S o, here’s how guaranteed admission works (all relevant links are at the bottom of this page):
You can be a CA resident, an international student with a visa, or from out-of-state, but you must be directly transferring from a CCC.
This means by the end of the final spring term, you must complete at least 30 UC-transferable semester (45 qtr) units from one or more CCC — and the last college attended in a regular year session must be at a CCC.
You are not eligible for TAG if you already have a Bachelor’s degree, a graduate degree, or a professional degree. If you were previously enrolled at a UC (not including summer) you cannot TAG the UC you attended. You also cannot currently be enrolled in high school.
The TAG application is available online from Sept 1-30. You choose one UC to TAG. Keep in mind you must also submit the regular UC application during its application window of November 1-30.
It applies for the following fall term only . (Exception is Merced, which also has a spring TAG with a May 1-30 application window. See bottom of page for details.)
Most of the six UCs let you know of conditional approval in early November. (Currently, Irvine does not send out notices.) The approval is based on your fulfilling all the remaining coursework and GPA requirements per the TAG agreement for that UC.
TAG approval is a guarantee assuming you fulfill the contract stipulations through the end of spring term. Possible reasons for rejection might include: getting a D or F in any subsequent term; falling below the minimum cumulative GPA requirement for the specific TAG; not fulfilling major requirements; under 60 semester/90 qtr units by final spring term. (At the end of this page are links to each UC TAG contract. Be sure to study the rules carefully.)
If your TAG application is rejected you are funneled over into the regular application pool. And BTW, if you’re TAG is approved, you are not obligated to attend that UC.
Some UCs have majors that are excluded from TAG.
Davis – Landscape Architecture (you can apply via TAG but are accepted into pre-landscape architecture and it is not a guarantee you will be admitted into the major as there are additional requirements at Davis); Textile and Clothing; and Fiber and Polymer Science
Irvine – Business Administration; Cognitive Science; Dance; Music; Nursing
Merced – English; Global Arts and Studies; Public Health; Spanish
Riverside – Art (studio)
Santa Barbara – all majors in College of Creative Studies and College of Engineering; plus Dance; Music; Theatre
(This list is subject to change to be sure to check the matrix, below.)
The total UC-transferable units from a CCC or any non-CCC (U.S.or international) cannot go over the ceiling limits set by each UC. If all your units by end of spring term are lower division, you will not hit the ceiling so don’t worry. Upper division courses, however, can place you above the ceiling limits. ( See the Transfer Unit Maximums by UC. .) Keep in mind that Davis currently will consider more than 80 semester units for College of Engineering.
In order to submit a TAG you must have completed 30 UC-transferable semester units (45 quarter) by end of summer before the TAG application. These courses can be entirely from a CCC or from any mix of colleges. AP credit also counts. Keep in mind, though, by end of spring term you need 30 UC-transferable semester units from a CCC.
Special Davis rule: To TAG Davis you are required to be a full-time student (12 semester units) from the spring before the TAG through fall and final spring. That’s three terms! They claim to allow exceptions at their discretion for working or similar situations.
I do not like this policy. TAG should not have vague loopholes. At their discretion is a loaded term. That’s not the purpose of TAG. All the other UCs have a crystal clear policy wth no gray areas. I have seen people get declined by Davis after being told on the phone by a Davis TAG rep that their part-time student status was fine. (Bring it on Davis – I have one set of records: 4.0 with all coursework and units completed, 30 hr work week, with the notice that rejection was due to part-time status.) Rules should be clear, not arbitrary. My suggestion — if you are NOT a full-time student for three terms do not TAG Davis.
If you choose to TAG Davis and are a part-time student be sure to note it clearly in the TAG application. TAGs, once declined, cannot be appealed.
By end of spring term after you TAG you must complete at least 60 semester/90 quarter UC-transferable units or your TAG (and regular UC application, for that matter) will be rejected. Summer courses after that final spring term do not count.
By the end of summer before you TAG in September you must meet the minimum cumulative GPA as established by each UC. Additionally, some selective majors have higher GPA minimums. These cumulative GPA’s must be held steady through the end of the final CCC term or you will lose the TAG. (See the rules by campus, below, to ascertain your minimums.)
Davis – Both English courses must be completed by the fall when you apply
Irvine – End of summer prior to TAG application for the first; end of spring for the second
Merced – Fall for the first; end of spring for the second
Riverside – Fall for the first; end of spring for the second
Santa Barbara – Both English courses must be completed by the fall when you apply
Santa Cruz – Fall for the first; end of spring for the second
The required math course must be completed by fall for all six UCs.
No, it is not required, except for Riverside’s School of Business Administration, which requires IGETC as an admission requirement.
Stay alert:
Make sure the major you pick in your TAG application matches the major chosen for the same UC in the November application. If they don’t match, the TAG will be voided.
Good afternoon Lindy,
I am a student currently enrolled at mira costa college. I have a 3.1 GPA and I would like to TAG for UC Davis but the minimum requirement is 3.2. I believe at the end of the semester My gpa will be high enough. I know I can only tag at one school so I was wondering if you think that it is worth it to try to TAG for davis? Will the check my GPA at the end of this semester or will they check what GPA I have right now? And if I am one point below the TAG GPA requirement will they still consider me?
Thank you
The 3.2 minimum is needed by end of this summer, so unless there is a lower grade in a non-transferable course that you’re counting and can be removed — thus boosting you to 3.2– you are not eligible to TAG Davis.
Sam says:Hey Lindy, I just a question.
I submitted the TAG application for UC irvine for Fall 2020 term.
I already completed the 60 transfer units and the campus requirements, but I am a little confused about one of the eligibility requirements for TAG which is “I will attend a California community college during my last regular (not summer) term before I enroll at UC for fall 2020.” Does that mean that I will need to be enrolled in classes for fall 2019 and spring 2020 before transfer, even though I am done with all the requirements since summer 2019? Also I
called the UCI admissions and they said that I don’t need to take classes if I am already done with all the requirements.
If I already submitted my TAG application, but I couldn’t register for a future class listed on my TAG application, would I be able to change my TAG application to include the class I will take in the winter?
Lindy King says: Just put the correct course list in the November application. Ethan says:Hey Lindy, I also had a question. So I tagged to UC Davis under the non-selective major of Global Disease Biology. I know that when tagging to selective majors like Engineering, Biology etc. at Davis, you are required to meet GPA requirements in the pre-req courses you take at CC in order to be accepted for tag. On the UC Davis website it says “Earn at least a 3.20 GPA for all majors in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and in the College of Biological Sciences” I have met this GPA requirement. The website also says “Meet any additional GPA requirements for selective major courses.” But since my major is non-selective, I am not required to meet additional GPA requirements for the pre-req courses for Global Disease Biology, correct? The problem is that I got a D in Calc 2 this past spring. Calc 2 is a pre-req course for my non-selective major. I am retaking Calc 2 right now and will seek academic renewal for my previous grade. I had to report this D on the tag application however since I am in the process of retaking this class. Will this affect whether my tag is accepted or not. Thanks for the help in advance.
Lindy King says:As you know the current assist is messed up, but looking at the 2016-17 assist layout there are no additional GPA requirements for the major. So retaking the course with the D should not be an impediment to the TAG. Based on an updated Davis web page, there is nothing new added to the Global Diseases major.
Ryan says:Hi Lindy, I wanna start by saying thank you for the article, it’s really helped clear a lot of things up for me regarding the transfer process. However, I am still confused about one thing. I applied for TAG to transfer to Davis for chemistry, and it got accepted today. Unfortunately, I could not get into a physics 1 class for the winter quarter of the CC I am currently attending, the same class which I had listed on the coursework for my TAG agreement. The class is the first of a three class series which I stated in my coursework agreement that I would finish by Summer 2020. Given that I wasn’t able to get into physics 1 and most likely will not finish the entire series at my CC, will this affect my TAG in any way? Thanks in advance!
Lindy King says:Thx for the kind words! Re physics, it depends on the requirements for the major. If it says complete as many courses as possible or the physics is recommended you will be fine. I would add the second in summer and then if you go to Davis you can ask what they prefer. Since they often like a physics series completed at the same place they might say just hold off until Davis.
n says:Hey Lindy!
I have already been approved for the UC Davis tag (school of choice is UCI) but when I tagged, two of the courses I had listed (currently enrolled/planned) were inaccurate given they either weren’t represented or given the wrong name but same department. If I link my tap in the uc application will it automatically take place over the manual classes I inputted on the
UC application? If not, then how will my TAG acceptance be accessed if I don’t link my tap?
I’m not sure what you’re saying exactly but TAG uses the November app to verify, so will go off of that. It sounds like whatever got entered in the TAG application got corrected in the November application, so you’re good.?
frank says:Thanks for all the info. Very helpful. Quick question. Are TAG transfers still considered freshmen? Thank you
