Campus Admission Standards

The University of California makes every effort to provide a place for all California resident applicants who meet the minimum UC admission requirements and file an application during the initial filing period.

UC Davis receives more applications than the number of spaces available. When UC Davis cannot accept all eligible applicants, it uses standards that are more demanding than the minimum requirements to select students. These standards, which are called selection criteria, identify those students who have demonstrated the capacity for high academic achievement and who have a variety of other qualities that can contribute to the strength and diversity of the campus community.

The selection criteria described below were used for applicants for the fall 2006 term. The criteria may differ for the winter and spring terms because enrollment targets and applicant qualifications change. Applicants for winter or spring should contact Undergraduate Admissions for more information.

Selection Guidelines

Each campus, in consultation with the Office of the President, develops enrollment targets that specify the number of new freshman and advanced standing students expected to enroll. UC Davis receives more applications than required to meet our enrollment target and therefore admits students using the criteria described below.

Freshman Applicants

Freshmen are selected based on a comprehensive review of their academic and personal accomplishments and the context in which those accomplishments have been achieved.

The assessment honors academic achievement and offers foremost consideration to students with commendable academic records. Academic accomplishments are considered in the context of the opportunities and challenges a student has experienced and the full range of each student's personal achievements are used to assess merit and likely contribution to the campus community.

The academic factors considered in the review are high school GPA calculated on UC “a-g” courses completed; scores on required entrance tests; breadth of academic preparation, including coursework in the senior year; number of courses completed beyond the minimum UC eligibility requirements; honors, AP, IB or college coursework completed or in progress; and Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) status.

Some examples of personal factors included in the assessment are demonstrated leadership promise; completion of academic preparation and enrichment programs; one or more special (extraordinary) talents; demonstrated perseverance or persistence in unusually challenging personal circumstances; and marked improvement in academic performance from 9th through 11th grade.

The highest-scoring applicants for each college/division are admitted based on the available spaces in the specific college/division. Admission spaces are unique for each college/division and may vary each year. No single personal or academic characteristic guarantees admission to UC Davis, and while factors reflecting academic progress and intellectual development continue to be of primary importance, no applicant will be admitted on the basis of academic criteria alone. No eligible applicant will be denied admission without complete review of application materials. For complete information about our selection procedure, please see http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_selection_process.

Transfer Applicants

Academic Criteria. UC-eligible junior-level California community college transfer applicants with 90 quarter (60 semester) transferable units of work completed by the end of the spring term prior to fall admission are given top priority for admission consideration. Other UC-eligible transfer applicants will be admitted if space is available.

Applications far exceed the number of spaces available in majors such as biological sciences, biotechnology, communication, engineering, international relations, psychology and viticulture and enology. Applicants must complete specific lower division preparatory courses with a specific GPA in the major and an overall required GPA. To see our selective majors and their specific requirements for admission, please see http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/tr_select_majors. See our complete list of majors at http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/majors. The Assist Web, at http://www.assist.org, provides articulation with California community colleges.

Supplemental Criteria. The same supplemental criteria described above for freshmen are used with the exception of the high school record.

Notification and Acceptance of Admission

Throughout the admissions process, you can check your application status at the MyAdmissions Web site at http://myadmissions.ucdavis.edu. Once our review of your application is complete, you will receive an e-mail directing you to MyAdmissions to check your admissions status. You will also receive an admission notification letter by mail. Most fall quarter applicants will be notified of their admission status between March 15 and the end of March.

If you are admitted, you can use MyAdmissions to respond to your offer of admission and declare your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR), check financial aid and scholarship status and pay the required nonrefundable $100 deposit. This advance deposit is applied to your university registration fee as long as you register in the quarter to which you are admitted. EOP applicants are not required to submit the $100 advance deposit; however, they will pay full registration fees at the time of registration.

Declare your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by May 1 (freshman) or June 1 (transfer). You may not file SIRs at multiple UC campuses for the same term. Students admitted to winter or spring quarter must return the SIR by the date specified on the letter of admission.