It always surprises me that another school year and summer break are over! And then September always seems to fly by with my seniors ramping up their application work and I get a chance to attend the UC Counselor Conference to learn more about what we can expect in the upcoming admission cycle. It's a great opportunity to connect with like minded counselors and meet admission reps from all nine campuses.
The UC campuses introduced a number of new majors across several campuses. Here's a glimpse into some of the more popular ones: * Only open to first-year applicants for fall 2025. Open to transfer applicants for fall 2027.
UC San Diego
When applying to UC San Diego, students can choose several new options introduced this year. These additions reflect UC San Diego’s commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation and academic excellence.
Artificial Intelligence, B.S.
Cinematic Arts, B.A.
Literary Arts, B.A.
Media Industries and Communication, B.A.
Structural Engineering specializations:
Aerospace Structures, B.S.
Civil Structures, B.S.
Geotechnical Engineering, B.S.
Structural Health Monitoring/Non-Destructive Evaluation, B.S.
UC Berkeley
Neuroscience major
Israel Studies minor
UC Davis
Business major*
UC Irvine
Applied and Computational Mathematics major
UC Merced
Aerospace Engineering major
Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering major*
Biochemistry major
Biological Sciences, BA major
Communication and Media major^
Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology major
Management of Innovation Sustainability and Technology major*
Neuroscience major*
Science, Technology, and Ethics major*
UC Riverside
Black Study major
Business Analytics major^
Environmental Studies major
Global and Community Health major
Religious Studies/Admin Studies major
Admission data was updated for most of the campuses as follows:
It's not common for universities to share their admit rate by major but here's some information from Berkeley regarding their most requested majors:
UC Santa Barbara saw significant movement on it's waitlist:
While UCLA didn't share the breakdown of application by majors, they did share their admit rate by schools:
UC San Diego's overall admit rate was 27% but they also saw movement on their waitlist as follows:
UC Irvine admitted 8.37% more CA students and while their waitlist didn't move like UCSB, it's still good to know that a third of the applicants who were offered a spot on their waitlist were admitted.
I'll keep sharing information as it becomes available. If you or your student are interested in any of these campuses, consider visiting them during the school year. Visiting a campus while classes are in session truly helps and allows prospective applicants a glimpse into campus life. Signing up for an official tour gives you significant more information than you would get just walking around by yourself.
Many of the UC campuses host Open House Days and events over the next few weeks. Check out each campus' website for more information.
UC Berkeley
Berkeley Showcase, November 2
UC Irvine
Discover UCI, October 19
UCLA
Fall Open House, October 19
UC Riverside
Discover UCR, October 5
UC San Diego
Fall Showcase, October 5
UC Santa Cruz
Fall Open House, November 2
Class of 2025 - The UC application is open! You can start applying as soon as tomorrow, October 1st. Do your homework and research the majors each campus offers, choose wisely and opt for what's important to you. I have sporadic slots open for hourly sessions if you need any help with your applications. Book directly online or email me at swati@zalmethod.com
Class of 2026 - Make sure to keep that GPA up as you get through the fall semester. The college application starts now so let's plan for your extracurricular activities, SAT timeline (even though the UCs are test blind), aptitude testing to help us research majors and then start researching schools as early as December but definitely in January.
Class of 2027 and 2028 - Hope school is off to a great start! Stay busy with your activities and enjoy jumping into leadership positions if that's something you're interested in. If you're looking for outside classes or programs let's talk and get all of your activities squared away!