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Articles / Applying to College / Can I Get Into UC Schools I Didn't Apply To?

Can I Get Into UC Schools I Didn't Apply To?

Sally Rubenstone
Written by Sally Rubenstone | Oct. 21, 2012

Question: If I apply to one UC and get rejected, will other UC's accept me even if I did not apply to them?

It's always nice to get good news when you don't expect it ... kind of like winning the lottery when you never even bought a ticket. ;) But, unfortunately, in this case, you can only be accepted at the UC campus(es) to which you have applied. There is a per-campus application fee ($70 per campus for domestic students; $80 for international students). So, if you want to be considered by multiple schools, you need to pay for it.


If you wish to attend a UC school, you should be sure to apply to campuses with a range of selectivity with the hope that at least one of your choices is "Safe" for you.

If you want to find out how your qualifications mesh with the expectations of the UC schools that interest you and also look for other colleges that might be good fits, try College Confidential's Supermatch. See http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/

(posted 10/21/2021)

Written by

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.

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