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October, 2010: Online UC Application is Up

The official 2011 (for students applying Fall 2010 and transferring 2011) online application will be available early October on the Pathways website. Please keep in mind, however, that the UC application questions have not changed from last year so you can start working on your personal statements before October. Once the online application is up, you should start filling it out and saving your work. You will not be able to submit your application until November.

October – November, 2010:  Develop Your UC Personal Statement

2011 UC Application Timeline

You want to go through several drafts of your personal statements and have them revised by English tutors and/or English professors at your school during this period. It is also a good idea to create a “brag sheet”. A brag sheet is essentially an informal resume. It is a list displaying your awards & honors, your extracurricular activities, your community service participation, the educational preparation programs you are a part of, and your work experience. Use this brag sheet to consolidate everything* you have accomplished. This all-in-one list of achievements will help you see how you look on paper. Use it as a guide when you write your personal statements. This brag sheet will be even more useful when you fill out your UC application online. Although the online UC application’s “Activities and Awards” section does not look important, it prints out as two full pages for UC admissions officers when they review your application. So be sure to fill this section out thoroughly. Neglecting to fill out the “Activities and Awards” section will print out as two big empty pages for the UC admissions officers. You do not want this.

*High school applicants should not include middle school accomplishments because it is a general guideline for admissions officers to disregard anything involving “middle school”. Transfer applicants should not include high school accomplishments because all “high school” related accomplishments are automatically factored out by admissions.

November 1-30, 2010: UC Application Filing Period

The filing period for the online UC application opens November 1^st. Although November 30^th is the last day to submit your application for Fall 2011, try to set a personal deadline of November 15^th for yourself. It is a good idea to submit your application mid-November so that you are not a victim of a server crash like the multitude of students who have waited until the last minute to submit their applications in the past. You want to try to get your application in before the Thanksgiving holiday break so you can call and speak with UC admission officers in case something goes wrong with submitting your application. Keep in mind that the UC admissions offices are closed over the Thanksgiving holiday break so it will be difficult to reach an admissions officer if you need any assistance.

Be sure to print out a copy of your application and your personal statement before you submit your application so you have a hard copy for your own references. You will not be able to retrieve your application once it is submitted.

January 2011: Work-In-Progress Updates

Both the UC Office of the President and UC Berkeley (if you applied) will send you emails requesting a Work-In-Progress update on the grades you have earned for your Fall 2010 courses. You will also need to submit a schedule of the courses you have enrolled in for Spring 2011. Be sure to check your email regularly to keep an eye out for these Work-In-Progress updates.

March 1, 2011 – March 31, 2011 (Freshmen): Decisions

Waiting for decisions to come out can be very nerve racking. This is when most students become frantic because they do not realize that UC admission decisions for campuses are not announced and sent to applications on any set date. Decisions are generally released over a designated time frame. There are, however, certain periods within this designated decision release time frame for all UCs where individual UC campuses are known to generally post up decision letters of notice.

Prospective students are generally asked to sign into their web accounts to find out the status of their acceptance.

The following is a composite list of the varying UC decision release dates for Freshman applicants:

• UC Berkeley - April 29th
• UC Davis - Begins late March
• UC Irvine - By March 31st
• UCLA - Begins mid-to-late March
• UC Merced – Begins March
• UC Riverside – Begins February through March 31st
• UC San Diego – Mid-March through March 31st
• UC Santa Barbara – March 21st (4:00 PM) through May 1st
• UC Santa Cruz - March 15th through May 1st

March 1, 2011 – May 1, 2011 (Transfers):  Decisions

The following is a composite list of the varying UC decision release dates for Transfer applicants:

• UC Berkeley: April 29th
• UC Davis: Mid-April through April 30th
• UC Irvine: March1st through April 30th
• UCLA: End of April
• UC Merced: March 1st through April 30th
• UC Riverside: On a rolling basis beginning March 1st
• UC San Diego: Mid-March through April 30th
• UC Santa Barbara: March 21st (4:00 PM) through May 1st
• UC Santa Cruz: March 15th through April 30th

May 1, 2011 (Freshmen): SIR Deadline

June 1, 2011 (Transfers): SIR Deadline

This is the deadline for transfers to submit your Statement of Intent to Register. Each UC campus that you are accepted to will either issue you a SIR form* or redirect you to a website where you can declare you intent to register. A Statement of Intent to Register, as it’s name suggests, signals that you officially accept or decline their offer to attend their school. It is recommended that you wait you hear from all your schools before you declare an intent to register at a specific school because you can only accept an offer of admissions to one UC campus.

*If you choose to mail it, make sure that it is postmarked by this date.

July 15, 2011: Deadline to Submit Transcripts, IGETC Certification, and AP Scores

This is the deadline for you to submit your official transcripts from high school and/or colleges (for transfers), your IGETC certification (for transfers), and your AP scores (if your test scores qualify you for college credit).

Sample UC Personal Statement

The following personal statement is from a student who was accepted to UC Berkeley.  This is meant to be used as an example of how to structure a Personal Statement and as a sample only!  Your personal statement should be unique and representative of your personal educational experience.

UC PERSONAL STATEMENT- UC BERKELEY

*IMPORTANT*

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Related posts:

1. 2011 UC Application Opens Tomorrow
2. 4 Days Until the 2011 UC Application Filing Period
3. UC Application 2011: What Do I Do After I Apply?