Hercules High School: UC admissions

Hercules · Contra Costa CountyPublic high school

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

In fall 2025, 76 students from Hercules High School applied to the University of California and 49 (64%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Davis with 65 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC San Diego (4 of 48 admitted, 8%), and the easiest was UC Merced (97%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 3.98.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (64%) was 12 points below the Contra Costa County average (77%). The biggest change since 2021 was at UC Santa Barbara, where the admit rate for Hercules High School students fell from 32% to 17%. Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Berkeley and worse at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz.

Fall 2025 results by campus

CampusAppliedAdmittedAdmit rateAll applicants’ rateEnrolledAvg GPA appliedAvg GPA admitted
Any UC campus764964%—223.803.98
UC Berkeley541222%11%113.874.22
UC Davis651422%44%43.814.21
UC Irvine5459%29%—3.914.22
UC Los Angeles40——9%—3.93—
UC Merced323197%94%—3.893.93
UC Riverside312581%87%—3.934.09
UC San Diego4848%28%—3.83—
UC Santa Barbara30517%38%—3.914.31
UC Santa Cruz201050%72%—3.714.00

“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 campus58% (42/72)58% (38/65)79% (53/67)77% (51/66)64% (49/76)
UC Berkeley18% (7/38)18% (9/51)18% (10/55)38% (17/45)22% (12/54)
UC Davis29% (16/55)30% (16/54)43% (24/56)42% (23/55)22% (14/65)
UC Irvine14% (6/44)15% (5/34)23% (11/47)17% (8/48)9% (5/54)
UC Los Angeles— (—/39)8% (3/39)9% (4/45)— (—/41)— (—/40)
UC Merced79% (11/14)100% (13/13)100% (7/7)100% (8/8)97% (31/32)
UC Riverside45% (5/11)60% (3/5)—88% (7/8)81% (25/31)
UC San Diego15% (5/34)15% (5/34)67% (24/36)64% (30/47)8% (4/48)
UC Santa Barbara32% (8/25)43% (6/14)31% (8/26)29% (7/24)17% (5/30)
UC Santa Cruz62% (21/34)50% (14/28)65% (20/31)86% (24/28)50% (10/20)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

Enter your GPA to compare yourself with students from Hercules 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.