You are considered a freshman applicant if you are still in high school or have graduated from high school but have not enrolled in a regular session at any college or university.

There are three paths to eligibility for freshmen:

1.    Eligibility in the Statewide Context: Students who meet minimum requirements for coursework, grade point average and test scores are admitted by this path.

2.    Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC): Students who rank in the top 4 percent at participating California high schools may be admitted through ELC. ELC students are guaranteed admission to UC Merced as long as they submit an application to our campus, complete the examination and subject requirements, and maintain eligibility.

3.    Eligibility by Examination Alone: Students who do not meet the requirements for Eligibility in the Statewide Context or ELC may qualify for admission by achieving high scores on the ACT Assessment plus Writing or SAT Reasoning Test and two SAT Subject Tests.

PLEASE NOTE: UC Merced's ACT Code is 0450 and our College Board Code is 4129
If you have any questions about eligibility or applying to UC Merced, please do not hesitate to call us at (209) 228-4682 or toll free in California (866) 270-7301. We are also available by e-mail at admissions@ucmerced.edu.