In fall 2025, 32,534 seniors from 342 high schools in the nine Bay Area counties applied to the University of California, and 79% were admitted to at least one campus, up from 68% in 2021. Bay Area students now spread almost evenly across three campuses: Berkeley, Davis and Santa Cruz. Five years ago, Davis was the clear favorite.
The Bay Area at a glance
| Campus | Bay Area applicants 2025 | Admit rate 2021 | Admit rate 2025 | Share of Bay Area enrollees 2021 | Share of Bay Area enrollees 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Davis | 25,073 | 38% | 31% | 25% | 17% |
| UC Berkeley | 23,878 | 15% | 12% | 19% | 18% |
| UC San Diego | 23,405 | 21% | 19% | 7% | 10% |
| UCLA | 23,197 | 9% | 9% | 8% | 10% |
| UC Santa Barbara | 22,362 | 26% | 30% | 10% | 8% |
| UC Irvine | 21,475 | 13% | 19% | 4% | 8% |
| UC Santa Cruz | 19,476 | 55% | 73% | 15% | 17% |
| UC Riverside | 13,772 | 67% | 90% | 6% | 9% |
| UC Merced | 12,201 | 92% | 97% | 5% | 3% |
Where Bay Area students go
Berkeley, Davis and Santa Cruz each draw about one in six. In 2025, 18% of Bay Area UC enrollees went to Berkeley, 17% to Davis and 17% to Santa Cruz. In 2021, Davis alone took a quarter, and the number of Bay Area students enrolling there fell from about 2,300 to about 1,650.
Southern campuses are gaining. UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Irvine and UC Riverside all drew a larger share of Bay Area students than in 2021. Irvine’s share doubled, from 4% to 8%, as its admit rate for Bay Area applicants rose from 13% to 19%.
Berkeley students say yes. Of Bay Area students admitted to Berkeley, about 59% enrolled, the highest rate of any campus. Admission is the hard part: Berkeley admitted 12% of Bay Area applicants in 2025, a little below the 13.5% rate for all California applicants. UCLA was similar, at 9% for the Bay Area against 9.6% statewide.
Davis got harder across the Bay Area
UC Davis is the biggest change. It admitted 38% of Bay Area applicants in 2021 and 31% in 2025, while its statewide rate only moved from 40% to 37%. The drop shows up at almost every large Bay Area high school.
| High school | UC applicants 2025 | Admitted to any UC | UC Berkeley 2025 | UC Davis 2021 | UC Davis 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dougherty Valley | 654 | 90% | 8% | 33% | 22% |
| Dublin | 520 | 90% | 9% | 34% | 27% |
| Berkeley High | 474 | 83% | 23% | 43% | 36% |
| Lowell | 443 | 84% | 12% | 45% | 32% |
| American | 409 | 91% | 7% | 29% | 22% |
| Evergreen Valley | 406 | 82% | 10% | 33% | 19% |
| Monta Vista | 370 | 91% | 10% | 33% | 20% |
| Homestead | 369 | 80% | 9% | 32% | 20% |
Many of these schools now see Davis admit only one in five applicants, about the same as UC San Diego. Berkeley High stands out at Berkeley itself, where 23% of its applicants were admitted. For a closer look at Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and Danville, see UC Davis Got Harder for Tri-Valley Students.
What this means for Bay Area seniors
- Treat Berkeley and UCLA as reaches; each admitted about one in ten Bay Area applicants.
- UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and UC Irvine admitted roughly one in five to one in three Bay Area applicants. These are targets, and Davis is no longer a likely.
- UC Santa Cruz (73%) and UC Riverside (90%) admitted most Bay Area applicants in 2025 and make sensible likelies; Santa Cruz is also close to home.
- Look up your school: Alameda · Contra Costa · Santa Clara · San Mateo · San Francisco.
These are past admit rates for everyone who applied, not any one student’s chances. The UC application deadline is November 30.
Source: University of California, UC Information Center, admissions by source school, fall 2021 and fall 2025 freshmen from California high schools. UC hides counts of one or two students; we count hidden admissions as one and leave hidden enrollments out, so enrollment figures are slight undercounts. ScoreCalc is independent and not affiliated with the University of California.
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