University of California pushes back deadline for transfer applications

Students hoping to transfer to a University of California campus next fall will have more time to apply, the university announced today (Dec. 2).

The deadline for students to file applications to transfer for fall 2016 has been extended to January 4, widening the application window for qualified students preparing to transfer to the university.

The extension comes amid projected growth of 10,000 undergraduates over the next three years – 5,000 of them next year – under a major effort to boost UC’s enrollment of California students.

“The University of California proudly enrolls more community college transfer students than any other university of its caliber,” said UC President Janet Napolitano. “Giving transfer students more time to file their applications will help hard-working, eligible students across the state make their way to a UC campus next fall.”

The application extension is the latest in a series of efforts to aid transfer students. In July, UC rolled out Transfer Pathways, an academic roadmap that has simplified the transfer process for California Community College students as they prepare to apply to UC campuses.

From the beginning of her presidency, Napolitano has sought to better serve transfer students, creating a UC Transfer Action Team to recommend strategies to reach students transferring from California’s 113 community colleges.

“We wholeheartedly support the University of California’s commitment to admit more community college transfer students, and this deadline extension will expand the pool of qualified applicants from our system,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris. “UC research shows that our transfers do as well as, or even better than, students who entered a UC campus as a freshman.”

Nearly one in three UC students start at a community college before graduating from the University of California. The university is committed to a goal of enrolling at least one new transfer student for every two new freshmen.