Greetings, and congratulations on your decision to make UC Merced your new home!
As a new student, there are several tasks you need to complete before you get to campus. Over the next few months, we will guide you through each step to ensure you are prepared to start your academic career at UC Merced.
In this newsletter, we’ll tell you about what’s required in the coming weeks as well as what you have to look forward to! If you want to plan ahead we recommend you visit our Admitted Students website for more information or contact our Students First Center for support.
We can’t wait for you to join us this fall!
STATEMENT OF LEGAL RESIDENCE (SLR)
Please note, the Statement of Legal Residence is only required if listed in your checklist. If it is not displayed, there is no action for you to take. For more information, click here.
We want to make sure your fees are assessed at the correct California resident rate. If the Statement of Legal Residence (SLR) is listed on your checklist, you should complete it as soon as possible as failure to submit your SLR or any requested documents will affect your financial aid package and result in nonresident fees being assessed to your student account. It generally takes students 10-15 minutes to complete the SLR questionnaire. You can review this quick video for steps to help you complete your SLR found in your UC Merced Connect student portal.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Diana Cruz Garcia
Major: Bioengineering Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced? The most memorable project that I’ve worked on was during my first summer as a UC LEADS scholar back in 2019. It was my first time conducting stem cell research in Professor Kara McCloskey’s lab and my project was to create microvasculature from stem cells via microfluidic devices. I worked under my graduate student mentor, Jose, and I spent more than 40 hours a week in lab that summer and LOVED IT. What did you learn personally and academically by participating in this? I grew so much throughout this experience, both as a person and as a researcher. As a researcher, I learned that mistakes in lab are inevitable, that there is no such thing as “no results,” and I learned that patience is key. Personally, I learned that I am a hands-on learner, that I want to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, and I learned that I AM capable of success. Overall, having the chance to conduct research and be mentored by faculty allowed me to see my potential and inspired me to take what I learned and share it with other first-generation underrepresented minorities, such as myself. I created a YouTube channel toward the end of that summer to support and encourage disadvantaged students to pursue higher education. UC Merced has a lot of opportunities for experiential learning. What would you say to a future student who wants to be involved? I would say to take a chance, push yourself to achieve your goals and take advantage of the opportunities at UC Merced. This is your time to shape yourself into the person you want to be by the time graduation comes. Be a leader to your community by leading by example. UC Merced is the perfect environment for you to grow and become a confident and phenomenal researcher!
UC Merced is the perfect environment for you to grow and become a confident and phenomenal researcher!
