UC Santa Cruz Class of 2028 Official Thread

Welcome prospective Banana Slugs. It’s that time of year again as the UC application has now opened and submission starts October 1 through November 30. I am @Gumbymom one of the two UC Forum Champions/Moderators. My Co-Forum Champion is @lkg4answers and we are knowledgeable on the increasingly complicated UC admissions process and hopefully we can help any prospective UC applicants with their questions.

UC Santa Cruz like all the UC’s are test blind this admission cycle and will use 13 areas of criteria to review Freshman applicants. Each campus will weight the various areas of criteria differently so one size does not fit all. The UC application website has plenty of information that can help determine if UC Santa Cruz is a good option when applying. Below is some admit information specific to the school.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/how-applications-are-reviewed.html

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses-majors/santa-cruz/freshman-admit-data.html

admissions.ucsc.edu

UC Santa Cruz by the Numbers

admissions.ucsc.edu

Freshmen

  • Very important : Academic GPA, Personal Insight questions, Rigor of secondary school record, State residency
  • Important : Character/personal qualities, Extracurricular activities, First generation college student, Geographical residence, Talent/ability
  • Considered : Volunteer work, Work experience
  • Note : GPA in required subjects most important.

Choice of major does not influence the selection of first-year students, except for those applicants interested in a major offered by the Jack Baskin School of Engineering (BSOE ).

All students are admitted into a “proposed major” and then are required to meet the course and GPA requirements to officially declare the major.

Note for Prospective Engineering Students:). Freshmen who are interested in a BSOE program should be sure to indicate a BSOE proposed major. Students who do not indicate a BSOE program or who apply as undeclared might not be able to pursue a BSOE program. Students interested in Computer Science either BA or BS, must apply to this major.

UCSC has ten residential colleges (https://housing.ucsc.edu/publications/pdf/colleges-brochure.pdf). Students do not need to select or rank the colleges on their UC application. If a student chooses to enroll at UCSC, they will be asked to select five colleges when they submit their intent to register.

Best of luck to all applicants.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/uc-santa-cruz-class-of-2027-official-thread/

Updates from the UC Counselor Conference:

Average Unweighted UC GPA for admitted 2023 Freshman: 3.76
Average Capped weighted UC GPA: 4.01

New majors/programs:

  • Creative Technologies major
  • Latin American and Latino Studies/Education, Democracy and Justice major
  • Math Theory and Computation major
  • Microbiology major

New student housing is a priority but not guaranteed for Freshman at this time.

  • Fall Open House, November 4 — more information available soon
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Freshman housing will not be guaranteed next year or NEW Freshman housing won’t be guaranteed?

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In the conference, they stated that Freshman will be given priority but cannot guarantee housing unless construction on Kresge College is completed. I am sure there will be more updates for next Fall.

How long after applying did everyone get email to set up portal? My D applied to a few UC’s and UCSC is the only one she hasn’t received an email from yet about setting up a portal. It’s been about 2 weeks. TIA.

You should hear from all the UC’s by Mid-December.

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Wow! So they are not even guaranteeing frosh housing at UCSC? Is that common across the UCs?

Each university, and their housing, operates independently. UCLA, for example, guarantees four years of housing. Some schools guarantee two. Most guarantee at least one.

No, the rest of the UC’s will guarantee Freshman housing as long as the student’s meet the housing deadlines. UCSC I believe was able to accommodate all Freshman for housing this Fall so hopefully they guarantee housing for Fall 2024 Freshman admits.

Housing at UCSC is more of an issue for continuing students along with several of the other UC’s but it is something that needs to be considered when a student is making a decision to attend.

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S23 wanted to show his older brother round campus so we visited on New Year’s Day when it was all very quiet (so much so that we ran into a family of coyotes in the middle of campus). There aren’t many places you can play volleyball without a shirt in January.

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A post was merged into an existing topic: UC Santa Cruz Fall 2024 Transfer Discussion Thread

Is everyone able to access both an applicant homepage and a capus user homepage? See pic.
Screenshot 2024-02-15 at 3.15.58 PM

Yes, both are located in S24 portal and can access them.

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Same with my son portal, can see both.

So nervous to see the email from UC santa cruz with subject …IMPORTANT Information Regarding UC. Relieved to find that it is the requirement to provide proof of immunization and tuberculosis screening after accepting the admission offer.

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same here

Do they send vaccine information to everyone?
Wondering because other Univ my son got it, they sent it after sending the admit.

Another mass email so does not mean anything.

My S28 received an email from Fin Aid Department. Normally, I am aware Fin Aid emails do not correlate with Admissions, but I find the wording in the email intriguing. Did anyone else receive this email today?


If you haven’t already done so, complete the FAFSA by March 2, 2024, if possible, or by the extended California state deadline of April 2, 2024. The UC Santa Cruz federal school code is 001321.

If you need assistance please see [Filling Out the FAFSA] by Federal Student Aid. If you do not meet the criteria to file a FAFSA then you may be eligible to file the [CA Dream App online].

If you plan to attend [Summer Edge], a program for admitted students to get a head start on degree progress and campus life before the rush of fall, you must also complete the 2023-24 financial aid application by June 30, 2024.

If you have questions or need assistance, please visit [financialaid.ucsc.edu] or contact our office via Zoom or phone (asistencia en español está disponible). See our [Contact Page], which is updated weekly. If you have already filed your FAFSA, thank you! You can check to make sure that UC Santa Cruz is on your FAFSA or Dream App by logging into your account.

We hope to see you in the fall!


Though this very well could be a mass email, the mention of “Summer Edge,” a program offered to admitted students, and the closing statement from the Director of Fin Aid: “We hope to see you in the fall!” has me slightly intrigued - especially considering UCSC will have the first February wave soon. Thoughts?