Transfers: Completing the Application

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. If you are not admitted in your first-choice major, you are not likely to be considered for admission to your second-choice major. You should be aware that many of our most popular majors have additional coursework and GPA requirements that must be fulfilled before you can enroll.

The exploratory and undeclared options are closed to junior-level transfer applicants.

Reporting Foreign Education

You must list all coursework from schools, colleges and universities in which you enrolled, regardless of grades or transferability, including coursework from institutions in other countries. Failure to list all schools in which you enrolled will jeopardize your admission. The international admission specialists in our office will evaluate your foreign coursework and determine how many credits, if any, are transferable to UC Davis. Learn more about meeting requirements with your foreign education and reporting your foreign education correctly in the application.

Academic Coursework

You must list all of your coursework from all schools in which you have enrolled regardless of grades, transferability or late withdrawal. Failure to list all schools in which you have enrolled will jeopardize your admission.

Letters of Recommendation and Other Material

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. Note, however, that letters of recommendation may be required for scholarship purposes —read each application's instructions carefully.

Writing Your Personal Statement

We use the personal statement to learn more about you as an individual and to understand the experiences, accomplishments and points of view you would bring to the university's undergraduate student body. The personal statement is your opportunity to discuss attributes and experiences that may not be evident through a review of your academic record. The personal statement format requires your response to two short-answer prompts. Learn more about the personal statement format.

Your personal statement should:

• be checked by a teacher, counselor or other adviser for spelling, grammar and clarity.
• provide specific examples of your accomplishments or activities in which you’ve participated.
• provide any relevant information about you that you don’t think is captured elsewhere in the application.
• explain any gaps in your school enrollment. A brief description of what you were doing during these breaks in your education is all that is necessary.

Your personal statement should not:

• exceed the total maximum length of 1,000 words for the two responses.
• be written in the form of a poem, a recipe or any other “creative” format.
• be accompanied by samples of your work, letters of recommendation or other supporting materials.

Ready to Apply?

You can view the UC online application for admission and scholarships and start preparing your submission as early as October for fall admission. Visit our Apply page today for final tips and to get started!

Check Your Application Status

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