First-years applying for fall 2025 admission
COUNSELORS
Stay up-to-date on important admissions information including application tips for your college-bound students.
Campus Updates 2025-2026Counselor Contact List
If you work for a high school, community college, or community based organization please fill out the form linked below to join our counselor contact list to receive important updates from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Invite UC San Diego
Ask UC San Diego Undergraduate Admissions to participate in your college fair or present at your high school, community college, or community based organization event.
Get to Know Us
Prospective Student Webinars
Did you miss our prospective virtual events? No worries! We've got you covered. Simply click the tabs below to learn more about the recordings and access the videos.
Student Events
Get to know UC San Diego by attending upcoming events. Check out what we have coming up and access recordings of past events.
PUBLICATIONS
Learn about our 160+ majors, unique college system, admissions requirements, research and internship opportunities, exciting student life, financing your education, and more!
Selective Majors
Several majors at UC San Diego experience interest that often exceeds capacity. These majors are listed as selective. Students interested in a selective major should indicate their desired first choice major on the UC Application. Due to capacity limits of selective majors, we strongly encourage those who chose a selective major to also indicate an alternate non-selective major choice.
Transfer Major Preparation
When applying to transfer to UC San Diego, students should be aware of any major preparation requirements for their intended major. Students will be screened for the number of courses completed, the grades earned in those courses and their cumulative GPA.
College System
UC San Diego’s unique college system creates an opportunity to make the university experience more personal and approachable by providing support and a smaller community within the larger university. Students are free to pursue their chosen major no matter which college they are affiliated with. Applicants have the opportunity to rank their top four UC San Diego Colleges on their UC Application, so encourage them to visit our Colleges page linked below, and review the first-year and transfer general education requirements to learn more.
Personal Insight Questions
First-Year
Must answer 4 out of 8 questions, and each answer must be limited to 350 word maximum.
Transfers
Must answer 1 required question and must also answer 3 out of 7 additional questions. Each answer is limited to a 350 word maximum.
Portfolio Review
First-Year and Transfer applicants may be asked to submit an optional supplemental application and/or a portfolio/audition video for faculty review, when applying to these majors: Music (Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts, Music, Music Humanities), Theatre & Dance (Dance, Theatre), Visual Arts (Art History, Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts, Media, Speculative Design, Studio).