Pre-College Application Process

We Can't Wait to See You this Summer!

Our Summer Pre-College Programs at UC Davis are academically rigorous and designed for talented, motivated, high-achieving high school students—from rising sophomores to rising seniors. There is no minimum GPA, but your application materials should demonstrate strong initiative and academic ability, and the maturity necessary for participating in a residential program on a university campus. We're looking for students who have a passion for learning and who will make valuable intellectual and social contributions to the program. 

The program does not offer academic credit.

Getting Ready to Apply for the Pre-College Program

To easily apply for a Pre-College Program, we recommend the following:  

Step 1) Create a UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education student account

Note: Individual students must create their own account. Parents or legal guardians should not create an account on behalf of their student.

Step 2) Make sure all the necessary documents needed are ready for upload:
  1. Short Answer Questions

You will need to upload one document containing your answers to the following questions.

Question One: Tell us about why you selected the UC Davis Pre-College program area that you chose. How does it match up with any previous experience or future goals? What do you hope to get out of your participation in the program? (250-word limit)

Question Two: Tell us about one or two of the interests and activities that are most important to you. What motivates you to pursue them? How much time do you devote to them? How have they made a difference in your life? (250-word limit)

Step 3) Determine your form of payment

Our online system currently accepts credit card payment in the form of American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa.

If you plan to pay for your application using any other form of payment, please contact cpeinfo@ucdavis.edu or call (530) 757-8777 for further information.

How to Apply for the Pre-College Program

Step 1) Log in to your student account
Step 2) On our website, select the course you are interested in joining and choose “Enroll Now”

Note: You will not be able to apply for courses that have reached maximum capacity and have a full waitlist.

Step 3) Complete the required application

You do not have to complete the application in one sitting. You can save your progress and return to complete the application at a later date. Your account will show your progress as one of three levels: Incomplete, In Progress or Complete.

Step 4) Once you have pressed “Submit Application,” please choose “OK” when the popup appears

The application fee will be added to the cart.

Step 5) Choose “Continue Checkout”
Step 6) Students must agree to the policy before moving onto the payment submission form
Step 7) Complete your payment using the following form
Step 8) You have now submitted your application!

Program staff will review your submitted application within 3 – 5 business days. You will receive a notification from our staff about any status changes to your application. When an application is approved, the student and parent/guardian will receive an email with details about next steps in the enrollment process.