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The University of California application closes at the end of November, and unlike the Common App it goes to every campus you chose in one submission. Once it is in, most of it is fixed.
This guide sets out what UC lets you update afterwards, what is locked for good, and how to report a change in your classes or grades. The details come from UC's own page for applicants, checked in November 2026.
What you can and cannot change on the UC application
| Part of the application | After you submit |
|---|---|
| Personal Insight Questions | Locked. Changes are not accepted |
| Activities and awards | Locked. Changes are not accepted |
| Phone, email, mailing address | Yes. Log in and update them |
| Test scores | Yes. Log in and report them |
| Adding a campus | Yes, if that campus is still open |
| Unsubmitting or sending a second application | No. Duplicates are canceled |
| Courses and grades | Not editable. You report changes to campuses |
UC is direct about the two sections applicants most want to reopen: changes to the Activities and awards section and to the Personal Insight Questions are not accepted once the application has been submitted. UC also says that minor changes to activities, awards, volunteer work or employment are unlikely to affect a decision, so there is no need to report them.
A typo in a Personal Insight Question
You cannot fix it, and you do not need to. UC readers are assessing what your answers show about you, across four responses and the rest of the application. A misspelled word or a missing comma is not what a decision turns on.
Do not submit a second application to correct it, because duplicates are canceled, and do not email campuses about small wording errors. Keep a copy of what you submitted and move on to the applications that are still open.
Reporting a change in classes or grades to UC
| Campus | Updates after submitting |
|---|---|
| Berkeley | Does not accept post-submission updates |
| San Diego | Does not accept post-submission updates |
| Santa Barbara | Does not accept post-submission updates |
| UCLA | Accepts some updates through its contact form |
| Davis | Through its MyAdmissions portal |
| Irvine | Through its applicant portal, for low grades or significant schedule changes |
| Santa Cruz | Through its applicant portal |
| Riverside | Through its own applicant system |
| Merced | Only once you are admitted, through its portal |
This is the update UC does care about. If you change schools, add or drop a course, or earn a grade below C after you submit, you are expected to tell the campuses you applied to. UC handles this campus by campus, and the campuses do not all want the same thing.
- UC notes that it cannot guarantee a campus will go back and review an application again after an update.
- Keep a copy of anything you send.
- If you are admitted, confirm with that campus's admission office that it knows about any low grade or schedule change. Offers are conditional on your final record.
- Campus rules change. Use the links on UC's After you apply page for the current instructions before you send anything.
What happens after you submit the UC application
- 1Save your application ID and a summary of the application. You will need the ID for every campus portal.
- 2Watch your email. Campuses send portal logins, and some ask selected applicants for more information, with deadlines of their own.
- 3Report test scores and update contact details by logging back in to the application.
- 4Keep your grades up. A campus can withdraw an offer if senior-year grades fall well below what you reported.
- 5Decisions: each campus notifies you separately, generally by March 31.
- 6If you accept an offer, your final official transcript is due by July 1, and other documents and official exam scores by July 15.
Before you submit the UC application
Everything above is the reason to check before you press submit. The Common App lets you fix an essay for colleges you have not applied to yet. The UC application does not work that way: one submission goes to every campus, and the four Personal Insight answers and the activities list are final from that moment.
- 1Read each answer against its question. Each of your four responses should answer the prompt you chose, in the first sentence or two.
- 2Check every answer is at or under 350 words. The application counts them for you.
- 3Read the four answers together. They should show four different sides of you, not the same activity four times.
- 4Check the activities and awards section for hours, weeks and years. It cannot be corrected later.
- 5Check your campus and major choices. You can add an open campus afterwards, but you cannot rely on changing anything else.
- 6Submit a day or two early. The filing period ends on November 30, and the site is at its slowest in the final hours.
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