UCLA acceptance rate and your odds of getting in
With an acceptance rate near 9%, UCLA is a most selective public university in California. Because it admits roughly one in ten applicants or fewer, admission turns on the strength of your whole profile rather than any one number.
Use this page to see what UCLA weighs, where it ranks among California schools, and how a profile like yours is likely to land. Admitted students post a 75th-percentile SAT around 1510, a useful checkpoint for where your scores sit, though it is a reference range and not a cutoff.
What is UCLA's acceptance rate?
UCLA admitted 12,736 of 145,903 first-year applicants for fall 2023, an acceptance rate of 9%.
Source: IPEDS admissions survey, fall 2023. Updated October 29, 2026.
What do students study at UCLA?
Bachelor's degrees awarded by field in 2023 (IPEDS completions). Each field has its own page with the school's numbers, the model's major adjustment, and peers offering it.
Will I get into UCLA?
Direct answers to what applicants ask about getting into UCLA, plus a free way to calculate your own odds.
What are my chances of getting into UCLA?
UCLA admits about 9% of applicants, but that overall rate is not your personal chance. Your real odds depend on how your GPA, course rigor, test scores, and activities compare to its admitted students. Run your profile through the free CollegeCalcAI calculator to get a personalized acceptance percentage for UCLA in about three minutes, with no account needed to start.
Is UCLA hard to get into?
UCLA is most selective: it admits roughly one in ten applicants or fewer, with about a 9% acceptance rate. At this level, strong grades and scores are the baseline, so essays, recommendations, and a distinctive story are what separate admits.
What GPA do you need to get into UCLA?
There is no hard GPA cutoff at UCLA, but admitted students almost universally present a 3.9 to 4.0 GPA earned in the most demanding courses their school offers. UCLA reads your GPA alongside the rigor of your courses, so a challenging schedule matters as much as the number itself.
What SAT score do you need for UCLA?
UCLA does not publish a required score, but the admitted-student 75th-percentile SAT is around 1510. A score at or above that range strengthens your application, while a lower score puts more weight on your rigor, activities, and essays. CollegeCalcAI shows how your exact score shifts your odds at UCLA.
Your chances at UCLA by GPA and SAT
Estimated chance of admission at UCLA for plain profiles, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA, 6 AP courses, Regular Decision, no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook. The last column is test-optional (no score sent).
What are my chances at UCLA with a 3.9 GPA and a 1450 SAT?
About 16% (Reach), by CollegeCalcAI's deterministic model, for an applicant with a 3.9 unweighted GPA and a 1450 SAT, the middle of UCLA's admitted range, applying Regular Decision without a hook. A 4.0 GPA with a 1510 SAT comes out near 18%. Courses, activities, essays and the application round move the number; the free calculator includes them.
Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities. Assistants and developers can fetch this table from the free API: /api/v1/colleges/ucla.
Early Decision, Early Action and the waitlist at UCLA
From UCLA's own 2025-26 Common Data Set (fall 2025 entering class): sections C1, C2, C21-C22 and D2.
Does UCLA have early decision?
No. UCLA reported no Early Decision plan in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.
How many students get off the waitlist at UCLA?
1,514 for fall 2025. UCLA offered 20,563 applicants a waitlist spot, 13,612 accepted one, and 1,514 were admitted from it: 11.1% of those who stayed on (UCLA's 2025-26 Common Data Set).
What is the transfer acceptance rate at UCLA?
23.4%: 6,665 of 28,487 transfer applicants were admitted for fall 2025 (UCLA's 2025-26 Common Data Set).
Source: UCLA Common Data Set 2025-26. Read from the document twice independently; only matching figures are shown. See how early rounds compare across colleges in the Early Decision rankings.
How to get into UCLA
Built from UCLA's admitted class and what it reports weighing. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled figures, not published cutoffs.
Here is how to get into UCLA, built from what its admitted class actually looks like and what the school says it weighs.
CollegeCalcAI's modeled typical admit at UCLA carries about a 3.90 core GPA and a 1460 SAT, in the most rigorous schedule available. At this selectivity that is the entry ticket, not the deciding factor.
UCLA rates rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and extracurricular activities highest in its own Common Data Set. Put your depth there: one or two activities with leadership or recognition rather than a long list, and a transcript whose rigor rises through junior year.
Most public universities read early applicants first without a binding commitment. Apply by UCLA's early or priority deadline (confirm dates at www.ucla.edu), and if you are out of state, know that residency changes both the bar and the price.
How many students apply to UCLA, and how many get in?
For the fall 2023 entering class, UCLA received 145,903 applications and admitted 12,736, an acceptance rate of 8.7%. 6,585 enrolled. Roughly 52% of admitted students enrolled, a typical yield for a school in this range. UCLA enrolls about 33,475 undergraduates in total, 60% of them women, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 20 to 1.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 admissions and enrollment.
What SAT and ACT scores do you need for UCLA?
UCLA reports that it neither requires nor recommends test scores, so admission turns on your transcript, rigor, and the rest of the file.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10.
What UCLA looks for
What UCLA weighs most heavily in its admissions review, informed by its reported Common Data Set.
In its review, UCLA leans most on rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and extracurricular activities. At this level of selectivity, the difference between admits is rarely the transcript alone; essays, recommendations, and a coherent story matter. These ratings come from UCLA's reported Common Data Set, so the full chart below reflects what the school itself says it values, not a generic guess.
SAT score positioning at UCLA
How common SAT scores sit relative to the admitted middle. This is context, not a probability. Your full profile determines the real estimate.
How much does UCLA cost after financial aid?
UCLA's published cost of attendance, before any aid, is roughly $38,614 per year. Tuition and fees are $15,203 for CA residents and $49,403 for out-of-state students, a $34,200 gap that makes residency the single biggest lever on cost. What families actually pay is different: the average net price after grants and scholarships is $12,548 a year, and it ranges from $5,579 for families earning under $30,000 to $29,682 for families earning over $110,000. 28% of undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Net price is what students receiving aid paid after grants, by family income.
What do UCLA graduates earn, and how many graduate?
Ten years after enrolling, the median UCLA student who received federal aid earns $82,511 a year, up from $59,063 at six years. 93% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 97% return for a second year. Among graduates who borrowed, median federal debt at graduation is $14,000; 19% of undergraduates take federal loans.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Earnings cover students who received federal aid.
How UCLA compares in California
UCLA ranks #4 most selective of 61 schools in California in our database.
Among the 61 California schools we track, UCLA ranks #4 most selective by acceptance rate. Schools like California Institute of Technology (3%) and Stanford University (4%) sit nearby, which makes California a useful frame for calibrating a balanced list. As a public university, residency matters: in-state applicants generally see meaningfully better odds than the headline rate suggests.
Similar to UCLA
Schools with a similar selectivity profile, worth comparing as you build a balanced list.
Build around UCLA with peers at a comparable selectivity, such as U.S. Naval Academy, University of California, Berkeley, and U.S. Military Academy. Running the same profile against each one in the free calculator is the fastest way to see where you are a reach, a match, or a likely.
More data for California: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo architecture admissions
Frequently asked questions
What is UCLA's acceptance rate?
UCLA admitted 12,736 of 145,903 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class, an acceptance rate of 8.7% (U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS). 52% of admitted students enrolled.
Is UCLA test-optional?
UCLA reports that it neither requires nor recommends test scores.
How much does UCLA cost after financial aid?
The average net price at UCLA, what students receiving aid paid after grants and scholarships, is $12,548 a year against a sticker price of about $38,614. Families earning under $30,000 paid about $5,579 on average.
What do UCLA graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entering UCLA are $82,511 a year among students who received federal aid, and 93% of students graduate within six years (College Scorecard).
What does UCLA value most in applicants?
Based on its admissions profile, UCLA weighs rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and extracurricular activities most heavily. The full factor breakdown is on this page.
Does UCLA favor in-state applicants?
As a public university, UCLA generally admits in-state applicants at a higher rate than out-of-state applicants, so your home state affects your odds. CollegeCalcAI applies an in-state residency boost when you select your state.
How can I improve my chances at UCLA?
Focus on the highest-leverage parts of your application: course rigor and GPA trajectory first, then test scores, then a focused leadership or activity spike. CollegeCalcAI's Power-Ups quantify how much each change would move your odds at UCLA specifically.
How does residency affect admission to UCLA?
As a public university, UCLA typically admits in-state students at a higher rate, and tuition differs sharply by residency. Select your home state in the calculator to fold the in-state effect into your estimate.
Can I get into UCLA with a perfect GPA and test scores?
Top grades and scores are necessary but not sufficient at UCLA. At this selectivity most applicants are already academically qualified, so essays, recommendations, and a distinctive story are what separate admits.
Acceptance rate, application counts, admitted test ranges, cost, and outcomes reflect publicly reported federal data (U.S. Department of Education: IPEDS 2023 and the College Scorecard) and each school's Common Data Set; figures are rounded and lag the current cycle by one to two years, so confirm deadlines and policies on the school's own site. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled estimates. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.