matter how unique you think your essay is, 200 other students wrote about the same thing. Reflect on that thought and search within yourself for a genuine voice when you sit down and write your personal statement.

All-purpose guideline on how to write good college essays from the New York Times - Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay

In the article Holding College Chiefs to Their Words (May 6, 2009), the Wall Street Journal "turned the tables on the presidents of 10 top colleges and universities with an unusual assignment: answer an essay question from their own school's application."

Below are direct links to the essays:

As you read the article and the essays, consider the choices the writers made. Are the essays more interesting when writers choose more personal topics? Do you get a good sense of who the writers are as individuals after reading their essays? Learn from their example and apply these thought processes to your own application essay writing.

November

UC Online Application Filing Period

You can begin submitting your completed online application starting November 1. The deadline is at the end of the day (before midnight) on November 30. There is no advantage to submitting your application at the beginning of the application cycle as all applications are thoroughly reviewed before the admission decisions are made. While there is no disadvantage to submitting your application on the last day, the server does time out regularly due to high volume of users trying to access the online application; the last 3 days of November are especially bad. So I suggest trying to complete and submit your application before Thanksgiving weekend.

You complete one online application for all UC campuses; simply check off the campuses you wish to apply in the application. Each UC campus makes its own admission decisions and the campuses do not "compare notes" so you don't have to worry about one campus not accepting you because you applied to others. The application fee is $60 per campus.

It is extremely important for you to accurately complete the Academic History section. The UC system is very serious about this and gives the following advice:

It is important that applicants complete the Academic History thoroughly and accurately. Students should use grade reports, transcripts and the high school's UC-certified course list; they should not work from memory. Any information that changes after the application is submitted should be reported immediately to the admissions office at each campus to which the student has applied.

Applicants should be reminded that the information on the record will be verified following receipt of the official high school transcript and required test scores. If the University finds any information to be incomplete or inaccurate, the student’s admission to or enrollment in the University may be jeopardized (source: Helping Students Apply).

The Activities section has 6 categories: Awards/Honors, Extracurricular Activities, Community Service, Educational Preparation Programs, Work Experience, and Coursework Other Than A-G. You are limited to 5 entries per category. Make sure you put your top 5 activities in each category and you may list other IMPORTANT activities in the Additional Comments section. Any activities you discuss in your personal statement should be listed on the application. Inconsistency between activities listed in the application and personal statement will raise questions.

The online application does occasionally prevent you from submitting if your personal statement is too long (way over the 1,000 word limit). Remember, contractions are your friend; while your personal statement should be well written and presentable, you do not need to use a formal writing style.

UC Application Fee Waiver

You apply for the UC application fee waiver at the end of the application before you pay and the system uses the information you enter to determine if you qualify for a fee waiver on the spot. The fee waiver allows you to apply to 4 UC campuses for free. Additional campuses are $60 each.

Fee waiver determination is based on income information from the prior year. If you did not qualify for a fee waiver but your family's income has changed due to job loss or other extenuating circumstances, choose the "Bill Later" option when you pay the fees and write a letter to appeal the fee waiver decision.

Using Additional Comments Section

Additional Comments section is not an opportunity for you to write another essay. You should ONLY use this section if you have something you need to tell the admissions office that you didn't mention anywhere else on the application. Typically this include things like other names you have used (that may be on official records you need to submit), citizenship/visa issues, or reasons for applying to EOP. I recommend using the Additional Comments section to describe the following if they are not already mentioned somewhere on the application or your personal statement:

When you have a bad semester or bad year in terms of grades or extracurricular activities, you need to clarify what happened and explain what actions you took to correct the situation.

Discuss what you did during your gap year if you took one. UCs want to know 1) why you took a gap year and 2) what you did during the gap year.

If you couldn't take summer school at your high school or community college due to budget cuts and that prevented you from achieving academically (for example, you were unable to repeat a course in which you received a D or your fall schedule was scrambled because you were not able to take a prerequisite course during summer), you need to explain that and include actions you have taken to correct the situation (for example, you tried to enroll at 2 other community colleges when the first community college you enrolled canceled the class you need).

December

Last Chance to Take the SAT/ACT Tests

The December test dates are the last ones the UCs will accept for application evaluation. See December Test Score Submission Deadline for information on timely submission of your test scores.

Making Changes to Your Application (through application processing service)

You submitted your application right before the deadline and as you review your receipt, you realized there were some mistakes. Panic sets in and you are not sure what to do. Well, don't freak out. Depending what the mistake is, you may or may not need to make changes to your application.

Things you should NOT to worry about:

Misspelled words (the UCs will not reject you just because you misspelled a few words)
Minor calculation errors on your community service hours (you are fine if you are off by a few hours here and there)
Listing your extracurriculars in the wrong category (not a big deal at all)
Forgetting to input your CA SSID (this is for reference only and is not used for application evaluation)
Listing the wrong dates for honors/awards (as long as you actually received the honor/award, incorrect date is not a big deal)

You can make some changes to your personal/background information through the Application Status website about four to five weeks after you submit your application (source: UC Application FAQ). If you made a bigger mistake (left an entire section blank or made mistakes in the Academic History section) on your submitted application, you will need to submit changes to each UC campus to which you have applied.

I don't recommend changing your major after you submit your application. Changing the major will not increase your chance of acceptance and will more likely cause your application to slip through the cracks. You can always apply to change majors after you arrive at the UC campus; most freshman students are treated as "undeclared" regardless of the major that they chose on the application. You could request to change your major on the application if you have an incredibly good reason to; each UC campus handles the request a little differently, so you will need to contact the campus to find out what you should do.

Application Evaluation Begins

Application evaluation starts in the middle of December. Applications that are missing December test scores are held until all scores are received (or they are reviewed in January without the test scores).

January

UC Application Audit

The UC system conducts random audits on approximately 10% of the applicants. Each UC campus may also conduct its own random audits and sometimes targeted audits (if the applicant seems a little too perfect or anything on the application raised serious questions). If you receive a request to provide information for an audit, respond promptly; not responding will disqualify you for admission. If you are caught lying on your application, the UCs will ban you from all admission consideration present or future (yes, I do mean you will be banned for life from all UC campuses).

See the Los Angeles Times article UC wants the truth on student applications (February 22, 2009) for a detailed description of auditing time line, examples of the audit request, and stories of successful/failed audits. For application items that are subject to verification and those that are not, see the Inside Bay Area article UC sleuths seek proof for glorious claims on admission applications (January 31, 2010).

The official UC language regarding the random audit:

In addition to the post-admission verification, the University conducts a pre-admissions verification with a random sample of applicants, who are notified in early January that they must submit verification documents in order to be considered for admission. Applicants may be asked to verify an item from one of the following application sections: Awards/Honors, Extracurricular Activities, Community Service, Educational Participation Programs (formerly Special Program Participation), Work Experience, Academic History and the Personal Statement. Falsification is the basis for a denial or revocation of admission to the University. Failure to submit the required documentation by the deadline will result in applications being withdrawn from further admission consideration at all campuses (source: Helping Students Apply).

Making Changes to Your Application (at each UC campus)

If you made any changes to your course schedule (added or dropped a-g or AP courses), you need to contact the individual campuses to submit the changes for consideration. Below are the change instruction and website for each campus:

Berkeley - Freshman applicants should submit changes through myBerkeleyApplication

Davis - Freshman applicants should submit changes through MyAdmissions

Irvine - Freshman applicants should follow these instructions to submit changes

UCLA - Freshman applicants should follow these instructions to submit changes

Merced - Freshman applicants should submit changes through MyUCMerced

Riverside - Freshman applicants should submit changes through MyUCR

San Diego - Freshman applicants should submit changes through MyApplication

Santa Barbara - Freshman applicants should submit course/schedule changes through email, be sure to include your full name and application ID number, to admissions@sa.ucsb.edu; personal information changes should be submitted through the application status site

Santa Cruz - Freshman applicants should email myapplication@ucsc.edu or call (831) 459-2131 for questions regarding their application or admission status

If you just have no idea what you are supposed to do, politely ask one of the overworked admissions staff to help you figure out your next step:

NOTE: Some campuses use elaborate automated phone systems that are difficult to navigate; if you encounter one of those, just stay on the line without making any selection or press zero repeatedly to force the system to transfer you to a live person.

Berkeley - (510) 642-3175, Monday-Friday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Davis - (530) 752-2971, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Irvine - (949) 824-6703, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UCLA - (310) 825-3101, Monday-Friday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Merced - (209) 228-4682 or (866) 270-7301 (toll free in California)

Riverside - (951) 827-4531, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

San Diego - (858) 534-4831, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Santa Barbara - (805) 893-2882, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Santa Cruz - (831) 459-2131

Application Evaluation Completed

Most UCs complete application evaluation by the end of January. Competitive UCs use February to conduct further review of some applicants from whom additional information were requested (Supplemental Questionnaire).

Supplemental Questionnaire

Berkeley, UCLA and San Diego use the Supplemental Questionnaire to further evaluate applicants who experienced hardships, demonstrated talents, or seemed to have potential to achieve but showed deficiencies in certain areas. Supplemental Questionnaires are often issued to students who are on the borderline and the UC campus requires additional information from the students to help make the final admission decision. How you answer these questions can strongly influence whether or not you get into that particular UC. The Supplemental Questionnaire is your ticket into the issuing UC, so fill it out very carefully! Please click on the "Services" tab above to see the Supplemental Questionnaire and Free services that I offer.

February

Report Changes to the UCs (Fall schedule changes or D/F grades)

The UCs like to be kept abreast of what is going on with your academic performance. You should always report any change to your schedule or if you are performing poorly in school. Reporting early allows the UCs time to evaluate the new information and to work out something with you if necessary. This is much better than getting your acceptance revoked in August when the UC sees your final transcript.

Review your fall grades and have a discussion with your teachers and/or counselor if your GPA fell below 3.0 in a-g courses or if you received any D/F grades. Find out if there is any make-up work you can do that will convince your teacher to change the grade.

If you changed your schedule or performed poorly in school because of extenuating circumstances (family crisis, medical emergencies, death in the family, etc.), make sure you explain the situation to the UCs and indicate how you will make-up for the missing courses or your poor performance.

Some UCs will accept information over email or online submission, others expect snail mail. Check the online instructions or call to find out the best way to get the information to the campus.

March

UC Decisions Become Available

Each UC campus releases the decision on its own online system and on different dates throughout March:

Berkeley - all decisions become available at myBerkeleyApplication around the last Thursday of March

Davis - all decisions become available at MyAdmissions around mid-March

Irvine - decisions come out in batches at MyAdmissions Application starting February 1; all decisions are out by the last day of March

UCLA - all decisions become available at Admission Decisions around mid-March

Merced - decisions come out in batches at MyUCMerced starting February 1; all decisions are out by the last day of March

Riverside - decisions come out in batches at MyUCR starting February 1; all decisions are out by the last day of March

San Diego - all decisions become available at MyApplication around mid-March

Santa Barbara - decisions come out in batches at application status around mid-March; all decisions are out by the last day of March

Santa Cruz - most decisions become available at MyUCSC starting March 15; all decisions are out by the last day of March

Deferring Your Acceptance

UCs do not defer acceptance for freshman applicants. Extenuating circumstances are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Contact the campus to find out how to file a request for deferment.

April

UC Appeal Process

Not all UC campuses will have an answer for your appeal before the May 1 SIR deadline, so be sure to file an SIR with a backup school in case the appeal doesn't pan out. There is no penalty for you to withdraw the SIR if you are accepted on appeal somewhere else; the only thing you lose is the $100 deposit.

Each UC campus has its own set of instructions on how to submit an appeal. Follow the instructions from the UC campus you are interested in appealing to ensure proper and expedited processing of your appeal submission:

Berkeley - The Freshman Selection Process
Scroll down to Can I appeal my admission decision?

Davis - Freshmen: Non-Admitted Students
Scroll down to May I appeal my denial of admission?

Irvine - Appeals to UCI
Scroll down to Appeals to Selection Decisions, and Appeals to Cancellation Decisions

UCLA - Appeals to Admission Decisions - Freshmen

Merced - there are no instructions available online; call the admissions office at (209) 228-4682 or toll free in California (866) 270-7301 for information

Riverside - there are no instructions available online; call the admissions office at (951) 827-3411 for information

San Diego - Freshman Selection
Click on "Appeals process" to access the PDF file

Santa Barbara - Appeal Process

Santa Cruz - Information for First-Year Students Not Offered Admission

Appeal Writing Guidelines

Remember, telling the admissions office that they made a huge mistake is not going to help your case. For your appeal to be considered, you must prove that you are a much stronger candidate than what was presented in your application. Specifically, you must present new and compelling information that was not previously available to the admissions office.

Your need to stay in a particular geographical area, in itself, does not constitute grounds for an appeal. Any hardship in relocating must be accompanied by other new and compelling information for your appeal to be considered. Similarly, changing your major, in itself, is not sufficient grounds for an appeal; additional new and compelling information must be present for your appeal to be considered.

Examples of new and compelling information may include extraordinary hardship or exceptional talent. You can discuss these things on your appeal as reasons for the UCs to reconsider you. Make sure you describe exactly how the exceptional talent qualifies you for UC admissions or how the hardship prevented you from achieving academically. The focus of your appeal should be on why you are an excellent candidate for the UCs and why the UCs should be interested in you, not why your hardship is horrible or how much you love a particular UC campus and must go there. State your case concisely (one page appeal is ideal but two pages are acceptable) and don't exaggerate or try to be dramatic. Keep in mind that the acceptance rate on appeal hovers around 3% for most UC campuses. Please click on the "Services" tab above to see the Appeal and Free services that I offer.

May

Statement of Intent to Register (SIR)

You must decide by May 1 which UC campus you wish to attend. Most UCs are flexible if you are late or if you later decide that you want to enroll. If the online system won't let you file an SIR late, call the admissions office to find out what to do. Submitting multiple SIRs is frowned upon and actively discouraged, but there is no real penalty except for the $100 deposit you lose.

June

Report Changes to Your UC Campus (Spring schedule changes or D/F grades)

Follow my previous advice on reporting schedule changes and/or poor school performance. It's better to report early and explore your different options rather than getting your acceptance revoked in August when the UC sees your final transcript and you have no options left.

July

Official Transcripts/Score Reports Due at Your UC Campus

Final official transcripts from all the high school and/or community college you have attended and official AP/IB exam scores are due at your UC campus on July 15. Put in the requests early and check online to make sure the UC campus received your transcripts/scores. Most UCs are flexible if you are a little late as the process of verifying the transcripts against the application of accepted students can take a while. This also means that the UC may raise questions about your academic record right before school starts. If there is any discrepancy between your application and your transcript, I recommend that you report the change to the UC before final official transcripts are sent.

August & September

You Start at the UC!

I have given these pieces of advice and heard other alumni giving similar ones:

Take the minimum number of required units (usually around 13 units) your first semester or quarter; the course load is heavier at the UCs compared to high school (this is true for most 4-year colleges) so don't overwork yourself.

Take the time to get to know your roommate/floormate/suitemate (they are the ones who have to drag you to the student health center if you are deathly ill), make friends with people in your classes (so you can borrow notes if you don't make it to class), and explore the different extracurricular activities available to you on and off campus (college is not just about studying).

Show up at your professors' office hours and ask questions. Simple questions you can ask: 1) What other reading materials would you recommend that will help me in this course? Be prepared to actually read whatever the professor recommends so you can ask the professor questions about the reading material later. 2) How should I prepare for the midterm/final? You can also prepare some questions by reading up on the professor's research interests (look up the professor's bio on the department website and ask some questions about his/her research; if you don't understand the research, ask a simple question like "I saw that you are focused on research in ________, can you tell me more about it?"). Once the professor puts your face to your name, you will likely do better in the class (brownie points for showing up during office hours and taking an interest in the professor's work).

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Ms. Sun's Admissions Guide to Highly Selective California Public Universities

UC Freshman Application Process