Salinas High School: UC admissions

Salinas · Monterey CountyPublic high school

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

In fall 2025, 117 students from Salinas High School applied to the University of California and 93 (79%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Irvine with 76 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (6 of 61 admitted, 10%), and the easiest was UC Merced (100%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 4.10.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (79%) was about the same as the Monterey County average (77%). Between 2021 and 2025, UC Berkeley got harder for Salinas High School students (22% → 16% admitted), while UC San Diego got easier (28% → 50%). Its applicants did better than the overall applicant pool at UC Berkeley, 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 campus1179379%—354.044.10
UC Berkeley631016%11%84.084.28
UC Davis663655%44%44.064.22
UC Irvine763850%29%94.094.18
UC Los Angeles61610%9%44.134.14
UC Merced3838100%94%—3.963.96
UC Riverside3636100%87%—4.074.07
UC San Diego522650%28%34.054.26
UC Santa Barbara653249%38%54.064.28
UC Santa Cruz383387%72%—3.974.08

“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 campus68% (68/100)62% (72/116)66% (70/106)73% (83/114)79% (93/117)
UC Berkeley22% (11/50)12% (6/52)15% (8/53)30% (17/57)16% (10/63)
UC Davis48% (30/62)38% (25/65)46% (31/68)54% (31/57)55% (36/66)
UC Irvine33% (13/40)44% (30/68)25% (13/51)45% (21/47)50% (38/76)
UC Los Angeles9% (5/58)11% (9/79)8% (4/49)12% (7/60)10% (6/61)
UC Merced100% (15/15)100% (10/10)79% (11/14)95% (18/19)100% (38/38)
UC Riverside55% (6/11)73% (11/15)50% (4/8)56% (9/16)100% (36/36)
UC San Diego28% (13/46)24% (13/55)21% (8/39)48% (21/44)50% (26/52)
UC Santa Barbara29% (18/62)30% (21/69)35% (23/66)44% (26/59)49% (32/65)
UC Santa Cruz78% (25/32)55% (22/40)60% (32/53)66% (29/44)87% (33/38)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

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

Other Monterey County high schools

All Monterey 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.