Freshmen Applicants, Walk Through the 2011 UC Application

UC Application Walk Through for Freshman Applicants

Below are the sections of the 2011 UC application that freshman applicants will need to complete in its entirety come November 1st of this year.

Personal Information

• Name, Birthday, Address, Social Security, etc.: You will need to have your basic personal information ready to fill out this section. Refer to our “University of California (UC) Application Checklist” for a complete list materials and forms you will need to have complete.
• Applicant Level: In the applicant level section, you will need to state the category you are expected to be entering as (if accepted): freshman, sophomore transfer, junior transfer, senior transfer, second baccalaureate, limited status. Please make sure you select the freshmen category. Selecting the wrong category in this section may inhibit you from seeing pages (and thus filling out pages) specific to freshmen admissions. If you are a freshmen applicant, for example, accidentally selecting the “transfer” category will inhibit you from seeing the critical “High School(s) of Attendance” and “Highschool Coursework” sections of the application.

• U.S. Military Information (if applicable): Be sure to fill out this section if you have served in the Armed Forces. This is because the University of California system does a slight preference to veterans.

• California Student ID number: High school students applying for freshman admissions need to fill this section out. You should be able to locate your ID number through your high school’s main office.

• Eligibility in Local Context ID Number (if applicable): ELC stands for Eligibility in the Local Context and applies specifically to freshman applicants in the top 4% of their high school class. This is determined the summer between your junior year and senior year. If you are eligible in the local context, you are guaranteed a space at one of the UCs, though it may not be the UC campus of your choice. Although you should be notified the fall of your senior year by your high school if you qualify, be sure to follow up with your counselor if you believe you are in the top 4% of your class and have not been notified yet.

UC Campus Choices

• Campus Choices: This is the section in the application where you select the different campuses you intend on applying to.

• College Scholarship Opportunities: You are encouraged to apply to the maximum number of scholarships you are allowed to—16. On the main “Scholarship Opportunities” page there is a drop-down box that lists various scholarship categories (i.e. academic major or specialty, school or geographic affiliation, special conditions, etc.). Explore the different scholarships available to each category and apply to the ones you qualify for. Be sure to click on the “Undergraduate Scholarships” and explore the individual campus scholarships it links to. Be aware if scholarships need additional documentation and make sure you remember to submit them if required.

Family Data

• Family Income & Size: Most of the questions in this section are voluntary. You will, however, need to fill this section out if you are an EOP applicant or if you are interested in applying for an application fee waiver. It may be a good idea to apply for EOP because it will ask you for more information—thus you will reveal more information about you and your background. Revealing you are first generation, for example, maybe to your advantage in the overall evaluation of your application. The application fee waiver covers the cost for applying to up to 4 UC campuses.

• State of Legal Residence of Parent, Spouse, or Guardian: This section asks you about the current state your  parents, spouse, or guardian legally resides in. You will need to know how long they have currently be living in the state and you will need to provide the month, day, and year they first moved to the state.

• Parent’s Highest Level of Formal Education: This section is pretty self explanatory. Be sure you are aware of both your parent’s highest level of formal education.

Academic History

• High School(s) of Attendance: Both freshmen and transfer applicants will need to list the high school you are currently attending/the high school you attended in this section. Freshmen applicants will need to list every high school attended. Transfer applicants need only list the high school they graduated from.

• High School Coursework: You are required to list every course you have taken since the 9^th grade. You will need to list the current classes you are enrolled in that are in progress. You will also need to list the classes you have planned for the spring semester. You want to have you transcript(s) as you fill out your application to make sure all coursework is filled out accurately. It is important to list all appropriate coursework—high school classes, summer school classes, community college classes, online classes etc.Be sure to select the exact name of your high school to access the approved list of A-G classes for your high school. If you have taken classes at more than one high school, do not forget to change the high school before you enter in the classes you took at a different high school.

• College(s) of Attendance (if applicable): You will need to list any community colleges you have concurrently attended while in high school.

• College Coursework (if applicable): You are also required to list every college course you have concurrently taken while in high school. You will also need to list the current college classes you are enrolled that are in progress and the classes you have planned for the spring semester, if applicable. You want to have you transcript(s) as you fill out your application to make sure all coursework is filled out accurately. Be sure to select the exact name of your community college to access the approved list UC transferable classes for your community college. If you have taken classes at more than one community college, do not forget to change the community college before you enter in the classes you took at a different community college. It is important to list all classes, both UC transferable and non UC transferable as shown on your college transcript. Although the drop down menu should list all UC transferable classes for your selected school, there are often system glitches. You can enter UC transferable classes not on the drop down menu and non UC transferable courses manually.

• Gaps in Education (if applicable): If you have had gaps in education, you will need to describe the various activities you were involved in when you were not in college. For example: “ I worked as a waiter in Fall 2009 to earn the money need to support my family.”

Test Results

• You will need to report either your best of three SAT Reasoning or ACT plus writing test scores in addition to two SAT II subject test scores. Make sure you have completed all your testing by December. The admissions offices of the various campuses you are applying to must receive your test scores by the January deadline when test scores are normally reported. The test scores you officially send (through College Board) to one campus will automatically be shared with all campuses you apply to.

Activities and Awards

• Be sure to fill out this section of the application as completely as you can. Although this section does not appear very important on the Pathways website, the “Activities and Awards” prints out as two full pages when your application is reviewed. Thus, you want to make sure you fill out this section so that it best reflects how you have used your time since starting college. Keep this in mind especially if you are applying to competitive UC campuses with either no TAG for your major or no TAG at all.

Review and Submit

• Apply for Fee Waiver: This section gives you the opportunity to apply for a fee waiver. You will need to fill out information about your family income and family size  to qualify for the fee waiver. You are encourage to apply for the fee waiver because qualification for the fee waiver will allow you to apply up to up to 4 UC campuses for free.
• Enter Payment Information: You will need a credit card to pay for the $60 per campus application fee if you do not qualify for the fee waiver.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure you review your entire application and print out a copy for your own references before submitting your application. You will not be able to retrieve your application once it has been submitted. You also want to make sure you know your application ID number because it is the number the UC campuses use to track your application.

*IMPORTANT*

If you want to be kept up to date with the latest UC application information or would like to see additional UC personal statements including essay tips, you want to make sure and sign up for our Newsletter:

Related Posts

1. Transfer Applicants, Walk-through the 2011 UC Application

2. 2011 UC Application Opens Tomorrow

3. 4 Days Until the 2011 UC Application Filing Period

4. California State University (CSU) Checklist – Freshmen Applicants

5. How to Submit Changes to Your 2011 UC Application

Share:

Tags: 2011 UC application, 2011 UC Application Tips, activities and awards, Applicant Level, California Student ID Number, ELC, Eligibility in Local Context ID Number, Scholarship Opportunities, Test Results, UC application, UC Application Tips, UC Freshmen Admission Tips, university of california, University of California Application

Comments are closed.