Undergraduate & Transfer Applicant FAQ


First-year & transfer applicants with questions about their application status should visit the UCI Applicant Portal.

You can also send an email to adm-operations@uci.edu in case you have any additional admissions-related questions that are not addressed in this Applicant FAQ. Unfortunately the OIT Help Desk does not have the authority or ability to access your application.

If you've already been accepted by UCI but have questions about housing, when you'll receive your campus email account, or when you'll get access to additional services, please consult Section 2 of the FAQ below.

Graduate School Applicants should visit the Graduate Application Status portal. You may also want to consult the Graduate Applicant FAQ.

We have broken this FAQ down into two sections:

If you are a parent or guardian, we will not be able to assist you over the phone due to privacy reasons. Please ask the student to consult this FAQ or contact us for support.

Table of Contents

Section 1: I've applied to UCI and I have some questions

1. What is my UCInetID?

Your UCInetID is your username at UC Irvine. It consists of a 3-8 letter combination of your first and last name. For example, Peter Anteater’s UCInetID would be panteat. A UCInetID is not a Student ID Number or an Application ID which consists of all numbers. In order to be able to login with your UCInetID, it must first be activated.

If you forgot your UCInetID:

  1. Visit https://activate.uci.edu/activate/forgot_ucinetid.php
  2. When prompted, enter the email address that you used on your UC application.
  3. Select the button “Send me my UCInetID”. Your UCInetID will be emailed to you shortly.

2. How do I activate my UCInetID?

Visit https://activate.uci.edu to get started. In order to successfully activate, you need 3 pieces of information:

  1. Your UCI Student ID Number, which is 8 digits in length
  2. Your birthdate
  3. The last four digits of your social security number
    • Note: If you do not have a SSN, leave this field blank or use whatever number you entered on your UC application.

3. I forgot my UCI Student ID number and/or my UCInetID.

Your UCI Student ID# is 8 digits in length (as opposed to your UC Application ID# which is only 7). This number will appear on every email you'll receive from UCI.

Your UCInetID is your username, which you'll use to login to the Applicant Portal and other UCI web services. It's up to 8 characters in length and will be a mix of your first, middle, and last name, and in some cases it will contain numbers too (e.g. panteate).

Please search your email for this number and your UCInetID.

4. I forgot my UC Application ID number.

Your Application ID is a 7-digit number that can be found on the receipt/summary email you received when you submitted your UC application. If you did not save this receipt, you can find your Application ID by signing back in to your UC Application and clicking on the "View Application” link. You will then see your Application ID on the top left of the page.

If you're still having trouble, you can contact the UC Application Processing Service by phone.

5. I forgot my password.

You can reset your UCInetID password at https://activate.uci.edu. You will need your UCInetID, date of birth, and the last four of your social security number to do so.

Once your UCInetID is validated, you must answer the security question on file to reset the password.

6. I forgot my security answer.

Visit https://activate.uci.edu/activate/forgot_password.php and we'll send you the answer on file.

7. I tried resetting my password but I keep getting the error 'you do not have the proper information to continue.'

The error message "You do not have the proper information to continue..." can mean one of two things:

8. The system cannot verify my birth date or social security number.

If you need to update your Social Security Number (SSN) or date of birth, go to the UC Application Service website. UC Irvine Admissions will receive the update and process it in approximately three business days.

Some of our student applicants do not have Social Security Numbers, but they may have put some other number in place of an SSN on the UC Application (they may have entered their passport number or some other string of numbers). Again, double-check to see what you entered on your UC Application: you'll need to enter the last four digits of that number into the UCInetID activation page.

9. My account says it's been locked out for too many attempts.

If you try unsuccessfully to login too many times, our login system will lock you out for 30 minutes. Please try again after 30 minutes. We unfortunately have no means to lift the lock.

10. I graduated UCI as an undergrad but am now applying for grad school (or a second undergrad degree) at UCI. Will I get a second UCInetID?

No. You will use the same UCInetID for grad school (or a second degree). You will get a second UCI student ID number, but it will be attached to your current UCInetID.

You do NOT have to reactivate your UCInetID.

 

Section 2: I've been accepted to UCI and I have some questions

11. As an applicant, can I login to other UCI websites such as EEE, Zotportal, Off-Campus Housing etc?

Applicant access to UCI websites is restricted during the admission process. Initially, applicants can only login to just 2 UCI websites:

  1. The UCI Applicant Portal
  2. The My Aid portal (for financial aid)

Applicants are restricted to these two UCI websites until they’ve submitted the SIR (Statement of Intent to Register), which they fill out after they’ve been accepted by the university (the SIR can be accessed through the UCI Applicant Portal above - Grad Students should consult their departments to obtain the link to their SIR). 24 hours after they submit the SIR, they can then login to 2 other sites:

The final step is conversion from applicant status to student status. Below is the conversion schedule provided by the Registrar.

  • First-yeartransfer, and summer program applicants (such as the School of Education's MAT program & the Nursing School) will be converted in mid-May.
  • Graduate applicants and Professional School applicants (including Merage, Law School, and the Medical School) will be converted in late May-early June.

At that point, you will then be able to login to most other UCI websites using your UCInetID such as:

12. I am having trouble logging in to either of the Housing websites.

There are two housing websites, and your ability to login to those sites is based on your student status.

The My.Housing website is available to all incoming applicants who have completed their SIR’s.

The Off-Campus Housing site is also available to applicants who have SIR'd; however, you must signup for a GUEST account on their website because it will NOT recognize your UCInetID until you're converted to a student. Below is the conversion schedule provided by the Registrar.

Unfortunately we do not know the exact dates and there is no way to expedite this process.

NOTE: If you have any trouble logging in to the Off-Campus Housing Website using a GUEST account, please use their self-service portal to retrieve your GUEST login information. OIT does NOT manage that website so we will be unable to assist you.

13. As an applicant, do I receive a UCI email account?

Applicants do not receive UCI email accounts until they are converted to students. Below is the conversion schedule provided by the Registrar.

  • First-yeartransfer, and summer program applicants (such as the School of Education's MAT program & the Nursing School) will be converted in mid-May.
  • Graduate applicants and Professional School applicants (including Merage, Law School, and the Medical School) will be converted in late May-early June.

At that point, you will get an email from OIT inviting you to setup your UCI Gmail account (Merage & Law Students will get separate invites to setup their Exchange & LawNet Gmail accounts, respectively). Unfortunately we do not know the specific dates when they'll be ready.

14. I'm an international applicant. Do I need a UCI email account to submit my I-20?

No. You do not need a UCI email account to submit your I-20. You can simply return the forms on the International Center's website via your personal email address to your Grad Advisor or the International Center. They will reply to you at your personal email account.

If you'd like to contact the UCI International Center for support, their number is 949-824-7249 and their email is internationalcenter@uci.edu.

15. I've been accepted by UCI and have completed my SIR, yet I'm having trouble logging in to Zot Account to pay housing fees.

Applicants who have been formally accepted by the university AND have completed their SIR (Statement of Intent to Register) are permitted to login to Zot Account for the purpose of paying housing fees & tuition fees.

Bear in mind that you will NOT be able to login UNTIL the fees have been assessed by the Registrar. If you try to login too soon, you will get a 404 error message ("page cannot be displayed"). This is normal. Please do not try to login until you've received the notification.

If you're trying to pay Housing Fees and are having trouble logging in to Zot Account, you can always pay them via the My Housing Gateway.

16. I'm unable to login to the Student Health Portal.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to login to the Student Health Portal (https://osh.shs.uci.edu/) to upload immunization records until you've been converted from an Applicant to a Student. Below is the conversion schedule provided by the Registrar.

Students who are stuck in a login loop should use the VPN to connect to the Student Health Portal.

17. I've tried the steps above and I'm still having trouble.

If you're still having trouble after using the tools above and carefully reviewing the Applicant FAQ, you may send us an email. When doing so, you must provide the following:

Failure to provide this information will delay our response.

Return to the OIT Help Center.