07/31/2014
University of California Requirements
(Campuses: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz)
In order to apply to any of the UC's, you must satisfy the subject, scholarship and examination requirements to be eligible to apply.
Subject Requirements (A-G Requirements)
The A-G Requirements are a series of subjects and courses that must be completed. ALL COURSES MUST BE COMPLETED WITH A GRADE OF "C" OR BETTER.
A. History/Social Science – 2 years required Two years of history/social science, including one year of world history, cultures and geography; and one year of U.S. history or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of civics or American government.
B. English – 4 years required Four years of college-preparatory English that include frequent and regular writing, and reading of classic and modern literature. No more than one year of ESL-type courses can be used to meet this requirement.
C. Mathematics – 3 years required, 4 years recommended Three years of college-preparatory mathematics that include the topics covered in elementary and advanced algebra and two- and three-dimensional geometry. Approved integrated math courses may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement, as may math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades that your high school accepts as equivalent to its own math courses.
D. Laboratory Science – 2 years required, 3-4 years rec. Two years of laboratory science providing fundamental knowledge in at least two of these three foundational subjects: biology, chemistry and physics.
E. Language Other than English – 2 years required, 3 years rec Two years of the same language other than English. English taken in the seventh and eighth grades may be used to fulfill part of this requirement if your high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses.
F. Visual and Performing Arts – 1 year required A single yearlong approved arts course from a single VPA discipline: dance, drama/theater, music or visual arts.
G. College-Preparatory Electives – 1 year required One year (two semesters), in addition to those required in "a-f" above, chosen from the following areas: visual and performing arts (non-introductory level courses), history, social science, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science and language other than English (a third year in the language used for the "e" requirement or two years of another language).
Scholarship Requirement
Students must earn a minimum grade point average in the A-G courses taken during the 10th and 11th grade in order to be eligible to apply to the UC's.
Minimum GPA = 3.0
Examination Requirement
Students applying for admission must submit the following test scores:
SAT Reasoning OR ACT with Writing Component
SAT Subject Test - no longer required, but recommended
CSU (California State University) Requirements
(Campuses: Maritime, Pomona, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Chico, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Fullerton, Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Northridge, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Marcos, Stanislaus, Humboldt, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sonoma)
Subject Requirements - (A-G Requirements)
The A-G Requirements are a series of subjects and courses that must be completed. ALL COURSES MUST BE COMPLETED WITH A GRADE OF "C" OR BETTER.
A. History/Social Science – 2 years required Two years of history/social science, including one year of world history, cultures and geography; and one year of U.S. history or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of civics or American government.
B. English – 4 years required Four years of college-preparatory English that include frequent and regular writing, and reading of classic and modern literature. No more than one year of ESL-type courses can be used to meet this requirement.
C. Mathematics – 3 years required, 4 years recommended Three years of college-preparatory mathematics that include the topics covered in elementary and advanced algebra and two- and three-dimensional geometry. Approved integrated math courses may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement, as may math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades that your high school accepts as equivalent to its own math courses.
D. Laboratory Science – 2 years required, 3 years rec. Two years of laboratory science providing fundamental knowledge in at least two of these three foundational subjects: biology, chemistry and physics.
E. Language Other than English – 2 years required, 3 yrs rec Two years of the same language other than English. English taken in the seventh and eighth grades may be used to fulfill part of this requirement if your high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses.
F. Visual and Performing Arts – 1 year required A single yearlong approved arts course from a single VPA discipline: dance, drama/theater, music or visual art.
G. College-Preparatory Electives – 1 year required One year (two semesters), in addition to those required in "a-f" above, chosen from the following areas: visual and performing arts (non-introductory level courses), history, social science, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science and language other than English (a third year in the language used for the "e" requirement or two years of another language).
Grade Point Average Requirement
Students must earn a minimum grade point average in the A-G courses taken during the 10th and 11th grade in order to be eligible to apply to the CSU's.
Minimun GPA = 2.0
Examination Requirement
Students applying for admission must submit the following test score:
SAT Reasoning OR ACT with Writing Component
Private Colleges
(i.e. USC, LMU, Stanford, Pepperdine, Harvard, Yale, etc.)
Private schools typically have the same subject requirements as the UCs and the CSUs. However, some schools and programs/majors within that school may require more classes or more test scores.
Check with the individual school's website or catalog for specific admissions requirements.
Private colleges do require specific supplmentary documents as part of the application:
Official Transcript - List of official high school grades and courses; Request these from the Counseling Office.
Teacher Recommendation - Typically you should ask teachers from an academic class you did well in to write you a letter of recommendation. Don't forget to supply the envelope, stamps, and necessary recommendation forms.
Secondary School Report/Counselor Recommendation - Typically this form is filled out by the College Counselor. This year I will be completing these forms online if you are using the "Common Application".
*****When asking for Teacher Recommendations and Secondary School Reports, give your teachers and counselors at least 2 weeks notice before the deadline******
Community Colleges
Community Colleges make up the largest system of higher education in the United States. There are 109 community colleges in the state of California, and they are open to all students. No College admissions exams are needed to attend community college, however prospective student will need to take a placement test in English and Math to determine which classes they will take during their first year.
Community Colleges are flexible and offer the following:
Workforce Training
Basic Skills Education
Personal Enrichment
Lifelong Learning
High School Academic Enrichment
Transfer to four-year colleges
Certificates in specialized trades or careers
Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degrees
Classes at California community colleges are fairly inexpensive. Classes typically cost about $42 per unit.
College Applications
When filling out applications, it is important to remember that most colleges and universities no longer use paper applications. Most schools utilize some form of online application. I have included below three of the most common online applications.
This link will take you directly to the online UC application:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/apply_online.html
This link will take you directly to the online CSU application: http://www.csumentor.org/AdmissionApp/
This link will take you directly to the online Common Application: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx
This link will take you directly to the online Community College Application:
http://cccapply.org/ (LA Trade Tech, West LA College, LA Southwest College, East LA College, LA Mission College, LA Valley College, LA Harbor College, and Pierce College).
http://www.smc.edu/EnrollmentDevelopment/Admissions/Pages/Apply-Online.aspx (Santa Monica College)
http://www.cccapply.org/applications/CCCApply/apply/El_Camino_College.html (El Camino College)
Apply online for undergraduate admission to UC
