UC Merced Admissions

Official Tumblr of UC Merced Admissions. This is UC Merced through the eyes of our Bobcats.

[ucresearch]

A mosquito that does good for a change

Here comes news of a possible big win for the world: the eradication of malaria, a disease that causes one million deaths per year.

And this is all possible with the creation of malaria-blocking mosquitoes that are no longer a carrier and transmitter of the parasite.

Using the CRISPR gene-editing tool, researchers at UC Irvine and UC San Diego created a breed of mosquitoes that are resistant to malarial parasite and have the ability to pass on the anti-malarial gene to 99.5 percent of its offspring.

More testing needs to be done, but if the advancement could someday lead to the elimination of the disease, millions of people living in malaria zones around the world could sleep more peacefully knowing that the irritating whizzing sound is more of a “self-sustaining disease control tool” than a looming threat. 

Read more about the experiment.

GIF: TED-Ed

[ucmsammie]

Choosing to Apply To College After High School

Senior year is probably your most important year. Not only is it your last year of high school, it is also the year that you begin to think about your future. After graduation, many students decide to go to college, whether it is a two-year or four-year school. Some decide to take a year off then go to school. And others decide to skip college completely, take the GED and go straight into the workforce. It all depends on the individual student and their situation. For me, I chose to go to college after graduating. 

I started thinking about college in my junior year. Initially, I had planned to go to a two-year college then transfer to a four-year school because I wasn’t sure yet what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to stay in California, so I thought I would go to Santa Barbara Community College then transfer to UC Santa Barbara. I thought I had a legit plan. 

My mom supported my decision, but she was not 100% on board with it because she wanted me to attend a four-year college straight out of high school. She suggested that I tour some state schools and some out-of-state schools just in case. But she wouldn’t make me apply to a school I wasn’t interested in. I thought that was fair, so I agreed with her. 

For spring break my junior year, my mom and I went on a college road trip across California and over to Arizona. UC Merced was one of the schools I visited, and I liked it a lot. The environment seemed very warm and friendly. And I really did like the fact that it was such a small school, but growing. I based my decision on whether I liked a school or not on the “vibe” I got when I was on campus. And I felt a good vibe from UC Merced, as well as some other campuses I toured. After visiting nine schools, I changed my mind and decided it would actually be cool to apply to schools to see if I got in. 

To me, the application process was pretty straightforward. I made an account for the CSU Mentor website, which was basically the common app for CSU schools. I also made an account for the UC application system so I could apply to UC Merced.

I was able to construct my resume with help from my mom. Luckily, I had prior volunteer and internship experience I could put on there so it wasn’t completely empty. It made me feel a little more professional when I had my resume completed. 

The personal statement was intimidating at first. I didn’t know what to write. But I soon realized that the essay was just supposed to be about me. The UC required me to write two personal statements, but after getting advice, I was able to complete them pretty quickly. I also collected two or three recommendations from my favorite high school teachers and was able to send those in along with my application. 

In the end, I learned that if you start ahead of time before the due date, you will not be so stressed. I think the most stressful time for me was waiting on the decisions from the schools I applied to.

[nonoeno-deactivated20160309]

#clouds (at UC Merced Half Dome)

[ucmcarlos]

Goodbye y’all

My name is Carlos Guadarrama, and I’m second year student at UC Merced.

As I’m sure you have heard, on Nov. 4 there was a tragic incident that took place on our campus.

Something that deeply concerns me is the way many people have begun to, from my perspective, come to the wrong conclusions about the campus I’ve come to love and the community I call my family without asking those who live here their opinion. With that said, I hope you don’t mind if I offer you my take on life at UC Merced following the incident, and what I believe the future holds for us as Bobcats.

This is my second year here in the Central Valley studying political science, and I have done my best to make Merced a place to call home. Having arrived here knowing quite literally no one, I  feel welcomed on our campus, and furthermore like to think myself as someone who contributes to our community in a positive, constructive way. That said, I join the thousands of students on our campus who do so day after day. I believe I’m a better person as a direct result of interacting with the friends I have made and the knowledge and the experiences I am accumulating here at UC Merced.

Still, despite all that, I cannot lie and say there wasn’t a sense of security that was lost last week, but what I can say is that we are fighting tooth and nail to reclaim it. Already our student body has mobilized like never before: showing up in the earliest hours of the morning to accompany affected students across our bridge, decorating our campus with ribbons and words of encouragement, meeting and organizing a vigil in a day’s time to which thousands of community members attended. Bobcats have come together to make us whole again.

So perhaps what I want to convey is that I know my words alone won’t convince you of our community’s strength and compassion … but perhaps their actions will … because even after what’s happened I won’t ever regret being a Bobcat, and instead I will remain privileged and humbled to have shared in our collective unity. So with that I just wanna let y’all know that I’ll be leaving my position as an admissions marketing interns to dedicate myself to my job as a Senator- at Large. I loved working for admissions and being a source of information and help to all prospective Bobcats… regardless though… I know I’ll be seeing you around soon.

Thank you.

[go2ucmerced]

Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication, Carlos. You will be missed, but we all know that you’ll accomplish GREAT things! :)

[ucm-marissa]

3 ways UC Merced helped me get an Internship

My School Made Me Unique

My first internship after my sophomore year was at a San Francisco city supervisor’s office. At my interview, I was asked, “What has your experience at UC Merced taught you that would help you thrive at this internship?” My answer was effortless as I responded, “It’s taught me to take risks, and to work hard. I went to UC Merced, knowing nothing about it, and no one who had ever gone there. I worked hard to get to where I am, and I’ve taken every leadership position I can.”

UC Merced Gave Me Opportunities I Wouldn’t Have Elsewhere

My second internship was a social media and marketing internship at a startup in the Bay Area. I think the best feeling I’ve had was my new boss saying, “We hired you over a student from UC Berkeley.” Regardless of the big name school, I had the experience the other applicants didn’t have. My four leadership positions I had in different clubs and organizations, and my job, were opportunities that wouldn’t have been available to me at another campus.

The Classes and Professors Helped Me Succeed

Because the majors weren’t impacted at UC Merced, getting classes I needed, and more importantly wanted to take, was easy. Before, I had always learned things that weren’t interesting to me, and I had never really used them in real life outside of class. My two favorite classes, marketing and entrepreneurship, were both taught by Professor S.A. Davis, a brilliant professor who has years of amazing career experience and had taught at UC Berkeley for 20 years. In marketing class, we worked with the concepts we had learned to improve a company that was failing. My entrepreneurship class was an interdisciplinary research program with engineering students. We had to market a product they created that would eventually be produced and sold. All of this real-life experience gave me confidence and knowledge to succeed in my marketing internships.

I have a lot to thank UC Merced for. As I come upon graduation in the spring, I know I will be well prepared for a real-life job.

[ucmsammie]

10 Reasons Why You Should Apply to UCMerced

1. New Campus

- UCMerced opened in 2005 so it is a fairly new UC campus.

- We are supposed to be the biggest UC campus when it is completely built with the least amount of students.

- Since our campus is new, and still growing, the students play a big role in shaping the campus.

 2. We offer over 200 clubs and organizations

- You can visit our website to see the different clubs and organizations available to students http://studentlife.ucmerced.edu/content/clubs-orgs

- We pretty much any club you would want.

- You can start your own club or organization!

 3. Safety

- UCMerced is an extremely safe campus.

- We have our own University of California police station on campus.

- The majority of students who attend UCM agree that the campus is friendly and safe.

- We have blue emergency light polls located all around campus. If for any reason anyone feels unsafe, they can press a button on that post and a UC Merced officer will be there to assist you people within minutes.

 4. Cattracks

- UCMerced bus system.

- Transports students to and from campus and around the city of Merced.

- Free to all UC Merced students, faculty and staff.

- Currently have 9 different routes around Merced.

- Convenient way to travel around the city.

 5. Majors

- One thing that separates UC Merced from other UC campuses is that our majors are not impacted.

- This is an advantage because students are able to choose the major they want.

- A list of our majors can be found on our website at: http://www.ucmerced.edu/academics-undergraduate-majors-minors

 6. Study Abroad

- UCMerced offers a fantastic study abroad program for any major. You can travel to pretty much any country you want to go to.

- Most Financial Aid does transfer over.

- We have a study abroad office on campus where students can get help with their applications or get questions answered that they may have.

- You can find more information about our study abroad program on our website at: http://studyabroad.ucmerced.edu

8. Financial Aid/Scholarships

- More than 80% of our students receive some form of Financial Aid.

- If you earn less than $80,000 a year you can qualify for the Blue and Gold Scholarship, which pays for tuition.

- Visit our website for more information at: http://financialaid.ucmerced.edu

 9. Study Body/Professors

- Student body is friendly and kind. Since it is a small campus most students know each other and are very welcoming.

- Professors are encouraging and are always willing to help. They are always here to answer questions. Some even give out their number so students can contact them on the weekends in case they need help on an assignment.

- They both create a safe and confident learning atmosphere.

 10. Jobs

- Most jobs on campus are student run. UC Merced has a job for every department.

- Fairly easy to get a job because there are so many job opportunities on campus.

- Easy application process, which can be filled out online.

- We have departments on campus that will help you get ready for interviews too.

 I hope you find these 10 reasons useful when considering to apply to UC Merced. Remember, the application is open now until November 30th. Feel free to the Admissions Office for any questions you may have.

Email: admissions.ucmerced.edu

Phone: [phone]

[ucmsammie]

Living On Campus

Going to college is exciting because you are starting a new chapter in your life. These are the years where you become an adult and start to become more independent. Part of being independent is learning how to live on your own. Until now, most of you have probably lived at home, where you have had family members or family friends taking care of you. Now that you are in college, you are going to have to take care of yourself 100% of the time.

When you go to college, you have the opportunity of either living on- or off campus. Both choices are great and require you to be independent, but there are differences between the two. Some students choose to live on campus their first year, then move off campus. Other students choose to live off campus and not live on campus at all. And some students even choose to live on campus the entire time they’re in college. It depends on you and what you feel the most comfortable doing.

Living on campus is very convenient. You do not have to worry about being late to class, you still do not have to cook meals for yourself, and you are surrounded by people 24/7. It is one of the best ways to meet new friends, and it is also extremely safe. I lived on campus for my first year, and I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable walking around campus, even at night.

There are six residence halls at UC Merced. Each hall is different, but they share similar features. All residence halls have kitchens, washers and dryers, computer labs, study rooms and lounges, mailboxes and a housing office. When you are a resident on campus, you have access to The Den, a rec room/game room. There is a marketplace on the bottom floor of one of the residence halls, which stays open late for both resident and nonresident students.

Each residence hall has four resident assistants (RAs) on each floor. RAs are students who are second-year and above who have shown great leadership. They are there for you if you need anything. Each month, they arrange floor meetings so everyone can meet each other and possibly make new friends.

Another benefit of living on campus is the dining center (DC). There are three meal plans students can choose from. Students purchase meals using their school ID card, which is also known as your CatCard. Even though the meal plan is only available to resident students, day students can still purchase food from the DC with cash or credit card. The DC tries to be accommodating to all students. When the main dining center is closed, a small dining service stays open until midnight and during the middle of the day. The only time dining services and the marketplace close early is on Saturday nights. If you’re craving something other than what the DC offers, you can always drive or take CatTracks off campus.

CAB is our campus activities board, which organizes events for students throughout the year. Resident students are able to attend these events easily since they live right on campus. The CAB tires to organize small events each week, as well as bigger events on the weekends. Sometimes there are organized trips that resident students can take so they’re not stuck on campus the whole weekend.

[ucmbrenda-blog]

Midterms. Currently in the middle of my midterms, I thought it would be fitting to have my first Tumblr post to be about just that – midterms!  College midterms are a bit different when compared to high school midterms, but that doesn’t make them scary! What are the differences? I’ll tell you! 1. Lots of independence I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but if you haven’t, you have tons of independence when you go away to college, especially in the classroom! It is up to you how you study, what you study, even if you go to class or not! (Which you should.) 2. Reminders? Professors rarely remind you of what you should read, when the homework is due, or when your exam is, so it is up to you to know! 3. Study guides Some professors are kind enough to give you a study guide. When they do, USE IT, but keep in mind that anything in the book or lecture is usually fair game. 4. Scantrons! They’re free in high school, but in college? You must buy your own. I was so shocked when I had to buy Scantrons for my first exam!

TIPS Although there are some things that are different when compared to high school exams, here are some tips to make these differences and the transition from high school to college exams easier for you. 1. Use your syllabus Your syllabi are your best friends! A syllabus is basically a timeline of the course, usually containing an outline of assignments, required materials and expectations for the course you are taking. It tells you what you need to read, what you need to do and when you need to do it, all ahead of time! Get in the habit of looking at your syllabi, because like I said, some professors do not give reminders of what you need to read before class or when your exam is. 2. Never cram Studying a day before your exam is never the way to go. You want to retain the information, and studying the night before will only allow you to temporarily retain it. Study at least a week in advance. UC Merced offers workshops to help first-year students transition into college-level work, as well as teach study methods and time management! 3. Get some sleep In case you do happen to wait until the last minute to study, all-nighters might not be the way to go. Lack of sleep impairs cognitive performance, knowledge retention and awareness; you don’t want to lack any of those for an exam! So make sure that if you decide to stay up late, you at least get a couple of hours in. Some is better than none! 4. Go to office hours Office hours are the best thing in the world for college students. It’s one-on-one time for students and professors to talk about questions you have about the course. And office hours with professors here at UC Merced, from my experience, are always so convenient and really easy to do.

Getting the hang of college midterms if definitely a learning process full of what you should have done and what you will do in the future. However, hopefully with this blog post you save yourself some stress and make it through your first midterms when they roll around. Happy Studying!

[ucmsammie]

Exploring Merced Using Cattracks

Many of you guys are probably wondering how students get around Merced if they do not own or have access to a car. The answer is Cattracks!

Cattracks is UCMerced’s bus system that transports students to and from campus, as well as around Mered. Cattracks has different routes around Merced. If you do not own a car it is an easy and convenient way to get around the city.

There are currently nine different Cattrack routes that are available to students. In order to figure out what bus to take and what time the bus will arrive, students can visit the Cattrack website at: cattracks.ucmerced.edu.

Cattracks is free to any UCMerced student, staff or faculty member. All you have to do is show your Catcard to the bus driver when you get on the bus. I highly recommend using UCMerced’s Cattrack system. I have a car now, but I still use the bus to get to and from campus.

Upsides to taking Cattracks is that it is free, you do not have to worry about paying for gas, it is environmentally friendly, and if you plan wisely you will get to class on time and not waste time finding parking in the school lot. Cattracks will take you to make off campus events that our Campus Activity Board holds. Most routes are also designed to go through residential neighborhoods and apartment areas, so if you live off campus you will not have to worry about walking far to the next bus stop. Cattracks runs until 1:30am, so you shouldn’t get stranded in the middle of the night J And lastly, because only students, faculty and staff are aloud on the bus, it is fairly safe.

Hopefully this post gave you the details you needed about our great bus system. If you have anymore questions, feel free to contact the Admissions office at:

Admissions.ucmerced.edu

Thanks for reading guys!

[everydayisaphotoshoot]

Biking over the summer and get together with my photographer friend @maria_fydzs showing her some architectures and local campus. #everydayisaphotoshoot #photographersofinstagram #photographersfriends #ucmerced #merced #ucm #architect #engineering

[go2ucmerced]

Hi I am going to be high school senior this year and wants to get admitted in uc Merced as freshman. But the thing is I just emigrated to US last year and completing my high school here. So I have trouble completing a-g requirements.

Hello! Thank you for your question. What you should do is email [email protected] . Our Admissions Advisors will be able to assess your options based on your situation. They are really nice and will be happy to help out! Let us know if you have any more questions! 

[go2ucmerced]

UC Merced is now accepting Transfer applications for Spring 2016. Be sure to submit yours by July 31st!

UC Application

This is University of California's application for undergraduate admission and scholarships. Here you can apply online to these UC campuses: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz.

[go2ucmerced]

Professor Masashi Kitazawa wants to figure out if any environmental factors increase the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease – specifically, whether elevated levels of copper in drinking water play a role.

Professors Research to Examine Whether Copper Plays Role in Alzheimer's Disease

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[go2ucmerced]

“If you mix cyanobacterial clock proteins in a test tube with an energy source, the test tube literally starts ticking,” LiWang said. “You can tell time by it..."

Scientists Decipher the Tick-Tock of Biological Clocks | UC Merced

Researchers at the University of California, Merced, have taken another step toward unlocking the mysteries of the biological clock.

[go2ucmerced]

Research shows that learning to walk and talk are linked, no matter what language is spoken.

Study: In Any Language, Learning to Walk and Talk Are Linked | UC Merced

UC Merced developmental psychologist Eric Walle recently discovered a link between walking and talking in infants. This development, however, brought up additional questions. Was the link specific to culture? Age? Native language?

[brendaucmsfc]

The Merced County Fair starts TOMORROW! 

If youre in town for the summer Visit the fair! 

FAIR FOOD.<3 

and who doesnt like fireworks!

June 10th-14th 

http://www.mercedcountyfair.com/

[niceglassesdude]

“It doesn’t matter where you go, just make sure you make the best of it.”

I toured UC Merced for the first time today and I fell in love with the campus. I’m so excited to start the next chapter of my life! Although this school wasn’t my first choice, I realized that it was perfect for me. I see a lot of great opportunities waiting for me and I can’t wait to be a bobcat!

(also tfw u love cats and so does ur college ok bye)

[go2ucmerced]

Throwback Thursday to Bobcat Day 2015! We’re so happy to welcome you to our Bobcat family, Celina!