Does UC Require Letters of Recommendation?

Does UC Require Letters of Recommendation?

No. UC states that it "does not require (nor read) letters of recommendation at the time of application." Do not send any. A campus may ask for up to two letters later, under a Regents policy called augmented review, and a few majors (UCLA Film, UCLA Nursing, several UCSB Creative Studies majors) require letters in their own supplemental applications.

It is easy to read a UC letter request as a hidden signal, good or bad. The published rule is less dramatic and more useful. Regents Policy 2110 caps the augmented review pool at 15 percent of applicants, and it names the reason for the request: the file "yields an incomplete picture" or shows circumstances "that invite further comment." A request means a reader wants information your application did not give. This page sets out the rule, the policy text, the majors that always want letters, and what to do in the days after a request arrives.

Every UC, Regents, campus and department page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026, for fall 2027 applicants.

The rule on the UC application

UC says it three ways on three pages:

• "UC does not require (nor read) letters of recommendation at the time of application. A campus may ask for them later as part of a supplemental review, so be sure to check your email" (UC, Apply now).
• "Letters of recommendation are not required. Please do not submit them as part of your application. However, some campuses/majors may request letters of recommendation as part of a supplemental application review" (UC, Out-of-state students).
• "You should not submit letters of recommendation for the UC application" (UC, Applying for admission (international)).

So there is no teacher who needs a deadline from you for the UC application itself. How that changes the rest of your file is covered in the UC application versus the Common App.

Our view: because no letter arrives with your file, your four personal insight questions and the Additional comments box do the work a teacher's letter would do elsewhere. Write them knowing no one else will vouch for what is in them. The basis: UC reads no letters at application, and its PIQ page asks you to write about yourself "so that we can get to know your personality, talents, accomplishments and potential for success on a UC campus." The countercase: if you are applying to a major that requires letters in its own supplemental (below), a teacher is part of your file for that major, and you should line them up now.

Why a campus asks: augmented review

The policy behind a later request is Regents Policy 2110: Policy on Augmented Review in Undergraduate Admissions, approved July 13, 2017 and amended July 21, 2022. Its opening sentence:

Campuses may request an additional review for a select pool of applicants who fall in the margins for admission, but whose initial application yields an incomplete picture of their qualifications, or presents extraordinary circumstances that invite further comment.

The size limit: "The Augmented Review pool should be limited in size to no more than 15 percent of all applicants." That is a ceiling on the pool, not a count of how many letters any campus requests.

What you may be asked for, verbatim:

• A questionnaire that requires paragraph length narrative responses and that allows Augmented Review candidates to provide additional details concerning their special talents and accomplishments, extraordinary circumstances, and school and home environment.
• Seventh-semester high school grades, or equivalent most recent grades.
• Up to two letters of recommendation, or other input from third parties, such as a teacher, counselor, coach, program coordinator, or anyone familiar with the candidate's academic background and extracurricular skills/talents. Letters of recommendation should focus on both cognitive and psycho-social abilities of candidates.

And the limit on letters: "Letters of recommendation can be requested only for applicants selected for augmented review, and applicants considered for admission by exception, and/or applicants given a special review."

The policy lists the referral criteria. An applicant must show "at least one of the following":

• Evidence of focus on an area of special talent which may have limited a student's time to participate in a broader range of activities.
• Evidence of character traits that imply a strong likelihood of making a significant contribution to campus life.
• Evidence of significant academic achievement or the potential for academic achievement at the University in spite of extraordinary or compound disadvantage or learning difference, or physical disability or other unusual circumstances.
• Evidence of significant improvement in the academic record accompanied by one or both of the following: (1) reasons for the initial poor performance; and (2) sustained and in-depth participation in educational outreach programs, which demonstrate the applicant's commitment to succeed academically within a challenging environment.
• Evidence of relative lack of access to, counseling about, or support to take college preparatory, honors, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes.

What the policy tells you, and what it does not. It tells you a request means you are being considered, your file left a question open, and the campus is giving you a way to answer it. It does not tell you your chances, which campuses use augmented review this cycle, or how many applicants they ask. No campus page we checked publishes those numbers.

Majors whose own applications ask for letters

The same Regents policy carves out programs with their own long-standing supplemental applications: students applying to them "may be required to submit a letter of recommendation." The policy adds that such supplemental applications "only very rarely require letters of recommendations" [sic], and that "Such programs typically focus on the creative arts, performance arts, and nursing." Three current programs that do ask for letters, each from the program's own page:

Sources: UCLA TFT first-year worksheet (revised September 2026); UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing, Apply; UCSB CCS, Apply.

The film and nursing applications have their own guides: UCLA film supplemental application and UCLA nursing supplemental application. The CCS rules by major are in the UCSB College of Creative Studies application guide.

Berkeley specifically

Here is what Berkeley's pages say today, and what they do not.

• Berkeley's applicant checklist says "While most applicants will not have any required forms to complete, applicants to the following majors and programs will need to fill out supplemental forms and other information via MAP@Berkeley." The list is the M.E.T. program and its engineering-plus-business pairs, the Global Management Program and the Spieker Undergraduate Business Program (UC Berkeley, Applicant Checklist). Those programs are covered in the Berkeley Haas undergraduate application guide.
• Berkeley's dates page lists a "UC Berkeley mandatory forms deadline" of January 31 (UC Berkeley, Dates and deadlines).
• Berkeley's FAQ says "Anything sent to our office will not be reviewed. For select groups of students we may ask for additional information. Unsolicited materials will not be reviewed" (UC Berkeley, Application FAQs, updated February 2026).
• Berkeley's admissions pages list "UC Policy on Augmented Review" among the UC-wide policies they implement.

What Berkeley does not publish: a separate page on letter requests, how many it sends, or when this cycle. We do not say Berkeley will send requests for fall 2027. If one arrives, the steps below apply.

If you get the email: a five-day plan

This is our recommendation, built on the policy text above. Follow the campus email first wherever it differs.

Day 1: read the request and find the gap. Note exactly what is asked (questionnaire, latest grades, letters, or a mix) and the deadline. Then reread your own application and ask which referral criterion fits you. A drop in tenth grade with no explanation? A talent that crowded out other activities? A school with no AP classes? That is the gap the reader probably saw.

Day 2: choose recommenders who saw the gap. The policy allows "a teacher, counselor, coach, program coordinator, or anyone familiar with the candidate's academic background and extracurricular skills/talents." Pick the person who watched the part of your story the file did not explain, not the most senior person you know. Ask in person or by message the same day.

Day 2: give them a fact sheet, not a request for praise. The policy says letters "should focus on both cognitive and psycho-social abilities." Give each recommender the dates they taught or coached you, two or three specific moments they saw, and the one thing you hope they can explain. A constructed example of one line, written by us, not a real applicant's sheet:

You taught me in Chemistry, fall 2025, the semester after my mother's surgery. You saw me retake the stoichiometry unit test and move from a 61 to an 88.

Days 3 and 4: write the questionnaire. The policy describes "paragraph length narrative responses" about talents, circumstances, "and school and home environment." Answer the question asked, with facts first. Do not paste a PIQ. Do not repeat what your application already says; add what it did not.

Day 4: send your latest grades if asked, exactly as your school reports them.

Day 5: confirm receipt. Check the portal or email the campus asked you to use. Ask your recommenders to confirm they submitted.

If no request ever comes, do nothing. Berkeley's FAQ says unsolicited materials will not be reviewed, and UC's pages ask you not to send letters.

Questions about UC and letters of recommendation

Does UC require letters of recommendation?

No. UC "does not require (nor read) letters of recommendation at the time of application."

Why does UC Berkeley request letters of recommendation?

Berkeley's pages say only that "For select groups of students we may ask for additional information." The UC-wide policy, Regents Policy 2110, allows requests for applicants "who fall in the margins for admission" whose file "yields an incomplete picture."

Is a UC letter request a good sign?

It is neither. Under the policy, it means you are still being considered and a reader wants more information before deciding.

How many letters can a UC campus request?

Under Regents Policy 2110, "Up to two letters of recommendation, or other input from third parties."

Can I send a letter anyway if I have a great one?

No. UC asks you not to submit letters, and Berkeley says unsolicited materials "will not be reviewed." Put that context in your PIQs or Additional comments instead.

What is a seventh-semester grades request?

The policy lists "Seventh-semester high school grades, or equivalent most recent grades" as one item a campus may ask for. In a standard eight-semester high school, that is your fall senior-year grades.

Get a free review of your UC PIQ

Get a free Quick Review of your UC PIQ against GradPilot's Question 8 standout rubric. It reads whether your answer makes one clear case for your candidacy and backs it with your own experience, which is the job a letter would do in other applications. For the context note, the Additional Information rubric reads whether it gives the reader context they need in an account they can follow. On the UC PIQ review page you pick the rubric closest to the question you answered.

If a teacher writing a letter for you wants feedback on their own draft, the teacher recommendation rubric is for them. GradPilot's letter reviews aren't for a letter you drafted for a recommender to submit as their own. How to ask, and what a strong teacher letter contains, is in the Common App teacher recommendation guide.

The full fall 2027 calendar is in the UC PIQ cycle guide for 2026-2027. Every undergraduate guide is in college admissions essays.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• University of California, Apply now: UC does not require or read letters at application; a campus may ask later.
• University of California, Out-of-state students: do not submit letters; some campuses or majors may request them.
• University of California, Applying for admission (international): international applicants should not submit letters.
• UC Board of Regents, Regents Policy 2110: Policy on Augmented Review in Undergraduate Admissions (approved July 13, 2017; amended July 21, 2022): pool purpose and 15 percent cap; supplemental items; letter limits; referral criteria; long-standing supplemental programs.
• UC Berkeley, Applicant Checklist: required forms list; augmented review listed among UC-wide policies.
• UC Berkeley, Dates and deadlines: mandatory forms deadline January 31.
• UC Berkeley, Application FAQs (updated February 2026): unsolicited materials not reviewed; additional information for select groups.
• UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, First-Year Application Worksheet (revised September 2026): two letters, no more; December 7, 2026 deadline.
• UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing, Apply (no year stated): two recommendation forms; January 15 and January 25.
• UCSB College of Creative Studies, Apply to CCS: letter rules by major; January 5, 2027 priority deadline.
• University of California, Personal insight questions: what the PIQs are for.