In fall 2025 transfers, 232 transfer students from College of the Desert applied to the University of California and 171 (74%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Riverside with 171 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (32 of 128 admitted, 25%), and the easiest was UC Santa Cruz (75%). Admitted transfer students had an average transfer GPA of 3.43.
What stands out
Between 2021 and 2025, UC Merced got harder for College of the Desert transfer students (61% → 50% admitted), while UC Santa Cruz got easier (48% → 75%). Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz and worse at UC Davis.
Fall 2025 transfers results by campus
| Campus | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate | All applicants’ rate | Enrolled | Avg GPA applied | Avg GPA admitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any UC campus | 232 | 171 | 74% | — | 110 | 3.36 | 3.43 |
| UC Berkeley | 63 | 17 | 27% | 22% | 7 | 3.48 | 3.73 |
| UC Davis | 55 | 27 | 49% | 56% | 4 | 3.24 | 3.63 |
| UC Irvine | 124 | 45 | 36% | 39% | 10 | 3.38 | 3.67 |
| UC Los Angeles | 128 | 32 | 25% | 23% | 22 | 3.51 | 3.75 |
| UC Merced | 32 | 16 | 50% | 72% | — | 3.26 | 3.40 |
| UC Riverside | 171 | 118 | 69% | 67% | 33 | 3.29 | 3.39 |
| UC San Diego | 120 | 69 | 58% | 52% | 19 | 3.45 | 3.57 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 83 | 49 | 59% | 59% | 7 | 3.43 | 3.67 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 68 | 51 | 75% | 68% | 7 | 3.24 | 3.35 |
“All applicants’ rate” is the campus admit rate across all transfer applicants that year, including out-of-state and international.
Five-year trend
| Campus | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any UC campus | 71% (191/269) | 74% (156/212) | 70% (173/246) | 74% (192/261) | 74% (171/232) |
| UC Berkeley | 14% (9/65) | 31% (19/61) | 30% (19/64) | 31% (22/70) | 27% (17/63) |
| UC Davis | 40% (27/68) | 58% (29/50) | 59% (24/41) | 63% (25/40) | 49% (27/55) |
| UC Irvine | 37% (53/143) | 42% (48/113) | 38% (55/143) | 42% (59/141) | 36% (45/124) |
| UC Los Angeles | 22% (28/127) | 23% (24/106) | 22% (23/105) | 28% (34/122) | 25% (32/128) |
| UC Merced | 61% (27/44) | 57% (13/23) | 64% (16/25) | 77% (20/26) | 50% (16/32) |
| UC Riverside | 64% (132/207) | 70% (105/151) | 58% (112/193) | 64% (117/183) | 69% (118/171) |
| UC San Diego | 60% (80/134) | 64% (68/107) | 57% (74/129) | 56% (75/133) | 58% (69/120) |
| UC Santa Barbara | 44% (41/94) | 48% (32/66) | 56% (35/63) | 52% (33/64) | 59% (49/83) |
| UC Santa Cruz | 48% (33/69) | 51% (31/61) | 58% (25/43) | 63% (37/59) | 75% (51/68) |
Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.
Where would your GPA land?
Enter your GPA to compare yourself with students from College of the Desert who were admitted to each campus.
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.