Undergraduate Experience at UC Merced

Student & Alumni Success

From Atwater to UC Merced with a Big Head Start

July 20, 2026

New UC Merced student and the Bobcat Bound graphic
This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2026 semester. Tayven Tipler won’t travel far from his hometown when he starts at UC Merced and he is already well along on his higher education journey. Tipler completed several courses at Merced...

Undergrad Experience: Allen Kalampukattussery

Name: Allen Kalampukattussery   Year: Third year Major: Biological Sciences, Human Biology emphasis Hometown: San Jose What is a memorable project that you worked on during your...

Undergrad Experience: Austin John Escobar

Name: Austin John Escobar Year: Third year Major: Biological Sciences with Human Emphasis; minor in Education Hometowns: Dublin, Calif., and Manila, Philippines What is a memorable...
uc merced students basketball court

UC Merced Services Clear the Path for Incoming Students

A student can swing between confidence and uncertainty in the months between signing a university’s acceptance letter and the first day of classes. The people at UC Merced entrusted with...

Undergraduate Experience: Erika Estrada Rodriquez

Name: Erika Estrada Rodriguez Year: Third Year Major: Sociology Hometown: Panorama City What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced...
Selina Brinkmann, who will graduate in May with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, is UC Merced’s first student to earn a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

Mechanical Engineering Student Named the Campus’s First Rhodes Scholar

UC Merced master’s student Selina Brinkmann has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for study at Oxford University — a first for the campus. “A Rhodes Scholarship being awarded to...

Undergrad Experience: Magali Torres Cervantes

Name: Magali Torres Cervantes Year: Third year Major: Management and Business Economics Hometown: Merced   What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC...

Undergrad Experience: Amelia Wood

Name: Amelia Wood Year: Third year Major: Biological Sciences (Human Biology emphasis); Natural Sciences Education minor Hometown: Stockton  What is a memorable project that you...

Undergrad Experience: Gehad Elhanafy

Name: Gehad Elhanafy Year: Second Major: Bioengineering Hometown: Merced What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced? In the summer of 2018, as an...

Undergrad Experience: Gabriel Viramontes

Name: Gabriel Viramontes Year: Fourth year Major: Biological Sciences Hometown: Lodi What is a memorable project that you worked on during your time at UC Merced? One of the most...

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