Making Waves Academy: UC admissions

Richmond · Contra Costa CountyPublic high school

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

In fall 2025, 68 students from Making Waves Academy applied to the University of California and 63 (93%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Davis with 52 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (3 of 32 admitted, 9%), and the easiest was UC Merced (100%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 3.81.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (93%) was 16 points above the Contra Costa County average (77%). Between 2021 and 2025, UC Berkeley got harder for Making Waves Academy students (38% → 18% admitted), while UC Merced got easier (93% → 100%). Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Berkeley and UC Irvine and worse at UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz.

Fall 2025 results by campus

CampusAppliedAdmittedAdmit rateAll applicants’ rateEnrolledAvg GPA appliedAvg GPA admitted
Any UC campus686393%—213.793.81
UC Berkeley49918%11%43.784.26
UC Davis522038%44%53.804.19
UC Irvine25832%29%—3.914.02
UC Los Angeles3239%9%—3.95—
UC Merced4949100%94%53.733.73
UC Riverside242188%87%—3.793.85
UC San Diego19421%28%—3.79—
UC Santa Barbara24833%38%—3.944.22
UC Santa Cruz371746%72%—3.794.07

“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 campus91% (62/68)100% (54/54)94% (60/64)92% (36/39)93% (63/68)
UC Berkeley38% (17/45)11% (5/46)28% (13/47)21% (6/28)18% (9/49)
UC Davis44% (20/45)36% (17/47)56% (29/52)50% (14/28)38% (20/52)
UC Irvine42% (5/12)26% (8/31)19% (6/32)35% (7/20)32% (8/25)
UC Los Angeles22% (5/23)8% (3/36)14% (5/36)21% (3/14)9% (3/32)
UC Merced93% (53/57)100% (53/53)100% (44/44)97% (30/31)100% (49/49)
UC Riverside33% (5/15)59% (13/22)62% (8/13)50% (5/10)88% (21/24)
UC San Diego32% (6/19)44% (8/18)47% (7/15)50% (6/12)21% (4/19)
UC Santa Barbara61% (11/18)26% (7/27)17% (4/24)46% (6/13)33% (8/24)
UC Santa Cruz61% (23/38)60% (18/30)51% (18/35)75% (15/20)46% (17/37)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

Enter your GPA to compare yourself with students from Making Waves Academy 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.