Hardest Colleges to Get Into in California
California has 61 colleges in the CollegeCalcAI database, and this page ranks every one of them by acceptance rate. The most selective are California Institute of Technology (3%), Stanford University (4%), and Pomona College (7%). 7 schools admit a quarter of applicants or fewer, the median California college admits 75%, and 28 are public against 33 private. At the other end, Cal State Stanislaus admits 98%. Open any school for its full admissions profile, or check your own odds free.
Schools
61
Median acceptance
75%
Most selective
California Institute of Technology
3% acceptance
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61 schools
- California Institute of Technology3%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1580
- Stanford University4%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1570
- Pomona College7%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1540
- UCLA9%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1510
- University of Southern California10%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1530
- Claremont McKenna College10%acceptanceMost selectiveCA · SAT 1520
- University of California, Berkeley11%acceptanceHighly selectiveCA · SAT 1530
- UC San Diego27%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1490
- UC Irvine29%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1420
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo31%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1420
- UC Santa Barbara33%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1430
- Hope International University33%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1120
- San Diego State University36%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1340
- UC Davis42%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1380
- Occidental College44%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1420
- Loyola Marymount University45%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1370
- Cal State Long Beach46%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1280
- Pacific Union College47%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1120
- Santa Clara University48%acceptanceSelectiveCA · SAT 1430
- University of San Diego52%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1360
- University of San Francisco62%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1340
- Vanguard University62%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1150
- Pepperdine University63%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1400
- Fresno Pacific University64%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1150
- Chapman University65%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1380
- Concordia University Irvine66%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1150
- UC Santa Cruz66%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1180
- Jessup University68%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1150
- University of the Pacific71%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1300
- Biola University74%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1260
- Cal Poly Pomona75%acceptanceModerately selectiveCA · SAT 1300
- UC Riverside76%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1300
- California Lutheran University76%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1230
- Westmont College77%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1150
- Thomas Aquinas College83%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1360
- Dominican University (CA)84%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1150
- Point Loma Nazarene University84%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1290
- Masters University84%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1120
- California Baptist University85%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1170
- San Jose State University85%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1220
- Simpson University86%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1060
- Saint Mary's College of California87%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1290
- Azusa Pacific University88%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1200
- Cal State Fullerton91%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1230
- Cal State Los Angeles91%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1150
- La Sierra University92%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1120
- Cal State Northridge93%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1150
- Cal State Chico93%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1170
- Cal State Dominguez Hills93%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1020
- William Jessup University93%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1120
- Sacramento State University94%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1170
- Cal State San Bernardino94%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1090
- Fresno State University95%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1160
- Cal State San Marcos95%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1190
- Cal Maritime Academy95%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1100
- San Francisco State University96%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1180
- Life Pacific University96%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1120
- Cal State East Bay97%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1080
- Cal State Monterey Bay97%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1130
- Cal Poly Humboldt98%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1150
- Cal State Stanislaus98%acceptanceAccessibleCA · SAT 1080
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Acceptance rates and admitted test ranges reflect publicly reported data (U.S. Department of Education / NCES IPEDS / Common Data Sets) and are rounded. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.