Acalanes High School: UC admissions

Lafayette · Contra Costa CountyPublic high school

This page shows how students from Acalanes High School did when they applied to the University of California. It is not the admission rate for getting into Acalanes High School itself.

In fall 2025, 164 students from Acalanes High School applied to the University of California and 121 (74%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Santa Barbara with 139 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (14 of 133 admitted, 11%), and the easiest was UC Merced (100%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 3.99.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (74%) was 3 points below the Contra Costa County average (77%). The biggest change since 2021 was at UC Riverside, where the admit rate for Acalanes High School students rose from 55% to 98%. Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Santa Cruz and worse at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

Fall 2025 results by campus

CampusAppliedAdmittedAdmit rateAll applicants’ rateEnrolledAvg GPA appliedAvg GPA admitted
Any UC campus16412174%—543.983.99
UC Berkeley1281814%11%124.044.23
UC Davis1304938%44%134.004.11
UC Irvine1001717%29%—4.004.16
UC Los Angeles1331411%9%94.064.17
UC Merced3333100%94%—3.783.78
UC Riverside484798%87%33.833.85
UC San Diego1142219%28%—3.984.23
UC Santa Barbara1394029%38%94.014.25
UC Santa Cruz816277%72%53.934.06

“All applicants’ rate” is the campus admit rate across all freshman applicants that year, including out-of-state and international.

Five-year trend

Campus20212022202320242025
Any UC campus57% (95/166)53% (85/161)63% (115/183)55% (79/143)74% (121/164)
UC Berkeley9% (9/103)16% (15/93)20% (24/120)19% (18/96)14% (18/128)
UC Davis38% (43/112)30% (34/113)38% (50/131)28% (27/97)38% (49/130)
UC Irvine14% (11/79)14% (11/77)30% (30/99)16% (12/75)17% (17/100)
UC Los Angeles13% (14/106)11% (11/102)12% (16/132)10% (10/101)11% (14/133)
UC Merced100% (22/22)100% (18/18)94% (15/16)93% (13/14)100% (33/33)
UC Riverside55% (18/33)66% (21/32)79% (15/19)83% (19/23)98% (47/48)
UC San Diego16% (17/104)19% (21/110)21% (25/118)23% (22/94)19% (22/114)
UC Santa Barbara18% (22/124)16% (21/132)20% (30/149)29% (31/107)29% (40/139)
UC Santa Cruz37% (25/68)37% (37/99)63% (60/95)50% (32/64)77% (62/81)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

Enter your GPA to compare yourself with students from Acalanes High School who were admitted to each campus.

Other Contra Costa County high schools

All Contra Costa County schools →

Source: University of California Office of the President, UC Information Center, Admissions by source school. Freshman counts are fall terms; transfer counts are the academic year starting that fall. Average GPAs are UC’s weighted, capped high school GPA (transfer GPA for colleges). “—” means UC suppressed a small count. This site is independent and not affiliated with the University of California. Admit rates describe past applicants, not any individual student’s chances.