There are six categories in the Activities and Awards section of the application, each limited to five entries. Choose experiences
that have meaning, illustrate interests, and/or demonstrate leadership. These are just a couple of examples of the questions in
two of the categories.
• Coursework Other than A-G - Academic courses that do not fit in the “a-g” categories of history/social science, English,
math, laboratory science, language other than English (foreign language), and/or visual and performing art should be reported
in this section. Examples include leadership courses or religion courses. Do not include non-academic courses, such as PE,
office/teacher assistant, etc.
• Educational preparation programs – Programs include but are not limited to: AVID, Upward Bound, and Gear Up. A list of
common programs appear in a drop-down menu. If a program is not included, manually enter it.
• Community Service – Consistent participation over time may indicate commitment and dedication.
• Work Experience – Demonstrates time management, responsibility and perhaps leadership.
• Awards & Honors – Awards which are significant in nature – county-wide, state-wide and national - indicate a high level of
achievement with significant competition. School-based awards are more meaningful to readers if context is provided, such
as “5
th
place out of 500 students” to earn award, but even “perfect attendance” can be insightful.
• Extra Curricular Activities –Continued participation over time indicates passion, commitment, and sometimes leadership.
Enter details about each activity.
Use the Worksheet in the Quick-start guide for applying to UC brochure.
• For California students (U.S. citizens and permanent residents): admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/apply-
online-freshman-cal.pdf
• For Out of State students (U.S. citizens and permanent residents): admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/apply-
online-freshman-out-of-state.pdf
• For International students (non U.S. citizens on with a Visa (or planned Visa) status):
admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/apply-online-freshman-international.pdf
Activities & Awards Tips:
• Don’t use acronyms for names of clubs or awards: Spell them out and explain your level of involvement.
• Don’t list the same activity in multiple areas (for instance listing Honors Society in “Awards and Honors” and “Extracurricular
Activities”), but make sure the most important activities are reflected in some way.
• If an applicant did not have the time/opportunity to participate in school and/or community activities, volunteer/paid
employment, explain to application readers why – how else did the applicant use their time and was it a choice or a
requirement, for example: caring for siblings, elder-care, commitment to doing homework (research projects, papers, etc.).
We understand that students are gaining valuable life experience and consider that as part of our comprehensive review.
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