Including ATDP courses on your college application

Including ATDP courses on your college application

Last updated Aug. 22, 2023


To the class of 2023: we hope many of you are already busy with the prospect of starting your college careers. We have important information about including your ATDP experiences on college applications.

For A-G approved courses completed after 8th grade, you can list ATDP on the UC application as though it were a high school you attended. Otherwise, if your school has granted credit for a course, it will appear on your regular high school transcript. On college applications, you should then list it as coursework completed at your high school.

When completing college applications, do not list UC Berkeley as a college, university, or other post-secondary institution you have attended. If you list ATDP courses as college courses, the colleges to which you are applying will ask you to provide a UC transcript; however, the UC Registrar’s office does not have ATDP records, and an ATDP final evaluation is not a UC transcript. ATDP offers high school courses, not college courses, taught at the honors or advanced level.


For UC’s online application:

Find your Secondary Division Cumulative Educational Record in the RECORDS tab of your online account. Please refer to this document when adding ATDP courses to your UC application.

Do NOT list ATDP courses under “Colleges Attended in High School” or the “College Courses Taken in High School” sections.

Only A-G approved courses taken after 8th grade may be reported on your UC application. (Note that only courses taken after 9th grade are factored into your UC-calculated GPA.) Alternatively, you should list credited ATDP courses that appear on your high school transcript as courses completed at your high school.

Reporting ATDP courses and grades:

You can ONLY report Secondary Division courses that:

  • are A-G approved or pending approval (refer to your Cumulative Educational Record) AND
  • you took following 8th grade AND
  • are not already listed with credit given on a high school transcript.
Example screenshot of the UC application
High school selection page example (click for full size)

For other courses, see Reporting ATDP participation below.

Example screenshot of the UC application
Ex: High school information

In the High Schools section, add ATDP as a California high school that you have attended. Search using the school code 051637 to find the correct listing, which will appear as ACADEMIC TALENT DEV PRG UC BER.

Summer after 8th grade: Students who took an A-G course the summer after 8th grade must report it as though it were taken during the 9th grade school year. Please view and follow the instructions in this tutorial video put together by UCSB admissions. NOTE: Only A-G courses finished the summer after 9th grade through the summer after 11th grade are factored into the GPA calculated by UC on its application.

For summers after grade 9 and up, complete the High School Information form as follows:

  • Specialized curriculum: Do not check any boxes
  • When did you attend this high school?
    • Start date: List the starting month (June for almost all courses) and year of the first A-G approved ATDP course you took following 9th grade.
    • End date: List the ending month (July) and year of the last A-G approved ATDP course you took.
  • What grades did you attend this high school? List each grade level just prior to the summer you took an A-G approved ATDP course (i.e. 9th, 10th, and/or 11th). List the academic year of that grade. If you took an ATDP course in summer 2019, for example, select the 2018-2019 academic year. Select I took summer courses after this grade.
  • What is this school’s grading system? If you are reporting final grades in the A or B range, check “A B C D F”. If you are reporting final grades of P or NP, check “Other” and enter “A B P NP”. Check both if you are reporting grades in both categories.
  • What is this school’s term system? Check “Full year (1 final grade per year)”
  • Is this the school you will graduate from? Check “No”
Example screenshot of the UC application
Ex: completed high school section

After you have added ATDP along with your normal high school(s), click I’ve finished adding high schools.

Example screenshot of the UC application
Ex: Entering courses and grades

In each grade level section (9th, 10th and/or 11th grade) for which ATDP is listed, click Enter courses & grades for the summer session. (Do not enter any courses & grades for the academic year.) A-G approved ATDP courses are listed by subject requirement. Locate the course you took, and check the box next to it.

Enter your grades for each course:

  • If you are prompted to enter the Grading System, choose “A B C D F” if you are reporting grades in the A or B range. Choose “Other” if you are reporting a P or NP. Selecting the appropriate grading system will ensure that A and B grades are calculated into your UC GPA.
  • Under Grade 1, enter your final grade for that course based on the ATDP Final Evaluation you received or your Cumulative Educational Record.
Example screenshot of the UC application
Ex: Grade section completed, with expected warning

All A-G approved courses will appear in the list on the application. Note that not all currently approved courses were approved for all academic years. If your ATDP course is currently “In process for approval” you may, in accordance with UCOP guidance, manually enter it into your application. If you do so, mention the name of your course in the Additional Information section, and include the statement: “UC Berkeley ATDP will be submitting this course for retroactive approval in Spring 2022. I believe this course will be approved for A-G designation.”

Example screenshot of the UC application
Ex: Additional Information section

When you are done entering courses for each grade level, you may see a warning that says “There are some errors below.” The application expects courses & grades for every term listed, but ATDP courses are not typically held during the academic year. Once you are sure all other courses & grades have been entered for each grade, you can click Skip the page for now.

Finally, in the Additional Information section, academic year terms for ATDP may be listed under “Missing high school courses.” Check the box that says I confirm that I have no courses to report. Then, in text box for Additional Comments, explain your situation. We recommend a simple sentence, such as:

I only attended courses with the Academic Talent Development Program at UC Berkeley during the summer.

If you are ultimately admitted to a UC/CSU campus, please see also Reporting your course to colleges for instructions on transmitting your ATDP records.

Reporting ATDP participation:

Discuss ATDP participation in your Personal Statement

List credited ATDP courses that appear on your high school transcript in Academic History as courses completed at your high school

Do NOT list under “Colleges Attended in High School” or the “College Courses Taken in High School” sections.

Include ATDP in Educational Preparation Programs (Activities & Awards, see example)

Example screenshot of the UC application
Example Activities & Awards section (click for full size)
  • Hours per week
    Understanding Climate Change (2022)
    Exploring Chemistry (2022)
    Advanced Biotechnology (2022)
    10.5 hours per week
    All other two days/week courses 7 hours per week
    All other three days/week courses 10.5 hours per week
  • Weeks per year
    Understanding Climate Change (2022)
    Exploring Chemistry (2022)
    Advanced Biotechnology (2022)
    4 weeks
    All other SD courses 6 weeks
  • Suggested brief description of the program

UC Berkeley’s ATDP offers challenging summer classes for highly motivated young scholars. Students are invited to attend based on exceptional academic talent. (Student, consider referring to your ATDP final narrative evaluation and grade in describing your accomplishments.)


For the Common App:

Discuss ATDP participation in your Personal Statement

List credited ATDP courses that appear on your high school transcript in Courses & Grades (under “Other Courses”) as courses completed at your high school. Please note that not all colleges require students to list courses & grades; please refer to the Common App’s list.

  • Under “Course Level,” select “Accelerated” for full-year equivalent courses, “Enriched” for half-year equivalent courses, or “AP” for AP-aligned courses

Do NOT list ATDP as a high school you attended; non-UC/CSU campuses may not accept ATDP educational records as a transcript!

Do NOT list under “Colleges & Universities”; ATDP courses are not UC Berkeley undergraduate courses.

Include ATDP under Activities

  • Activity type: Academic
  • Position/Leadership description: Student
  • Organization name: UC Berkeley ATDP
  • Please describe this activity, including what you accomplished and any recognition you received, etc.: ATDP offers accelerated and enrichment summer classes for highly motivated young scholars. (Student, consider referring to your ATDP final narrative evaluation and grade in describing your accomplishments.)
  • Timing of participation: During school break
  • For hours per week and weeks per year, refer to the tables above. If you enrolled at ATDP multiple years, list numbers for the year you spent the most time in class.

ATDP wishes you the best with your college application process!