Frequently Asked Questions

UCSB does not look at "demonstrated interest"— or the degree to which you show a university you are interested in attending—in the admission process. We encourage students to connect with Admissions through our application overview sessions, virtual tours, and open house events. Please note that attendance at these offerings, virtual or in-person, will not affect your application for admission.

The UC application is open for both freshman and transfer applicants for the Fall 2025 year. Submit your UC application from October 1 - December 2, 2024. Don't forget to watch our UC Application Tutorial playlist for more insight!

You can fill out and submit a UC application on the University of California’s admissions website during the submission period. There is a $80 fee per campus for U.S. residents and an $95 fee per campus for international students.

The University of California will waive application fees for up to four campuses for qualified students who otherwise would be unable to apply for admission. To be accepted for the fee waiver, you must be a U.S. resident or qualify through a selective visa and you must meet specific requirements related to your family income and size. Consideration for the fee waiver is built into the UC application, no other application is necessary.

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships website provides a sample budget for approximating the cost of attending UCSB. You can calculate your estimated financial aid package from UCSB using the Net Price Calculator.

Most financial aid at UCSB is only available to California residents based on demonstrated financial need. To be considered for financial aid, students must fill out the scholarships section of the UC application as well as submit a financial aid application (either the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act Application). Current UCSB students will also have access to an exclusive scholarship search engine called Scholarship Universe. Please refer to UCSB’s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships website for more information.

UC Santa Barbara does not review unsolicited transcripts, letters of recommendation, or supplemental material for general admission. We will only use the submitted UC application to make our decision. To get a better understanding of our admissions selection process please see our Freshman Eligibility and Selection page.

Students applying to a major in the College of Creative Studies will be required to submit a supplemental application, which may include letters of recommendation, in addition to the UC application.

UCSB will not consider SAT or ACT test scores when making admissions decisions or awarding Regents and Chancellor’s scholarships for applicants. Students have the option to send SAT or ACT test scores, but those scores will not be used in admissions selection. Test scores may be used for coursework placement post-enrollment. For details on the UC system, visit the UC Exam Requirement page.

Transfer students are never required to submit ACT or SAT scores.

If you attended a high school for three or more years where the language of instruction was English, you do not need to take an English proficiency exam. If your language of instruction in high school was not English, you will need to demonstrate English language proficiency. You can find more information on the English Language Proficiency page.

Please note that UCSB will also accept a Duolingo score of 115 or higher to meet the English proficiency requirement.

Transfer students do not need to take an English proficiency exam as they are required to take two UC-transferable English composition courses prior to transferring.

UC offers college credit to students who have taken and scored well on Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and A-level exams. Refer to UCSB’s General Catalog for details on UCSB course equivalency for each exam. 

Transfer students who passed AP or IB exams can use those scores to meet minimum admission requirements and certain major preparation requirements, but exam scores alone will never be sufficient to meet all of the transfer admission requirements. Credit is not granted for AP or IB courses, only for AP exam scores of 3 or higher and IB HL exam scores of 5 or higher. Please refer to the UC Undergraduate Admissions AP & Exam Credits page for details on what credit will be granted for each exam. Refer to UCSB’s General Catalog for details on UCSB course equivalency for each exam. 

For freshman applicants, GPA is one of many factors taken into consideration in the admissions review process. Every student has an opportunity to be admitted as long as they are meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and take advantage of the opportunities presented to them outside of the classroom. While there is no recommended GPA for freshman application, students must earn a minimum GPA of a 3.0 (3.4 for non-California residents) in all A-G courses.

For transfer students, it is recommended that you have an overall transferable GPA of 3.2 or higher for most majors (3.6 or higher for engineering). The higher your GPA is, the more competitive you will be in our selection process. If you are an out-of-state student or a non-California community college (CCC) student, it is recommended that you have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Freshman students may repeat A-G courses with a grade of D or F for a new grade. If the course is repeated before senior year, the new grade will be used to calculate your UC GPA. 

Transfer students may repeat courses with grades of C- or lower for credit. If a course is repeated by the fall of the year you submit a UC application, then the repeated grade will replace the original grade in your GPA calculation. Courses taken at a UC campus may only be repeated for credit at a UC campus, not at another institution such as a community college. 

Yes, that is correct. If you are paying your application fee by mail and/or mailing a fee waiver, the address is: 
UC Application Center
PO Box 4438
Greenwood Village, CO 80155

Some majors at UCSB admit new students to a “pre-major” status. This designation does NOT mean it is more selective or difficult to gain admission. This means that once you begin your studies at UCSB you must take a set of required courses and meet GPA requirements, which are determined by the department, in order to declare a full major. The UCSB General Catalog indicates (**) next to the majors at UCSB that have a pre-major status. 

Transfer applicants from California community colleges can refer to the major articulations on www.assist.org for more details about pre-major status.

Majors in UCSB's College of Engineering are selective, meaning they have a limited number of spaces available. Majors in UCSB's College of Letters and Science are not selective, but Dance B.A., Dance B.F.A., and Music B.M. applicants must complete an audition before admission. Majors in UCSB's College of Creative Studies are selective, and all CCS applicants are required to submit a free supplemental application and additional materials. 

To cancel/withdraw your application, log into your UCSB Applicant Portal and follow the procedure as outlined below:

• If your portal shows your admission status as “Pending:”  Click on the “Withdraw Application” button to remove yourself from consideration for admission
• If your portal shows your admission status as “Admitted:”  Select the “Accept or Decline Admission” button to indicate your final choice for enrollment.
• If you have already accepted our offer of admission and now want to withdraw: Cancel your Statement of Intent to Enroll (SIR) by selecting the "Withdraw Application" button to let us know that you are not going to attend.  If you have already submitted a housing application, contact Campus Housing as soon as possible to cancel your space,

Please note, canceling/withdrawing your application is a FINAL decision and CANNOT be reversed. The Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) fee is non-refundable.

If you are interested in enrolling at UC Santa Barbara in the future, you will need to reapply for admission during the appropriate filing period. The next opportunity to apply is December 2024, for fall 2025 enrollment. Admissions staff will be pleased to assist you in planning for admission to a future term, visit our website for additional information.

We wish you the best in your future endeavors.

The Transfer Admission Guarantee, or TAG, is an admission program for qualified students transferring from any one of the California community colleges. Please see our TAG page for more information and TAG-specific FAQs.

The UC Transfer Admission Planner (UC TAP) is a free online tool for transfer students to enter their college coursework and track their progress towards transferring to a UC campus. It allows UC admissions staff to provide feedback to students and is integrated with the Transfer Admission Guarantee application. We recommend that all students interested in transferring to UCSB create a UC TAP account.

Any course taken at a California community college can be researched on ASSIST to see if it is UC-transferable and if it meets any admission or pre-major requirements. Whether a course was taken during or after high school does not affect its transferability, and whether a course was taken online or in-person does not affect its transferability. 

Any course taken at a University of California campus will be accepted for credit at UCSB. Whether courses taken at another UC campus are equivalent to courses at UCSB can only be determined after a student is admitted and decides to attend UCSB. Courses taken through UC Extension may or may not be UC transferable.

Any course taken at a college or university outside of the California community college and University of California systems will be evaluated at the time of application to determine if it is UC-transferable. Please refer to the Guide to Course Transferability PDF for more detailed information. 

If you cannot find a required course on the major articulation agreement for your college, it is advised that you take the equivalent course at a different community college. You can also review online programs from an accredited college or university. A required course will not be waived when it is not available at your community college. Note that only majors in engineering, economics, mathematics, and biology currently require specific major preparation courses. Recommended major preparation courses for these majors, as well as major preparation courses for all other majors at UCSB, are not required to be completed before you transfer.

On the UC application, all information is self-reported and transcripts are not required to apply. If you are admitted and decide to enroll at UCSB, then we will require a high school transcript unless you are transferring from a California community college (CCC) and have full IGETC certification. If you do not have full IGETC certification then we will require a high school transcript to process your enrollment.

The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum is a general education (GE) course pattern available at the California Community Colleges (CCCs) that can be followed to receive completion credit for GE requirements. IGETC must be certified by the CCC, usually through the Transfer Center or counseling department. Refer IGETC questions to your community college. IGETC is not required for admissions eligibility at UCSB, however, some UC campuses may ask for IGETC to meet their selection criteria. 

Freshman applicants are not required to complete specific major preparation courses before admission. 

Transfer applicants should complete as much major preparation as possible prior to admission. If major preparation is required, then it must be completed by the end of the spring prior to transfer, possibly with a specific GPA. If major preparation is recommended, it does not have to be completed prior to transfer for admissions purposes. However, we recommend you complete as much major preparation as possible before transfer to help prepare you to graduate on time.

UCSB only accepts transfer students at the junior level (between 60-89 semester units or 90-134 quarter units). Lower-division units are limited to a maximum of 70 semester/105 quarter, so as long as you have only taken CCC courses then you do not need to worry about the limitation because all California community college (CCC) courses are lower-division. Units earned at a UC campus (both lower- and upper-division), as well as UC-transferable upper-division courses from other four-year institutions, are not subject to this limitation. So, if you have a significant number of units from a non-CCC institution, then it is possible to earn too many units to transfer and thus not be eligible to transfer.

Students interested in transferring to UCSB from another UC campus must apply for admission and go through the same process as any other transfer applicant. To be considered for admission to UCSB, you must leave/have left your previous UC campus in good academic standing or have cleared any probationary standing. Please note that all UC units transfer from one UC to another, which can put students at risk of being denied admission due to excessive units if all units combined put them at senior status. We recommend reaching out to our office early using the Contact Us page to make sure you are aware of unit limits.  

UCSB does not accept applications for sophomore transfers. We only accept applications for junior-level transfers for the fall term. 

Due to the current volume of submissions, we are unable to update freshman applications once they are submitted. If you are admitted and choose to enroll at UCSB, you can reach out at that time with any coursework changes. Transfer applicants will be able to update their academic record during the Transfer Academic Update (TAU) beginning December 15 with a priority deadline of January 31.

Freshman Applicants
A change of major request can be submitted via email to admissions@ucsb.edu between December 1-31. Using your UC application email, use the subject line “Major Change Request" and be sure to list your current major choice, requested major, full name, and your UC application ID or UCSB Perm number. View our change of major webpage for additional details.

Transfer Applicants
A change of major request can be submitted via email to admissions@ucsb.edu between December 1-January 31. Using your UC application email, use the subject line “Major Change Request" and be sure to list your current major choice, requested major, full name, and your UC application ID or UCSB Perm number. View our change of major webpage for additional details.

Freshman applicants are responsible for reporting all D or F grades earned in their senior year as soon as possible. Please email admissions@ucsb.edu with your name, UC application ID or UCSB perm #, and the class that you did not pass. We will contact you directly if we need additional information from you.

• Freshman applicants should not report any schedule changes in their senior year until after admission decisions have been released.
• Transfer applicants should update any changes to their winter or spring schedules directly in their UC application via the Transfer Academic Update (TAU). The TAU will open December 15 with a priority deadline of January 31, but additional updates may be submitted until the end of March. Changes made after March can be reported to UCSB by emailing admissions@ucsb.edu with your name and UC application ID or UCSB perm number. 

All admissions decisions will be released in your UCSB Applicant Portal in March for freshman applicants and April for transfer applicants.

UCSB does not email applicants their admission decision. Decisions can only be viewed by creating and logging into your UCSB Applicant Portal. We will email you when your decision has been posted; then you will need to log into your portal to view your decision.

Please refer to the portal tutorial video for details on creating your account. Make sure to follow directions exactly as they are outlined in the video. First, you must create an account which is a multi-step process that ends with creating a password. Then, you use the password to log in to the portal. Each step has specific directions that must be followed carefully; otherwise, there can be errors. If the information you enter does not match, please refer to the information you used when you submitted your UC application. If you have created a password, but forgot it, then you can click the "forgot my password" link on the portal login page.

If you did not get admitted to UCSB, you may apply again in a future term. If you were a freshman applicant, you are encouraged to explore the transfer pathway. If you were a transfer applicant, you are encouraged to contact us at admissions@ucsb.edu to connect with a transfer admissions counselor.