UC and CSU Applications are Now Available!

The California UC and CSU applications are now available for high school seniors who are applying as freshmen or community college students applying as transfer students. Both deadlines are Nov 30th – no exceptions!

California State University (CSU) Applications
www.csumentor.edu

Applications are easy to complete — takes about 3 hours.  Just request an unofficial transcript from our high school guidance counselor so you can enter in all of your classes and grades from 10th and 11th grades.  Once you complete the application, you just need to complete the first page of each CSU campus you plan to apply to.  It’s that easy. You can even submit your ACT scores to just one campus and they’ll be available to all of the CSU colleges.

University of California (UC) Applications:

admission.universityofcalifornia.edu

The UC applications are also pretty simple to complete. Like the CSU applications, refer to your transcript to make sure you’re entering the course and grade information correctly.  There are no letters of recommendation (Berkeley may request one from you). You’ll need to write 2 essays that total 1000 words.  As long as they are at least 500 words each, you’re good to go.

Start these essays now so you’ll have plenty of time to edit them. Here are the prompts:

Prompt #1: Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

Prompt #2: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

Avoid last-minute crises by submitting your applications at least a week  early.  The majority of applicants submit their applications on Nov 29th to the 30th when the online systems run slower and often crash. THIS IS BAD NEWS IF YOU’VE PROCRASTINATED.  I’ve had many students knocking on my door at midnight — in tears — because they couldn’t hit the “Submit” button for whatever reason. NO FUN. Besides, if you submit them BEFORE Thanksgiving, you’ll be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and the 4-day weekend!  And also avoid crying.