University of California-Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara publishes an acceptance rate of 33% and is test-blind for the 2026-27 cycle.
Acceptance rate
What UC Santa Barbara's 33% is made of
The published rate averages groups with very different odds. These are the splits UC Santa Barbara reports itself.
Transfer
Fall 2025 transfer entrants (CDS 2025-26, Section D2) · as of August 2026 · 1.5× easier than first-year
Read the transfer analysis →Part of Real Acceptance Rates, our series decomposing published rates from each school's own Common Data Set.
Testing
Test-Blind for 2026-27
- Policy
The University of California is test-blind at all nine campuses: SAT/ACT scores are not considered for admissions or scholarships, systemwide, including for the 2026-27 cycle.
- SAT middle 50%
- Not reported
- ACT middle 50%
- Not reported
- Average HS GPA
- 4.05–4.27 (weighted)Fall 2026 admitted freshmen (UC systemwide admissions data) · Source
Applying
Deadlines, essays and AI policy
- Early deadlines
- —
- Regular decision
- Nov 30, 2026 (single UC filing period, opens Aug 1, 2026/Oct 1, 2026 and closes Nov 30, 2026, for fall 2027 entry)Source
Full cycle calendar: Application Deadlines.
At a glance
Size and cost
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 23,113
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $50,614
- Category
- Public
- Admissions site
- www.ucsb.edu
What should this school mean for your list?
A published rate is one input. Working out what it means alongside the rest of your list is the part that actually changes an application. Free 25-minute call, no commitment.
Sources
- UC Santa Barbara test policy (2026-27)
- UC Santa Barbara deadlines
- UC Santa Barbara GPA (Fall 2026 admitted freshmen (UC systemwide admissions data))
- Acceptance rate, test-score percentiles, enrollment and tuition: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, pulled 2026-08-19.
Test policy and deadlines last verified 2026-08-17.
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