UC Admissions

Curious about the UC System? This blog post will give you a quick overview of its key components with links for further reading.

UC A-G Requirements

These are the minimum requirements students must meet in order to be eligible for the UC system. 

A – History (2 years)

B – English (4 years)

C – Math (3 years) 

D – Science (2 years) 

E – Foreign Language (2 years) 

F – Art (1 year) 

G – Elective (1 year) 

You can read more about these requirements HERE.

Curious which of your high school courses satisfy which A-G requirement? Using this link, search for your high school and you’ll be able to see a simple A-G breakdown. 

Comprehensive Review

These are the things that UC admissions readers evaluate when they look at your application. In particular, there are 14 points they consider and you can read more about them here.

The UC Application

The UC system has its own application that’s used for all 9 campuses. Here are some of its main components.

Major Selection

All campuses, with the exception of UC Berkeley, will allow you to submit a first-choice and a second-choice major. Moreover, your major(s) can be different at each campus.

Activity Section

You will have space to list up to 20 activities and awards. Remember that many things count as activities. In this section, it’s important to write amazing descriptions for each of your activities so that the admissions officers know about all of your great contributions, what you took away from each activity, etc. 

Personal Insight Questions (PIQs)

These are what many call the “UC Essays,” but the UC people are adamant that these are not essays. They encourage you to think of them more like interview questions. 

There are 8 prompts to choose from and students only need to pick 4 of them to answer. Each response has a maximum of 350 words. Possible topics range from community engagement to leadership to creativity to educational opportunities. 

You can read more about UC PIQs here.

UC System Fast Facts

• The UCs no longer consider SAT or ACT scores. (This is true both for admissions as well as scholarship consideration.)
• The UCs do not accept letters of recommendation (though UC Berkeley does request them from some students)
• When making admissions decisions, they do not take into consideration which other UC campuses, if any, you are applying to.
• When you apply, you are not required to submit your official transcript or AP scores. You’ll only submit these documents to the UC you end up attending (if you decide to attend one)