Northwood High School: UC admissions

Irvine · Orange CountyPublic high school

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

In fall 2025, 374 students from Northwood High School applied to the University of California and 312 (83%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Irvine with 339 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (27 of 324 admitted, 8%), and the easiest was UC Merced (98%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 4.01.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (83%) was 7 points above the Orange County average (76%). Between 2021 and 2025, UC Irvine got harder for Northwood High School students (48% → 33% admitted), while UC Santa Cruz got easier (37% → 82%). Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Davis, UC Irvine and 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 campus37431283%—1493.974.01
UC Berkeley2873412%11%124.054.20
UC Davis24111548%44%144.024.17
UC Irvine33911233%29%393.994.18
UC Los Angeles324278%9%164.024.23
UC Merced10810698%94%—3.953.96
UC Riverside25723792%87%333.973.99
UC San Diego3346018%28%233.994.18
UC Santa Barbara2747929%38%44.004.23
UC Santa Cruz16913982%72%74.004.10

“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 campus74% (234/318)74% (258/348)80% (298/374)73% (282/387)83% (312/374)
UC Berkeley21% (45/214)8% (22/259)16% (45/285)15% (42/279)12% (34/287)
UC Davis37% (74/198)34% (74/215)35% (91/257)21% (53/255)48% (115/241)
UC Irvine48% (129/268)40% (123/304)33% (117/352)29% (102/353)33% (112/339)
UC Los Angeles8% (21/273)12% (35/299)9% (31/329)8% (27/319)8% (27/324)
UC Merced85% (39/46)96% (51/53)96% (66/69)91% (74/81)98% (106/108)
UC Riverside75% (131/175)80% (154/192)80% (185/232)83% (191/230)92% (237/257)
UC San Diego21% (56/266)25% (78/312)17% (59/343)14% (49/342)18% (60/334)
UC Santa Barbara24% (55/228)26% (70/273)20% (62/307)25% (71/289)29% (79/274)
UC Santa Cruz37% (50/134)48% (69/145)71% (130/183)54% (106/195)82% (139/169)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

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

Other Orange County high schools

All Orange 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.