What did UCLA accepted vs. rejected applicants actually look like this year? UCLA admitted about 9% of applicants by its official rate, and it's test-blind, so SAT and ACT scores play no part. That leaves grades, activities and the UC's Personal Insight Questions to decide everything.
We compared 152 UCLA applicants from self-reported 2026 r/collegeresults posts: 60 admitted, 70 rejected and 22 waitlisted. (Three applicants who were admitted off the waitlist count as admitted.) Every one applied in the UC's single filing period; there's no early round at UCLA. This is part of a larger comparison of accepted vs. rejected applicants at top colleges, which explains how the data was collected.
One caution first: people who post results skew strong, so 39% of this sample got in, far above UCLA's real rate. Compare the two groups with each other, not with your own odds, and treat a gap of a few people as possible noise.
UCLA admitted student GPA: 4.0 vs. 3.92
| Admitted | Rejected or waitlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| Median unweighted GPA | 4.0 (45 stated) | 3.92 (71 stated) |
| Median weighted GPA | 4.60 (41 stated) | 4.40 (57 stated) |
| Median AP/IB courses | 13 | 10 |
| Median activities listed | 10 | 10 |
| Median awards listed | 5 | 4 |
Grades and course load were the clearest differences. Admitted applicants had a median 4.0 unweighted GPA, versus 3.92 for everyone else, and took about three more AP or IB courses. More than half of the admits who stated a GPA had a 4.0 (25 of 45), versus fewer than a quarter of everyone else (16 of 71). Because UCLA never sees test scores, the transcript does more of the work here than at most schools. We look at how much GPA mattered across all top schools in does a 4.0 GPA matter at top colleges.
The number of activities was identical between the groups. What differed was the kind.
Which activities UCLA admits listed more often
- Research: 65% of admits versus 51% of everyone else.
- Selective summer programs: 35% versus 21%.
- Science or general academic competitions (Science Olympiad, quiz bowl, subject olympiads and similar): 32% versus 24%.
- Arts or writing awards: 23% versus 12%.
And some activities showed up more often among applicants who weren't admitted:
- Robotics or engineering teams: 8% of admits versus 20% of everyone else.
- Business or entrepreneurship: 15% versus 24%.
- Religious or cultural groups: 12% versus 23%.
That doesn't mean robotics or business clubs hurt. Nothing here shows they cost anyone a seat. A fair reading is that academic activities (research, academic programs, competitions) lined up with admission at UCLA more than career-style ones did. Some things that looked like gaps with fewer posts have evened out: internships (40% in both groups) and community service (58% versus 62%) now show almost no difference.
A national-level award came with only a small gap: 72% of admits had one, versus 66% of everyone else.
California residents did somewhat better
25 of 59 California residents in the sample were admitted (42%), versus 27 of 77 out-of-state and international applicants (35%). Sixteen posters didn't say which state they live in and are left out of this split. That gap is smaller than it looked with fewer posts, and much smaller than at UC Berkeley, where residents got in at nearly twice the rate of everyone else. At UC San Diego, out-of-state applicants did slightly better than residents.
What UCLA applicants can take from this
- Grades carry more weight at test-blind schools. With no SAT or ACT to offset a weaker transcript, a 4.0 versus a 3.92 showed up clearly here, and so did course load. If you're also applying to Common App schools, read how UC admissions actually works, since the application, essays and timing are all different.
- Academic depth showed up more than breadth. Admits didn't list more activities; they listed more research and academic programs.
- Your high school matters to the odds, too. UC's own fall 2025 data shows UCLA admitting 8.9% of California high school applicants, with rates near 6% at some of the biggest feeder schools and above 15% at others -- see UCLA acceptance rate by high school.
- Major choice matters at UCLA too. Some majors are much harder to get into than the campus rate suggests; see the UC major-specific acceptance rate penalty.
UCLA's College Intel page carries the same applicant-profile comparison, updated as new posts are logged, alongside its official admissions data.
Sources
- College Intel's tally of self-reported r/collegeresults posts, 2026 admissions cycle (404 posts logged as of Oct 9, 2026; 152 with a UCLA decision). Recruited athletes and transfer applicants excluded. Aggregates only; no individual post is reproduced, and no figure rests on fewer than 3 people.
- College Scorecard -- U.S. Department of Education (UCLA's official admission rate)