In fall 2025 transfers, 2,069 transfer students from Santa Monica College applied to the University of California and 1,607 (78%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Los Angeles with 1,861 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Berkeley (331 of 1,227 admitted, 27%), and the easiest was UC Merced (76%). Admitted transfer students had an average transfer GPA of 3.63.
What stands out
The biggest change since 2021 was at UC Davis, where the admit rate for Santa Monica College transfer students rose from 54% to 70%. Its applicants did better than the overall applicant pool at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz.
Fall 2025 transfers results by campus
| Campus | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate | All applicants’ rate | Enrolled | Avg GPA applied | Avg GPA admitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any UC campus | 2,069 | 1,607 | 78% | — | 1,112 | 3.53 | 3.63 |
| UC Berkeley | 1,227 | 331 | 27% | 22% | 148 | 3.61 | 3.77 |
| UC Davis | 741 | 518 | 70% | 56% | 35 | 3.52 | 3.68 |
| UC Irvine | 1,301 | 633 | 49% | 39% | 82 | 3.53 | 3.74 |
| UC Los Angeles | 1,861 | 627 | 34% | 23% | 467 | 3.56 | 3.83 |
| UC Merced | 231 | 175 | 76% | 72% | — | 3.34 | 3.47 |
| UC Riverside | 608 | 440 | 72% | 67% | 42 | 3.36 | 3.48 |
| UC San Diego | 1,316 | 865 | 66% | 52% | 198 | 3.56 | 3.71 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 1,267 | 881 | 70% | 59% | 100 | 3.55 | 3.71 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 547 | 396 | 72% | 68% | 38 | 3.40 | 3.51 |
“All applicants’ rate” is the campus admit rate across all transfer applicants that year, including out-of-state and international.
Five-year trend
| Campus | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any UC campus | 72% (1,748/2,418) | 75% (1,548/2,053) | 76% (1,373/1,811) | 76% (1,470/1,922) | 78% (1,607/2,069) |
| UC Berkeley | 22% (290/1,347) | 33% (374/1,125) | 35% (347/990) | 22% (238/1,100) | 27% (331/1,227) |
| UC Davis | 54% (434/805) | 65% (421/648) | 73% (400/550) | 67% (387/581) | 70% (518/741) |
| UC Irvine | 48% (663/1,392) | 41% (499/1,213) | 48% (491/1,025) | 51% (582/1,150) | 49% (633/1,301) |
| UC Los Angeles | 26% (539/2,062) | 32% (556/1,754) | 37% (573/1,562) | 32% (547/1,716) | 34% (627/1,861) |
| UC Merced | 68% (156/230) | 65% (131/201) | 63% (107/171) | 66% (101/152) | 76% (175/231) |
| UC Riverside | 69% (515/743) | 66% (448/681) | 63% (338/540) | 62% (331/530) | 72% (440/608) |
| UC San Diego | 60% (832/1,379) | 64% (696/1,096) | 70% (686/980) | 67% (723/1,075) | 66% (865/1,316) |
| UC Santa Barbara | 54% (790/1,472) | 65% (791/1,226) | 69% (752/1,095) | 73% (858/1,177) | 70% (881/1,267) |
| UC Santa Cruz | 58% (393/681) | 64% (402/625) | 73% (374/514) | 69% (365/527) | 72% (396/547) |
Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.
Where would your GPA land?
Enter your GPA to compare yourself with students from Santa Monica College who were admitted to each campus.
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.