First-Year Student Admissions
![two students outdoors](/sites/default/files/styles/header_mobile/public/2023-05/admissions_01.jpg?itok=XNRKOBvp)
Apply as a First-Year Student
At Saint Mary’s College of California, applying as a first-year student is a snap. Explore scholarships and aid, deadlines, programs, and more.
![Students hanging out in the dorm room](/sites/default/files/2023-07/First-Year-Admissions_1.jpg)
Steps to Apply
![Submit Your Application Icon](/sites/default/files/2023-07/submit_application_icon_0.png)
Step 1: Apply via the Common App for Free
Use the fee waiver code ApplySMC.
![Upload your Application icon](/sites/default/files/2023-07/upload_application_icon_0.png)
Step 2: Upload Your Unofficial Transcripts via the Saint Mary's applicant status page or have your high school counselor send the official transcript to smcadmit@maryplusjeff.com. For admissions review purposes we can use the unofficial transcripts, however once admitted an official transcript will be required.
![Check Your Application Status](/sites/default/files/2023-07/status_application_icon_0.png)
Step 3: Check Back on Your Application Status
Within 48 hours of submitting your application, you’ll receive an email to log in to your SMC Applicant Status Page.
Important Deadlines
Fall Term Early Action
Fall Term Regular Decision
Spring Term
Application Requirements
The main qualities sought in a candidate are their intellectual preparation, purpose's seriousness, and moral integrity. The school record is considered the most reliable measure of potential college ability. However, extracurricular accomplishments may strengthen an application insofar as they indicate special talents, perseverance, and maturity.
Applications for admission are reviewed on an individual basis. Minor deficiencies in preparation may be waived if justified by superior marks, test scores, and recommendations.
All successful applicants are expected to complete at least 16 units of secondary school course work that will include the following:
- 4 years of English
- 3 years of Mathematics (algebra, advanced algebra or the equivalent, and geometry)*
- 2 years of the same foreign language
- 2 years of science (at least one laboratory)*
- 2 years of social studies (at least 1 year of U.S. history)*
*Students intending to major in a science or mathematics should show particular strength in that field.
Upload Your Unofficial Transcripts via the Saint Mary's applicant status page or have your high school counselor send the official transcript to smcadmit@maryplusjeff.com. For admissions review purposes we can use the unofficial transcripts, however once admitted an official transcript will be required.
Letters of recommendation are not required but are encouraged. If you decide to request a letter of recommendation, make sure to give your counselor or teacher ample time to submit the letter by the postmark deadline. The letter may be written on a separate piece of paper or directly on the evaluation form provided by the Common Application.
Saint Mary’s College of California will not require an SAT or ACT score for college admission. Students who have taken an SAT or ACT test and feel that their test scores enhance their admissions application may submit scores but are not required to do so. All students who apply, with or without test scores, will be reviewed holistically and be evaluated equally for admission and merit scholarships.
If you have taken the test and feel that your scores reflect your academic ability, you can submit them using the SAT school code 004675 and the ACT school code 0386.
![First year students painting the SMC](/sites/default/files/styles/two_column_callout_left_right_image/public/2023-07/First%20Year%20Admissions.jpg?h=a67c7ce3&itok=01vILnsF)
Scholarships
You have enough to think about —we automatically consider all first-year students for merit scholarships. No extra forms to think about or essays to write —we believe in rewarding you for your academic success, so once you’ve submitted your common app, we’ll take it from there. These awards are determined at the time of acceptance and are applied to each of your four years of undergraduate study.
![First Year Student Molly Gilbert](/sites/default/files/styles/two_column_callout_left_right_image/public/2023-08/First-Year-Admissions.jpg?h=a59ce9cd&itok=vD12PQrK)
Student Testimonial
Molly Gilbert '23
Major: Integral
"When I was applying to schools, I was looking for a smaller college with a tight-knit community, where I’d actually be able to interact with professors and classmates. I know myself: I don’t learn well if I’m talked at, which would be the case in a lecture hall with 400 people. But I thrive in a seminar-style classroom.
So Saint Mary’s checked all those boxes and was within decent driving distance from home. They offered me considerable scholarships, which was kind of them. Also, when I went to visit campus on a day that wasn’t specifically for visitors, students seemed actually interested in the stuff they were learning. That was quite honestly a big factor for me."
Contact Us
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Phone: (925)-631-4224
Fax: (925)-376-7193
Email: smcadmit@maryplusjeff.com
Brother Jerome West Hall
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
1928 St. Mary's Road
PMB 4800
Moraga, CA 94575