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UC Admission Statistics

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In the last two years, the average SAT and ACT scores have been on the rise at all UC campuses. At many schools, the average GPA has also been rising as more students decide to attend in-state rather than more costly out-of-state universities and private colleges. More significant is the percentage of non-Californians that are increasingly being admitted to UC campuses, especially UCLA and UC-Berkeley.

Although these numbers are average scores, it does give students and parents a sense of GPA and test score expectations. My hope is that these statistics will help students create a plan for admission, which includes plenty of time for studying and preparing for the ACT or SAT.

As the UC system moves toward "holistic" admission over the next few years, we may see a different trend. But for now students are stuck with these tests. So start early and prepare well!

        206   2010
UC Berkeley 2011   Average High School GPA   4.17   4.14
    Average ACT Composite   28   30
    Average SAT Critical Reading   665   674
    Average SAT Math   690   707
    Average SAT Writing   670   692
    SAT Total Score   2025   2073
    California Residents (% of admits)   87.9%   68.2%
UCLA 2011   Average High School GPA   4.13   4.11
    Average ACT Composite   28   30
    Average SAT Critical Reading   658   657
    Average SAT Math   687   701
    Average SAT Writing   665   680
    SAT Total Score   2010   2038
    California Residents (% of admits)   86.9%   70.3%
UC San Diego 2011   Average High School GPA   4.04   4.08
    Average ACT Composite   27   29
    Average SAT Critical Reading   630   632
    Average SAT Math   667   681
    Average SAT Writing   639   653
    SAT Total Score   1936   1966
    California Residents (% of admits)   90.7%   76.6%
UC Santa Barbara 2011   Average High School GPA   3.91   3.97
    Average ACT Composite   26   28
    Average SAT Critical Reading   609   613
    Average SAT Math   631   647
    Average SAT Writing   612   629
    SAT Total Score   1852   1889
    California Residents (% of admits)   92.8%   82.7%
UC Davis 2011   Average High School GPA   3.84   4.00
    Average ACT Composite   26   28
    Average SAT Critical Reading   595   613
    Average SAT Math   634   658
    Average SAT Writing   602   631
    SAT Total Score   1831   1902
    California Residents (% of admits)   93.7%   85.5%
UC Irvine 2011   Average High School GPA   3.84   3.97
    Average ACT Composite   26   27
    Average SAT Critical Reading   595   593
    Average SAT Math   634   644
    Average SAT Writing   602   612
    SAT Total Score   1831   1849
    California Residents (% of admits)   93.7%   81.3%
UC Santa Cruz 2011   Average High School GPA   3.68   3.75
    Average ACT Composite   25   26
    Average SAT Critical Reading   581   580
    Average SAT Math   603   605
    Average SAT Writing   586   591
    SAT Total Score   1770   1776
    California Residents (% of admits)   93.8%   93.3%
UC Merced 2011   Average High School GPA   3.58   3.56
    Average ACT Composite   23   24
    Average SAT Critical Reading   543   551
    Average SAT Math   587   564
    Average SAT Writing   547   537
    SAT Total Score   1677   1652
    California Residents (% of admits)   98.0%   87.7%
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