So, here we are, turning the page to November, with questions about the University of California application are coming in fast and furious. What is a PIQ? Do I have to send a transcript? Is it a bad idea to submit my application on November 30th?

Being the awesome counselor that you are, you’ll likely be spending much of the next month fielding questions about all things UC.

If you didn’t have a chance to attend the virtual 2022 UC Counselor Conference in September, we thought to lend a hand and share our notes—we’re all in this together, right?

Here are some overall highlights:

UC system admitted a record 85,268 California first-year students for fall 2022, a 1.2% increase from ‘21
Out of state offers declined by 19%; international offers declined by 12%
Application submission window is now October 1st - November 30th
Reminder that the UC system is test-free

New Dual Admission Pilot (not to be confused with dual enrollment)

Separate transfer pathway for first-time freshman applicants
Designed to provide UC access for prospective students experiencing limitations in high school curriculum, geographical constraints, or financial challenges
Three year pilot beginning with fall 2023 admissions cycle
Applicants choose a campus, are guaranteed admission as junior with GPA requirement
Program will include counseling, academic/transfer support services

Native American Opportunity Plan (yes!)

In-state systemwide Tuition and Student Services Fees are now fully covered for CA students who are also enrolled in federally recognized Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native tribes

Financial Aid

Tuition Stability Plan - Beginning Fall ‘22, tuition will be adjusted for each incoming undergraduate class, remaining constant until the student graduates (for up to 6 years)

Debt Free UC - Work toward a debt-free UC education by 2030 includes increases in Pell Grants, Cal Grants and Middle Income Tuition levels. Also prioritizing part-time on campus work.

School Announcements & Updates

UC Berkeley

128,200 first-year applicants (another record-breaking year)

11% admit rate and strongest yield rate in recent history

6,240 expected fall enrollment (21% first gen, 24% underrepresented)

4.31-4.66 middle 50% weighted GPA

Dual degree programs with Sciences Po and Hong Kong University require separate application due by November 30th
MET and GMP Programs still require supplemental applications; available in December
Academic program changes are:
- Environmental Economics and Policy is now housed under the Rauser College of Natural Resources
- Nutritional Science Dietetics concentration has been discontinued
- No new majors offered this year
Students can select an alternate major for the first time. Admissions will only guarantee to review student under primary major, but may consider alt major when assessing space available/possibility of moving off waitlist

Pro tip: Last spring, Cal received 1,240 admission decision appeals and granted 4 of them. Always good to remind students that appeals are a super-long shot.

UC Davis

94,754 first-year applicants

37.5% admit rate

6,640 expected fall enrollment (34% first gen, 31% underrepresented, 38% limited income)

4.05-4.29 average weighted capped GPA

Admit Rates by College:

37.9% - Letters and Science

39.8% - Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

45.9% - Biological Sciences

29% - Engineering

Over-enrolled by 1,000 students in ‘21 so had to be more conservative for Fall ‘22 class
Crossed the $1 billion mark for research funding this last year
Last year, launched wildly successful Data Science major—received 1,500 applications right out of the gate. Is a selective major for transfer students; keeping an eye on size of freshman program
New UC Degree Completion Program—joining forces with UC Riverside, Merced, and Santa Barbara to help CA students return to college and complete their studies (about 800 students this year)

UC Irvine

119.210 first-year applicants

21% admit rate

5,920 expected fall enrollment (42% first gen, 46% from low-income household)

4.22 average weighted GPA

Campus admits by major—every major on campus is selective
56% of first-year applicants apply to ten majors: Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Computer Science, Psychology, Nursing Science, Undeclared, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Economics, and Criminology, Law & Society

Undeclared is still good choice and prepares students for range of majors, but does have a cap just like all other majors
B.A. in Psychology is no longer offered. Instead, students should consider:
- B.A., Psychological Science—foundation for graduate work in health services, human resources, social work, law, education and related fields
- B.S., Psychology—focus on study of mind and brain, incorporating, biology, chemistry and physics
- B.S., Cognitive Science—prepares students for a research career
Expanding e-sports scholarship team to include new Valorant team
Among top 1% of universities in US for producing Fulbright Scholars

Pro tip: UCI is a founding member of Hispanic Serving Research Universities Alliance and an inaugural Fulbright Hispanic Serving Institution Leader.

UCLA

149,815 first-year applicants

9% admit rate - first year with single digit admit rate

6,599 expected fall enrollment

4.26 average weighted capped GPA (capped at 8 courses)

4.53 average weighted GPA

Admit Rates by College:

10% - Letters and Science

6% - Engineering

20% - Music

5% - Arts and Architecture

4% - Theater, Film and TV

1% - Nursing

Increased number of CA residents and decreased number of out-of-state admits
Letters and Science major has no impact on the likelihood of being admitted
Academic changes:

New major: Southeast Asian Studies

New minors: Data Science Engineering, Information and Media Literacy, Iranian Music

Four year housing guaranteed for new freshmen, two years for new transfers

Prop tip: Remind students that they should read admissions contracts carefully—senior year grades and program matter. Admissions officers don’t want surprises when they receive the final high school transcript and they have been revoking admission decisions in recent years.

UC Merced

29,921 first-year applicants

90% admit rate

2,500 expected fall enrollment

3.78 average admit GPA

New BS to MD Prime+ Program offers Conditional admissions to Merced and UCSF Medical School with preference given to San Joaquin Valley residents
- Apply directly to UC Merced as Biological Sciences, Bioengineering or Chemistry major with 3.6 GPA or higher
- Supplemental application due in December + interview
- Highly selective for first year—will admit 12 students

Academic Changes:

New Electrical Engineering and Writing Studies majors

English major renamed to Literature in English with two new emphases:

Literature and Social Justices
Literature and the Environment

Pro tip: UC Merced is currently accepting applications for their Counselor Educator Program (2/21-2/24), a paid program that brings counselors to campus for tours, housing, food, etc. It’s a great way to become familiar with the campus and get an inside look at admissions.

UC Riverside

54,685 first-year applicants

69% admit rate

6,076 expected fall enrollment

3.8-4.19 average weighted GPA

Do consider admitting students to alternate major so be intentional; don’t select another super-selective major for your alternate choice, especially if your first choice is engineering, business administration, or psychology

New majors:

Robotics
Actuarial sciences
5 year Statistics BS+MS program

Pro tip: UCR is in growth mode with a goal of 35,000 students by 2035. This is a great opportunity for students to be considered for admission.

UC San Diego

131,226 first-year applicants

23.7% admit rate

6,700 expected fall enrollment (48% first gen, 52% from low-income household)

4.12-4.30 average weighted GPA

Fewer offers were made vs. year ago, used waitlist a bit to reach targets; 8% of first-year admits were from the waitlist
Biological Sciences, Data Science, Engineering (all), Physics and Public Health are all capped selective majors; definitely choose a non-capped alternate major
New Eighth College with community and engagement theme. Can rank on the application this year, will open in Fall ‘23.
Guaranteed two years of housing

Pro tip: Students rank the residential colleges on their application but their choices don’t play a factor in admissions decisions. Students are assigned college based on ranking once admitted.

UC Santa Barbara

111,006 first-year applicants

26% admit rate

5,250 expected fall enrollment (30% first gen, 26% underrepresented)

4.37-4.52 average weighted GPA

Like UCLA, Letters and Science major has no impact on the likelihood of being admitted
Students are opting for narrow selection of majors; 31% of apps choose Economics, Biology and Psychology; 10% Computer Science
College of Creative Studies now offers a new Marine Science major
Computer Science is highly selective (10k apps for 100 spots); recommend selecting L&S alternate major)
New Game Studies minor
All Fall ‘22 students who applied for housing did receive accommodations; don’t anticipate issue moving forward

Pro tip: In-state geographic diversity is very important. The admissions team is eager to see more applications from underrepresented areas across California.

UC Santa Cruz

66,033 first-year applicants

47% admit rate

4,124 expected fall enrollment (36% first gen, 40% from low-income household)

New academic programs:
- B.A./B.S., Global and Community Health
- B.S., Mathematics Theory and Computation
- Minor in History of Consciousness
Currently house 50% of undergraduates on campus; expanding and renovating options
- Priority given to first years, rising sophomores, EOP, military, Regents and Renaissance Scholars

Pro tip: Last year, some Computer Science applicants were admitted off of the waitlist into alternate majors. Good to know when advising CS-interested students!

Working with Undocumented Students

For those of you working with undocumented students, here is some guidance on how to answer their most common questions.

#1 - The About Us Section (Citizenship and Residency)

Choose “no selection” when asked about Country of Citizenship

#2 - Statement of Legal Residence Section

Choose “yes” to be evaluated for CA residency for tuition purposes
Choose “yes” to questions about physical presence in CA, attendance at a CA high school and establishing CA as a permanent home
Choose “unknown” to questions about Parent ½ physical presence in CA and U.S. citizenship status
Choose “I believe that I qualify for an AB540 non-resident supplemental tuition exemption based on the number of years I have attended school in CA” in the Special Circumstance, Non-resident Supplemental Tuition Exemptions, and Tuition Waivers section

Pro tip: If an $80 campus application fee is listed with no fee waiver, the applicant is likely being considered an international applicant. Have your student double check to make sure that the country of citizenship reads “no selection.”

Personal Insight Questions

For most students, the toughest part of the UC application is responding to the PIQs.

As a reminder, the PIQs (personal insight questions) are:

Aligned with comprehensive review factors
Used to better understand student context
May be used for admissions and/or scholarship processes
May provide information not included in other parts of the application

Students should think about PIQs as interview questions and respond as such

How can responses be formulated like an interview?

Focus on content, not style—no thesis statements, fragments, or run-on sentences
Use “I” statements; self-reflection
Write persuasively
No creative hooks please; looking for facts

Pro tip: When writing about activities and leadership during COVID, students should focus on what they DID do, not what activities they could no longer do

Whether you’re leading an AVID class through brainstorming exercises or reading tons of very rough drafts, here are some of our go-to PIQ resources:

Let’s get some kids to college.