Helix High School: UC admissions

La Mesa · San Diego CountyPublic high school

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

In fall 2025, 253 students from Helix High School applied to the University of California and 181 (72%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC San Diego with 194 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (11 of 138 admitted, 8%), and the easiest was UC Merced (100%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 3.96.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (72%) was about the same as the San Diego County average (73%). Between 2021 and 2025, UC San Diego got harder for Helix High School students (38% → 23% admitted), while UC Riverside got easier (48% → 82%). Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Santa Cruz and worse at UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

Fall 2025 results by campus

CampusAppliedAdmittedAdmit rateAll applicants’ rateEnrolledAvg GPA appliedAvg GPA admitted
Any UC campus25318172%—663.893.96
UC Berkeley114109%11%74.014.19
UC Davis1024544%44%133.934.20
UC Irvine1203126%29%73.894.20
UC Los Angeles138118%9%83.964.25
UC Merced5959100%94%—3.813.81
UC Riverside927582%87%—3.823.92
UC San Diego1944423%28%153.914.29
UC Santa Barbara1232621%38%33.904.30
UC Santa Cruz927480%72%103.873.99

“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% (113/197)54% (103/191)65% (126/194)74% (137/186)72% (181/253)
UC Berkeley16% (11/69)19% (14/75)4% (3/78)11% (9/85)9% (10/114)
UC Davis37% (20/54)27% (13/49)42% (25/60)43% (22/51)44% (45/102)
UC Irvine32% (30/93)25% (29/118)22% (26/118)28% (27/96)26% (31/120)
UC Los Angeles8% (9/109)8% (9/113)4% (5/117)10% (11/115)8% (11/138)
UC Merced93% (26/28)94% (32/34)75% (18/24)100% (24/24)100% (59/59)
UC Riverside48% (19/40)40% (25/62)57% (29/51)72% (23/32)82% (75/92)
UC San Diego38% (49/128)18% (27/148)45% (70/157)51% (73/142)23% (44/194)
UC Santa Barbara19% (18/93)29% (23/80)21% (17/82)29% (28/96)21% (26/123)
UC Santa Cruz63% (42/67)43% (25/58)58% (43/74)77% (62/81)80% (74/92)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

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

Other San Diego County high schools

All San Diego 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.