UC acceptance rates by high school come straight from the University of California: its Information Center publishes how many students from each high school applied to, were admitted to, and enrolled at every UC campus. For fall 2025, the numbers show something many families don't expect. At the 30 California high schools sending the most UC applicants -- names like Dougherty Valley, Lowell, Arcadia, and Monta Vista -- UCLA admitted between 6.4% and 12.2%, mostly at or below the 8.9% rate for all California high school applicants. A famous feeder school doesn't lift your odds.
All figures are fall 2025 freshman applicants from California high schools, from UC's "Admissions by source school" dashboard (updated March 12, 2026). Each campus's admit rate here is our calculation: admits divided by applicants.
UC acceptance rates for California high school students, fall 2025
| Campus | Applicants | Admits | Admit rate | Public HS rate | Private HS rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 88,267 | 7,863 | 8.9% | 8.8% | 9.5% |
| UC Berkeley | 71,750 | 9,102 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 13.5% |
| UC Irvine | 85,584 | 18,680 | 21.8% | 22.0% | 20.4% |
| UC San Diego | 86,639 | 21,332 | 24.6% | 25.4% | 19.4% |
| UC Santa Barbara | 73,885 | 23,786 | 32.2% | 32.7% | 29.2% |
| UC Davis | 68,388 | 25,225 | 36.9% | 36.8% | 37.6% |
| UC Santa Cruz | 51,879 | 37,004 | 71.3% | 71.3% | 71.7% |
| UC Riverside | 60,765 | 52,907 | 87.1% | 87.1% | 86.7% |
| UC Merced | 42,412 | 40,854 | 96.3% | 96.4% | 96.0% |
| Any UC campus | 129,703 | 100,296 | 77.3% | 78.2% | 71.1% |
"Any UC campus" counts each student once: 77% of California high school applicants were admitted somewhere in the system. Private high school students did slightly better at UCLA and Berkeley and noticeably worse at UC San Diego and systemwide -- see how private high schools compare.
The 30 California high schools with the most UC applicants
| High school | City | UC applicants | Any-UC admit rate | UCLA (applied / admitted / rate) | Berkeley (applied / admitted / rate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dougherty Valley High School | San Ramon | 654 | 89.9% | 555 / 42 / 7.6% | 542 / 44 / 8.1% |
| Dublin High School | Dublin | 520 | 89.6% | 430 / 34 / 7.9% | 435 / 40 / 9.2% |
| Granada Hills Charter | Granada Hills | 502 | 70.1% | 409 / 39 / 9.5% | 293 / 34 / 11.6% |
| Arcadia High School | Arcadia | 495 | 84.8% | 421 / 39 / 9.3% | 371 / 51 / 13.7% |
| Berkeley High School | Berkeley | 474 | 83.3% | 354 / 33 / 9.3% | 319 / 73 / 22.9% |
| Canyon Crest Academy | San Diego | 444 | 84.2% | 380 / 44 / 11.6% | 346 / 29 / 8.4% |
| Lowell High School | San Francisco | 443 | 84.2% | 335 / 24 / 7.2% | 363 / 42 / 11.6% |
| Del Norte High School | San Diego | 417 | 87.3% | 331 / 28 / 8.5% | 281 / 33 / 11.7% |
| Diamond Bar High School | Diamond Bar | 417 | 87.8% | 343 / 33 / 9.6% | 299 / 54 / 18.1% |
| American High School | Fremont | 409 | 91.2% | 351 / 35 / 10.0% | 348 / 25 / 7.2% |
| Evergreen Valley High School | San Jose | 406 | 82.3% | 314 / 23 / 7.3% | 309 / 32 / 10.4% |
| Troy High School | Fullerton | 406 | 84.5% | 359 / 34 / 9.5% | 299 / 52 / 17.4% |
| Amador Valley High School | Pleasanton | 397 | 83.1% | 320 / 28 / 8.8% | 302 / 21 / 7.0% |
| Portola High School | Irvine | 392 | 81.9% | 330 / 27 / 8.2% | 288 / 30 / 10.4% |
| Eleanor Roosevelt High School | Eastvale | 385 | 81.6% | 272 / 27 / 9.9% | 159 / 23 / 14.5% |
| California High School | San Ramon | 381 | 85.3% | 311 / 20 / 6.4% | 291 / 36 / 12.4% |
| Beckman High School | Irvine | 374 | 82.4% | 303 / 27 / 8.9% | 235 / 35 / 14.9% |
| Northwood High School | Irvine | 374 | 83.4% | 324 / 27 / 8.3% | 287 / 34 / 11.8% |
| Monta Vista High School | Cupertino | 370 | 91.1% | 327 / 28 / 8.6% | 321 / 33 / 10.3% |
| Santa Monica High School | Santa Monica | 370 | 74.1% | 276 / 31 / 11.2% | 259 / 67 / 25.9% |
| Homestead High School | Cupertino | 369 | 80.5% | 297 / 24 / 8.1% | 293 / 26 / 8.9% |
| Palisades Charter High School | Pacific Palisades | 368 | 74.5% | 287 / 35 / 12.2% | 265 / 38 / 14.3% |
| Irvington High School | Fremont | 367 | 92.1% | 317 / 25 / 7.9% | 319 / 31 / 9.7% |
| Mira Costa High School | Manhattan Beach | 367 | 70.8% | 315 / 37 / 11.7% | 271 / 47 / 17.3% |
| Carlmont High School | Belmont | 361 | 77.3% | 303 / 24 / 7.9% | 288 / 45 / 15.6% |
| Mission San Jose High School | Fremont | 357 | 88.8% | 316 / 25 / 7.9% | 316 / 43 / 13.6% |
| University High School | Irvine | 350 | 82.6% | 302 / 25 / 8.3% | 284 / 34 / 12.0% |
| Lynbrook High School | San Jose | 342 | 87.7% | 311 / 23 / 7.4% | 314 / 34 / 10.8% |
| Mountain View High School | Mountain View | 341 | 74.5% | 261 / 23 / 8.8% | 251 / 30 / 12.0% |
| Palo Alto High School | Palo Alto | 341 | 77.7% | 295 / 27 / 9.2% | 285 / 41 / 14.4% |
What the numbers show
- Big feeder schools don't beat the statewide rate at UCLA. Seventeen of these 30 schools came in below UCLA's 8.9% rate for all California high school applicants. Several of the largest -- Dougherty Valley (7.6%), Lowell (7.2%), California High (6.4%) -- were among the lowest.
- Berkeley varies far more by school. Rates at the same 30 schools ran from 7.0% at Amador Valley to 25.9% at Santa Monica, compared with 12.7% statewide.
- Almost everyone gets in somewhere. Even at the most competitive schools, 70% to 92% of applicants were admitted to at least one UC campus.
- Strong classmates are the competition. Applicants from these schools had high GPAs, yet admitted students' average GPA was nearly the same everywhere -- see UC admitted GPA by high school.
One documented reason a school's own context matters: UC's Eligibility in the Local Context program guarantees a UC spot (not a specific campus) to students in roughly the top 9% of their own high school, so a student's rank among classmates carries weight that a statewide GPA comparison misses.
What this means for you
- Compare yourself to your own school's numbers, not to the system average. See UCLA and Berkeley by high school.
- Apply broadly across campuses. At nearly every school, the gap between the most selective campuses and the any-UC rate is enormous.
- Look up your school directly. UC's dashboard covers about 1,700 California high schools, including small ones not shown here.
- For how the application itself works, see how UC admissions actually works.