Required Documents
When the Office of Admissions receives the checklist items you submit, your checklist on the student portal, called "MyChecklist," will be updated to reflect the date we received them. Please allow time for our office to review and process your transcripts and test scores. We will update your checklist within 2 business days of receipt. If your items are not showing as received, you can contact the Office of Admissions at (209) 228-7178.
On this page:
- Required Final College Transcript(s)
- Required High School Transcript(s)
- Official Advanced Placement Exam Scores
- Official International Baccalaureate Exam Scores
- Official ACT plus Writing Assessment, SAT Reasoning and SAT Subject Test Scores
- Entry Level Writing Requirement
- Official TOEFL and IELTS Exam Scores
Required Final College Transcript(s)
Required final college transcripts must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions by colleges and universities you attended or be delivered in sealed, unopened envelopes from those institutions. Complete transcripts must be received by the deadline listed.
If you have questions about this process, contact the Office of Admissions at (209) 228-7178 or admissions@ucmerced.edu.
To view a complete listing of documents our office has received, select "MyAdmissions" in your student portal. If you did not complete coursework at a school that is listed in your checklist, or you will not be able to send the required transcript, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@ucmerced.edu or (209) 228-7178.
Required High School Transcript(s)
Required high school transcripts must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions by institution(s) you attended or be delivered in sealed, unopened envelopes from those institutions. Complete transcripts must be received by the deadline listed.
If you have questions about this process, contact the Office of Admissions at (209) 228-7178 or admissions@ucmerced.edu.
To view a complete list of documents our office has received, click on "MyAdmissions" in your student portal. If you did not complete coursework at a school listed in your checklist, or you will not be able to send the required transcript, contact the admissions office at admissions@ucmerced.edu or (209) 228-7178.
NOTE: Final official high school transcripts must include a date of graduation. If our office receives transcripts without a graduation date, or with coursework indicated as "in progress," they will be considered incomplete, and you will be required to request a complete final official transcript.
Official Advanced Placement (AP) Exam Scores
Required Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from the College Board or be delivered in a sealed, unopened envelope from their office. Do not send your personal copy of your AP exam scores to our office, as we cannot award credit from a student grade report.
Final official AP exam scores must be received in the Admissions Office by the posted deadline. To have your scores sent, visit the College Board website and request that they send your scores to the University of California, Merced (school code 4129).
NOTE: After four years, the College Board archives AP exam scores. Archived scores can take several months from the date of your request to reach UC Merced, so make sure to request archived scores well in advance of posted deadlines.
TIP: When requesting your scores, be sure to indicate ALL test dates and exams taken. Check your copies of the student score reports you receive to make certain you indicated the correct code for UC Merced. AP exams taken in your senior year are sometimes not received until late July. All first year students will see an AP score item display on their checklist. If you did not take an AP or International Baccalaureate exam, you are not required to submit test scores.
Official International Baccalaureate Exam Scores
Required International Baccalaureate (IB) exam scores must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from the International Baccalaureate Organization or be delivered in a sealed, unopened envelope from them. Final official IB exam scores should be received in the Office of Admissions by the posted deadline. To have your scores sent, visit the International Baccalaureate website and provide this address:
Office of Admissions
University of California, Merced
5200 N. Lake Road
Merced, CA 95343-5603
Official ACT with Writing Assessment, SAT Reasoning and SAT Subject Test Scores
Required official exam scores for the ACT plus Writing Assessment or SAT Reasoning Test must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from the testing agencies. Additionally, if you took SAT Subject Tests to show your mastery of academic subject areas, your scores must be sent to our office by the College Board. Final official scores must be received by the posted deadline.
To request your ACT scores, visit the ACT website and provide them with UC Merced's school code, 0450.
To have your SAT Reasoning and/or SAT Subject Test scores sent, visit the College Board website and provide them with UC Merced's school code, 4129.
TIP: Applicants are advised not to use Score Choice when sending their scores to the University of California. Exercising the Score Choice option may prevent UC Merced from receiving all of your official scores.
Entry Level Writing Requirement
The Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) is a graduation requirement for the University of California.
Students can satisfy the ELWR by achieving a qualifying score on one of several other examinations:
- 30 or better on the ACT, English Language Arts; or
- 30 or better on the ACT, Combined English/Writing (last administered June 2015); or
- 680 or better on the SAT, Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing*; or
- 680 or better on the SAT Reasoning Test, Writing (last administered January 2016); or
- 3 or above on either Advanced Placement Examination in English; or
- 5 or above on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level English A: Literature exam (formerly known as Higher Level English A1 exam); or
- 6 or above on an International Baccalaureate Standard Level English A: Literature exam (formerly known as Standard Level English A1 exam); or
- 5 or above on an International Baccalaureate Higher Level English A: Language and Literature exam; or
- 6 or above on an International Baccalaureate Standard Level English A: Language and Literature exam
- completion of the equivalent of UC Merced's WRI 001 at another institution prior to matriculation
- through course selection after completing the Writing Readiness Review (WRR)
- completion of the WRI 001 at UC Merced
*UC will accept a score of 680 or better on the SAT, Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing to satisfy the ELWR on a pilot basis, beginning with new students entering UC in fall 2018. The pilot will remain in effect until a new policy is adopted by the Academic Senate.
The ELWR must be satisfied within the first year of enrollment at UC, preferably by the end of the first semester. UC Merced encourages students to satisfy this requirement by taking an approved college course during summer prior to enrollment. You can enroll in Writing 001 at UC Merced or earn a minimum grade of C or better in a UC-transferable English composition course completed at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university and accepted by UC Merced’s Office of Admissions.
TIP: Prior to your admission term, you can satisfy the ELWR by taking a California Community College course identified as one that satisfies IGETC Area 1A in the articulation database at www.assist.org. You must earn a minimum grade of C or better and complete the course prior to your admission term to satisfy ELWR.
Any student who has not satisfied the ELWR should work with an academic advisor during New Student Orientation to register for an appropriate writing course.
Official TOEFL and IELTS Exam Scores
Required TOEFL or IELTS examination scores must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from the sending institutions. Final official scores must be received by the posted deadline.
To request your TOEFL exam scores, visit the TOEFL website. To request your IELTS scores, visit the IELTS website. Have them send your scores to:
Office of Admissions
University of California, Merced
5200 N. Lake Road
Merced, CA 95343-5603