This week’s video is about the application for the University of California schools. The UC system has its own application so it’s important to get to know it if you’re thinking of applying to one or more of these schools. Watch as Susanna breaks down the app, provides due date reminders and explains aspects of the application that is different from your other college apps.
Transcription:
The University of California schools all have the exact same application. So when you fill out the UC application you can apply to any one of those campuses. UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Davis, Merced etc. etc. One thing I always say to my students when they’re expressing an interest in one of the UC schools is, “Make sure that you take a full year of art in the same art.” Yearbook does not count as art, Journalism does not count as art for the UC schools. Regardless of what you’re high school might consider it. So, you need a full year of art in the same art beacause that’s what the UC’s like for their visual and performing art requirement. So, you would need beginning photo and advanced photo, beginning ceramics and advanced ceramics etc., but a full year of art in the same art. Music counts, band counts, choir counts you’re all good there.
The UC application; something else that is really unique about it it opens on October first and closes at the end of November. So you have two solid months to do that application, no more. And that can sometimes trip kids up if they haven’t researched it because they might think that that application is operating on the same schedule as the Common Application or other state school’s applications, past Christmas even into January, but it’s not! It closes right after Thanksgiving and you do not, listen very carefully kids, you do not want to be submitting the UC application in those last few days of November. Some computer failure is going to happen to you, you just know it, it’s Murphy’s Law. Then you end up in a really sticky situation. I’ve actually had that happen to two kids before. Apply earlier, don’t wait until the end of November when you have a computer problem or the system would overload or something awful like that. But make sure you take a full year of fine art and that you begin working on the essays even in the summer time and start the application itself in early October and plan to submit that, eh, before Thanksgiving. That would be a really good idea. And that should be the UC application in a very brief nutshell!
