Admission as a Freshman

The University of California defines a freshman applicant as one who is either currently enrolled in, or has graduated from, a high school and has not registered in a regular session at any collegiate-level institution since high school graduation. An applicant who has completed college courses while in high school or in a summer session immediately following high school graduation is considered a freshman applicant.

The University of California will accept the Certificate of Proficiency or the General Education Development (GED) certificate awarded by the State Department of Education in lieu of the regular high school diploma. However, you must also meet all other university entrance requirements (subject, scholarship and examination).

Admission requirements for California residents are different from those for nonresidents. Nonresidents must meet higher scholarship requirements.

Meeting the UC eligibility criteria qualifies you for admission to a UC campus, but does not guarantee admission to UC Davis. Due to limited enrollment space and the extraordinary size and strength of the UC Davis applicant pool, many qualified candidates are denied admission. Applicants who are admitted generally well exceed UC eligibility criteria. The selection criteria that UC Davis considers as part of its comprehensive review process for each UC-eligible applicant are available at http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_selection_process.

UC Freshman Eligibility for California Residents

A California resident applying to UC as a freshman has three ways to satisfy the university's minimum admission requirements:

• Eligibility in the Statewide Context,
• Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC), and
• Eligibility by Examination Alone.

Eligibility in the Statewide Context

Most students attain UC eligibility through Eligibility in the Statewide Context. To be eligible, you must satisfy the following subject, scholarship and examination requirements.

Subject Requirements: a–g

The following courses must be completed with a C grade or better, and for California residents, must be on your high school’s UC-approved course list. View your school’s UC-approved course list at http://ucop.edu/doorways. If you submit courses from an out-of-state school, Undergraduate Admissions will determine if your courses fulfill the Subject Requirement. At least seven of the 15 units (one unit equals one year of study) of the “a-g” requirements must be taken during the last two years of high school.

Courses taken in the 9th grade and completed with a grade of C or better can satisfy a subject requirement; however, the grades will not be used in computing your grade point average. If you receive a grade of D or lower in a 9th-grade course, you have not satisfactorily completed the subject requirement until you repeat the course (or, in some cases, complete a more advanced course) with a grade of C or better.

a. History/Social Science—2 years required

One year of United States history, or one-half year of United States history and one-half year of civics or American government; and one year of world history, cultures and geography.

b. English (or Language of Instruction)—4 years required

If attending a foreign high school where instruction is not in English, literature/composition courses in the native language may be substituted.

c. Mathematics—3 years required; 4 years recommended

Must include algebra, geometry and second-year advanced algebra.

d. Laboratory Science—2 years required; 3 years recommended

Must include at least two of these three subject areas: biology, chemistry, physics.

e. Language other than English—2 years; 3 years recommended

The second year or higher of the same language must be completed to fulfill this requirement (e.g., Spanish I and Spanish II, not Spanish I and French I).

f. Visual and Performing Arts—1 year required

If two separate semester courses of VPA are taken, both courses must be from a single VPA area (dance, drama/theater, music or visual arts).

g. College Preparatory Electives—1 year required

Choose from UC-approved college preparatory electives.

Scholarship Requirement

UC freshman eligibility is determined by a combination of grade-point average (GPA) in “a-g” courses and the UC score total, which is a conversion of the scores you earned on the ACT Assessment plus Writing OR SAT Reasoning Test, AND SAT Subject Tests.

The Scholarship Requirement is satisfied if your GPA is 3.000 or higher and achieves the qualifying UC
score total that corresponds to your GPA on the UC Eligibility Index. The index is available at
http://universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/scholarshipreq, along with an online calculator you can use to assess your eligibility.

Examination Requirement

Freshman applicants are required to take:

• The ACT Assessment plus Writing (for the UC Eligibility Index, see http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/scholarship_req

OR

• The SAT Reasoning Test; highest reading, math and writing score from one sitting,

AND

• Two SAT Subject Tests in two different subject areas; highest two test scores in two different subject areas from any sitting (e.g., science and literature. If mathematics, must be Level 2).

Applicants for fall must take all of the required tests no later than the prior December. Official scores must be received by the end of January. You are responsible for making sure that testing agencies send your scores directly to each campus to which you apply.

Make arrangements to take the required ACT exams with your high school or at the ACT Web site at http://www.act.org. The UC Davis ACT code is 0454. Make arrangements to take the required SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Tests at the College Board Web site at http://www.collegeboard.org. The UC Davis' College Board code is 004834.

Eligibility in the Local Context

Under the Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) pathway, the top four percent of graduating students at each participating California high school are designated UC-eligible. More information about ELC is available online at http://www.ucop.edu/sas/elc.

Eligibility by Examination Alone

If you do not meet the requirements for Eligibility in the Statewide Context or Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC), you may be able to qualify for admission to UC by examination alone. To be eligible by examination, you must achieve high scores on the required ACT/SAT examinations for freshman admission.

You must satisfy the same examination requirement as students who are eligible in the statewide context, and achieve a UC score total, as calculated by the UC Eligibility Index, of at least 410, or 425 for nonresidents.

In addition, you must earn a minimum UC score of 63 or each component of the ACT or SAT
Reasoning Test and on each SAT Subject Test. Calculate your UC score at
http://universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/scholarshipreq.

You cannot qualify for admission by examination alone if you have completed 12 or more units of transferable coursework at a college or university following high school graduation or if you have taken transferable college courses in any subject covered by the SAT Subject Tests before taking the exams. It is rare that an applicant is selected for admission to UC Davis based on test-score eligibility alone.

UC Freshman Eligibility for Non-California Residents

If you are an out-of-state resident you must attain a 3.400 GPA or higher in the “a-g” required courses and achieve the qualifying UC score total that corresponds to your GPA on the UC Eligibility Index, available at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/scholarship_req. You can also become UC eligible by examination alone; please refer to the criteria described in Eligibility by Examination Alone, above.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit may be granted to a freshman applicant for an acceptable college course taken while still in high school when an official transcript is received from the college that conducted the course. Transfer credit is granted for each College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Examination completed with a score of 3, 4 or 5. Students completing the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma with a score of 30 or above will receive 30 quarter (20 semester) units total toward their UC undergraduate degree. The university grants 8 quarter (5.3 semester) units for students who receive IB certificates with scores of 5, 6 or 7 on Higher Level exams. If students take a combination of college courses, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Examinations in the same subject areas, transfer credit may be limited due to duplication of credit.

Advanced Placement Examinations

If you take a College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Examination and score 3, 4 or 5, you will be awarded college credit. The credit will become part of the minimum 180 quarter units you need in order to receive a bachelor's degree. The credit from the AP Examinations may also be used to satisfy specific degree requirements.

See College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Examination Credit to learn how many units you may receive for an AP Examination; see the Credit Toward Degree column heading. How those units will be applied toward specific degree requirements in each college is explained for each exam category and in the notes below each exam listing. Please note that the courses for which AP credit has been granted may not be used as a substitute for courses required as part of the UC Davis General Education Requirement; see General Education Requirement.

In general, you may not earn university credit for college courses that duplicate credit already earned through AP. There are, however, a few exceptions to this general rule. Since it is often difficult to know exactly which UC Davis course you should take when you have earned AP credit, you should talk with an academic adviser in your major department or dean’s office before selecting and enrolling in classes.

International Baccalaureate Examinations

UC Davis recognizes the International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations for college credit. Higher Level examinations presented with scores of 5, 6 or 7 receive degree credit and in specific instances are deemed comparable to various lower-division courses. Students completing the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma with a score of 30 or above will receive a maximum of 30 quarter (20 semester) units. The credit will apply toward the minimum 180 quarter units needed to receive a bachelor’s degree.

See International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level Examination Credit, below, to learn how many units you may receive for an acceptable IB examination. The table also specifies which UC Davis lower-division course an IB examination is comparable to. Please note that the courses for which IB credit have been granted may not be used as a substitute for courses required as part of the UC Davis General Education Requirement; see General Education Requirement.

In general, you may not earn university credit for college courses that duplicate credit earned through IB. Similarly, students will not receive duplicate credit for comparable AP Examinations if granted IB credit. Additionally, each college may have special restrictions on the use of IB examinations. Please check with your dean's office and department adviser to determine any restrictions in their use toward breadth requirements and lower-division major course requirements.

NOTE: Courses for which IB credit have been granted may not be used as a substitute for courses required as part of the UC Davis General Education Requirements; see International Baccalaureate Examinations, above.