University of California-Santa Cruz
UC Santa Cruz publishes 72% (Fall 2025). Domestic nonresident applicants got in at 84%; california resident at 71%.
Acceptance rate
What UC Santa Cruz's 72% is made of
The published rate averages groups with very different odds. These are the splits UC Santa Cruz reports itself.
Part of Real Acceptance Rates, our series decomposing published rates from each school's own Common Data Set.
Testing
Test scores at UC Santa Cruz
- SAT middle 50%
- Not reported
- ACT middle 50%
- Not reported
- Average HS GPA
- 3.79–4.20 (weighted)Fall 2026 admitted first-year applicants (UC systemwide first-year admit data) · Source
At a glance
Size and cost
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 17,940
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $50,205
- Category
- Public
- Admissions site
- www.ucsc.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 Cruz GPA (Fall 2026 admitted first-year applicants (UC systemwide first-year admit data))
- Acceptance rate, test-score percentiles, enrollment and tuition: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, pulled 2026-08-19.
Is this school right for your student?
Talk through UC Santa Cruz with an advisor.
Tell us about your student and we'll tell you whether UC Santa Cruz is a reach, a target or a likely, and what would change that.
Book my free consult
