First-Year New Student Checklist

We recommend adding "@admission.ucla.edu" as a safe sender to ensure you receive all of our communications. It is also recommended that you periodically check your spam/junk folders for responses and/or email communications from our office.

You’ll need your UCLA ID Number from your admit letter. Your Logon ID and password will be your key for logging in to secure sites at UCLA. Activate your Logon ID.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

If you filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application on or before April 2, your Bruin Financial Aid Letter will be presented on the Bruin Financial Aid Portal in late March 2025.

You’ll need your UCLA Logon ID to view your Bruin Financial Aid Letter. 

California residents can utilize the University of California Net Price Calculator to estimate costs and financial aid, if their Bruin Financial Aid Letter is not available at the time of admission.

For more information, visit 2025 Prospective Bruins: Financial Aid Guidance.

You must review the provisions of your contract by visiting the MyApplication Status website as soon as possible. You must meet the conditions stated in the Admission Contract to maintain your admission status.

If, after reviewing the contract, you find that you won’t be able to meet one or more of the provisions (especially if any of the course information you reported to us has changed or you received poor grades), please follow the steps for reporting changes.

Review the University of California’s immunization requirement before submitting your Statement of Intent to Register. You must complete the UC Immunization Requirement or an academic hold will be placed on your account.

Learn more about completing these requirements before the deadline from the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.

Please accept (or decline) your offer of admission.

View the Housing portal for more information.

The university uses email as the primary method to send critical information, so check email regularly.

When you accepted the offer of admission, you selected your official email address at UCLA, so that is the inbox where UCLA departments will send information.

If you selected the @ucla.edu email address you can read email at g.ucla.edu.

You also had the option of selecting your own email address such as @gmail.com or @icloud.com.

Changing your email address

• If you have not submitted your SIR to UCLA
  • Log in to the UC Application site and make the necessary change. This will ensure that the correction will be seen by all the UC campuses you have applied to.
• If you have submitted your SIR to UCLA
  • Log in to MyUCLA. Under the "Settings" option, you will find the "Official Email/Address/Phone" link.

Bruin to Bruin sessions are designed for you to begin connecting with UCLA as a newly admitted Bruin. These interactive presentations provide an opportunity to learn critical academic and logistical information for making a smooth transition to UCLA, get your general questions answered, and begin building your community on campus.

Your Bruin to Bruin session will:

• Be hosted by a New Student Advisor (NSA) who is a current student
• Review the New Student Checklist’s important dates and deadlines
• Give you an idea of what to expect at New Student Orientation and how to prepare
• Provide a space to ask questions about the transition to UCLA
• Be one of the first opportunities to connect with fellow incoming Bruin undergraduates

The day before your Bruin to Bruin session date, you will be emailed a Zoom link and password; please check your email for this information in order to enter your session.

You will be able to view all available sessions and register for your Bruin to Bruin session through MyUCLA.

Before the end of your last pre-UCLA class, report changes in your high school academic record or mailing address.

International students should review the I-20 and student visa process.

All incoming first-year students must demonstrate their proficiency with critical reading and analytical writing in English by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR).

The following scores on standardized tests satisfy ELWR:

• 30 or better on ACT English Language Arts
  or 63 or better on ACT English +Reading
  The English Language Arts score represents your overall performance on the English, Reading, and Writing sections of the exam
• 680 or higher on the College Board SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section
• 3 or higher on the College Board Advanced Placement Examination in English Language or English Literature 
  or Advance Placement Seminar examination
  or the Advanced Placement Research Examination 
• 5 or higher on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English (Language A  or A1 only)
•  6 or higher on the International Standard Level Examination in English (Language A or A1 only)
• Complete a UC transferable college course in English composition with a grade of C or better before enrolling at UCLA. Once enrolled at UCLA, you must complete the ELWR writing requirement by taking UCLA composition courses only.

Admitted students who have not satisfied ELWR by June 1 are required to complete the Informed Placement Process (IPP) at UCLA.  The IPP was previously known as the Analytical Writing Placement Exam. 

In order to have a placement for fall enrollment, you will need to complete the IPP at least 2 weeks prior to your New Student Orientation. Once you sign up, you will be emailed with dates and sign-up instructions. There is a $167 fee for the IPP, but please note that this amount may change without prior notice. Students will be billed after they take it unless they have a fee waiver.

During Summer 2025, the IPP test dates are: June 20, June 27, July 18, August 8 and August 22.

About 2–3 weeks after you complete the IPP, you can log in to MyUCLA to see if you satisfied the ELWR using your UCLA Logon ID. Please go to your Degree Progress/Audit Report and look under "Entry Level Writing/ESL Requirement" to see which English Composition course you will start with. If you don't see a result, your New Student Advisor can advise you when you attend your New Student Orientation. 

Results of the IPP won’t affect your admission to UCLA. The results will determine if you need to take a course that fulfills the Entry-Level Writing Requirement and which English Composition course you should enroll in.
 

The Pre-Orientation Planner is a survey that will help us tailor our counseling at New Student Orientation to meet your needs. You must submit your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) and wait 24 hours before you can access the survey. You must complete the Pre-Orientation Planner in order to register for New Student Orientation.

Log in to the Pre-Orientation Planner.

New Student Orientation is mandatory for all new undergraduate students. During orientation, you will become acclimated to both the academic and social life at UCLA. You’ll connect with other new students, learn about the campus and many of the services available to Bruins, meet with academic advisors, enroll in your first college classes, and much more.

There are 12 different orientation sessions for first-year students, including two sessions dedicated to out-of-state and international students. You can register for any session as course availability is the same for all orientation sessions.

Since orientation is a mandatory requirement, failure to register for orientation by July 1, 2025, will result in a hold on your record preventing course registration.

For more information, visit the New Student & Transition Programs website.

Contact Information
New Student & Transition Programs
Phone: (310) 206-6685
Email: newstudents@college.ucla.edu

Math

You should determine if you need to take the online Math Placement Test (MPT) if you plan to enroll in one of the following classes:

• Math 1 Pre-Calculus
• Math 3A Calculus (for Life Science Students)
• Math 31A Differential and Integral Calculus (for Physical Sciences Students)
• Math 31AL Differential and Integral Calculus Laboratory (for Physical Sciences Students)

Students should take the MDT by July 1 if any of these are true:

• They do not have AP credit for Math 31A
• They do not have transferred course credit from a community college or 4-year institution for Math 1, Math 3A, Math 31A, or Math 31AL. High school course credit cannot be used to waive these courses.
• They are waiting for results from 2025 AP Calculus AB or BC exam

Check your Degree Progress/Audit Report on MyUCLA to confirm credit for AP test results or transferred courses. This information may only be available to students about one week before their orientation.

Check the AP Credit Enrollment Information website to see if you are exempt from the MDT based on your AP exam score.

Check Enrollment into MATH based on AP Credit to see if you are exempt from the MPT based on your AP exam score.

Check the UCLA Catalog to see if your major requires one of these courses.

The exam is available online now. It must be completed July 1 so that your placement is available when you register for classes during New Student Session. There is a $20 non-refundable charge since the test is operated by a third party – ALEKS Placement, Preparation and Learning (ALEKS PPL).

View the Undergraduate Mathematics Help Guide for frequently asked questions about the MPT.

Chemistry

If you plan to enroll in Chemistry 14A, Chemistry 14AE, Chemistry 17, Chemistry 20A or Chemistry 20AH, you are required to take the Chemistry Diagnostic Exam prior to enrolling in the course itself. The exam is available online beginning May 1 and must be completed before July 1 so that your placement recommendation is available when you register for classes during New Student Orientation. There is no charge for taking this examination and the results are advisory, not mandatory.

The Entering Student Survey will be available in July.

We encourage you to use this survey as a way to get your voice heard and to help us improve the undergraduate experiences for your class and future UCLA students.

The survey is administered by the research and assessment office of Student Affairs.

In addition to attending New Student Orientation, all new students are required to complete online modules that will help you prepare for your first year at UCLA.

The modules will highlight various aspects of being a Bruin, and will feature various resources and services that can help you with your academic and social transition to UCLA.

The first module will be released on July 1, and subsequent modules will be released throughout the summer.

Before July 1, submit your BruinCard photo.

Be sure to send us official high school transcripts.

Be sure to send us test scores (AP and IB). We strongly encourage students to send previous year's exams by July 15.

Take a moment to apply for parking.

Contact Information
Phone: (310) 794-7433
Mon. - Fri., 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Email: transportation@ts.ucla.edu

Your New Student Advisor will review your records, discuss if you need to take any remaining placement exams (this may include foreign language exams), and they will provide you with contact information for the respective departments.

During New Student Orientation, you will register for your fall quarter classes.

The UCLA Degree Audit evaluates your progress toward meeting graduation requirements in your major. It’s a critical tool for selecting classes and plotting your academic course. It will be explained in-depth at New Student Orientation. After that, you can create your own audit by logging in to MyUCLA with your UCLA Logon ID.

If you have taken UCLA-transferable college courses in high school, submit your official transcripts for this work as soon as possible. Depending on how early we receive the transcripts, credit for this work may be reflected on your audit at New Student Orientation.

The College Scholars Program (College Honors) is offered through the UCLA College. This program offers an enriched educational experience through its interdisciplinary curriculum and small interactive classes.

Although the other schools (Engineering, Arts and Architecture, Music, Nursing, and Theater, Film and Television) don’t currently offer a formal honors component, students in these schools can take honors courses offered through the College, or opt to double major in the College for full participation in the program.

The financial aid disbursement will appear on your BruinBill.

Pay the amount due for tuition and other fees.
 

Note: A new undergraduate student who cancels registration or withdraws from their first/admit quarter on or before the Friday of the third week must reapply to UCLA for undergraduate admission. Admission is not guaranteed.

You must enroll in or waive UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP)

View the academic calendar for fall quarter.

Participate in True Bruin Welcome Week.
 

All incoming students must go through a mandatory education program that covers topics including sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence and stalking.

The requirement is to complete one online module.

More information will be sent to students via email in mid-July.

The UC Immunization Policy requires all incoming students to provide proof of vaccination. You must complete this requirement or an academic hold will be placed on your account. Beginning July 8, you can upload your immunization documents.

Learn more about completing these requirements in advance of the October 1 deadline from the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.

Learn more about completing these requirements before the deadline from the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.