Tips for applying to UC Davis as a freshman

Learn best practices for filling out the UC application.

Reporting coursework and grades

Your academic record is the core of your application. It’s important to report all your UC-approved college preparatory coursework — whether taken at a high school or college — completely and accurately. Include courses in which you have enrolled, regardless of grades, transferability, withdrawal or if they were repeated.

Honors courses

The honors box on the UC application form is used to designate a course for which an extra grade point is awarded for a letter grade of C or better. There are four different types of honors courses:

  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • Designated International Baccalaureate (IB) courses
  • College courses (CL); applies only to UC-transferable college courses
  • UC-approved school-designated honors-level courses (HL)

If you attend a California public high school, see your high school’s UC-approved course list for more information about honors courses. Only UC-approved courses that are listed as honors are eligible to receive an extra grade point.

Nonresident applicants should check the honors box (AP, IB, CL)  for AP, IB and UC-transferable college courses as appropriate for all of the above.

Reporting international education

 

Non-letter grades

If you are a domestic applicant and your school uses a non-letter grade system, you will need to take some additional steps in completing the application. First, check with your high school counseling office to see if there is a conversion scale to the A-B-C-D-F letter grade system. If a conversion scale does not exist, do not attempt to translate your grades yourself. List the grades exactly as they appear on your transcript, and check the box that indicates your school uses a grading system other than A-B-C-D-F. Your application will be reviewed by a UC advisor who will translate these marks accordingly.
 

student looking at laptop computer

College courses taken while in high school

If any college/university-level courses were completed while in high school, add the college information after the high school information.

If UC-transferable courses were taken at a California community college (CCC), a course list will appear:

  • Select the course(s) taken, grade earned (or enter IP for In Progress, PL for Planned courses) and the "a-g" subject area in which the course fits. UC-transferable courses taken at a CCC can be found on Assist.org under the “College courses taken while in high school” section.

If non-UC-transferable or non-CCC courses were taken while in high school, students must manually input course information:

  • Only non-UC-transferable courses in English and math can be reported in this section of the application.
  • If there are other CCC courses that are non-UC-transferable, report them in the ‘Non a-g Coursework’ area later in the application.
  • If college/university courses were not taken at a CCC, enter each course and grade earned as it appears on the official academic record from the college/university attended.

Any gaps in your educational chronology should be explained in the Additional Information section of the UC application; only a brief description of what you were doing during these breaks in your education is necessary. Letters of recommendation and other materials

Please do not include letters of recommendation, copies of awards, transcripts or samples of your academic or creative work with your application. They will not be reviewed or returned to you.

student in animal science working with a horse

Choosing a major

You should apply to a major that interests you, rather than to one in which you think you have the best chance of admission. We also suggest that you include an alternate major in case you are not admitted in your first choice.

How your application is reviewed

During the selection process, UC Davis conducts a comprehensive review of every freshman application to ensure each applicant is assessed thoroughly and fairly.

We evaluate every application using 13 criteria that all UC campuses adhere to. We consider a broad range of factors, from traditional academics to extracurricular achievement and response to life challenges, but we're looking beyond the numbers to find out who you really are!

students walking down steps in front of a building

Checking your status

In December, you should receive a confirmation email from UC Davis Undergraduate Admissions containing your UC Davis student ID number. Use your student ID number to set up your MyAdmissions account.