Southwest High School: UC admissions

El Centro · Imperial CountyPublic high school

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

In fall 2025, 78 students from Southwest High School applied to the University of California and 61 (78%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC San Diego with 67 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (3 of 45 admitted, 7%), and the easiest was UC Merced (96%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 3.83.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (78%) was about the same as the Imperial County average (77%). Between 2021 and 2025, UC San Diego got harder for Southwest High School students (41% → 27% admitted), while UC Riverside got easier (47% → 79%). Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Santa Barbara and worse at UC Davis.

Fall 2025 results by campus

CampusAppliedAdmittedAdmit rateAll applicants’ rateEnrolledAvg GPA appliedAvg GPA admitted
Any UC campus786178%—253.733.83
UC Berkeley34412%11%—3.87—
UC Davis271037%44%—3.744.06
UC Irvine431228%29%33.794.03
UC Los Angeles4537%9%—3.74—
UC Merced282796%94%—3.743.77
UC Riverside483879%87%—3.753.86
UC San Diego671827%28%123.744.20
UC Santa Barbara231357%38%53.784.05
UC Santa Cruz161169%72%—3.744.01

“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 campus64% (51/80)71% (51/72)76% (80/105)62% (55/89)78% (61/78)
UC Berkeley20% (6/30)27% (8/30)35% (13/37)11% (4/35)12% (4/34)
UC Davis27% (10/37)40% (10/25)59% (19/32)38% (14/37)37% (10/27)
UC Irvine35% (15/43)47% (22/47)31% (23/74)24% (12/51)28% (12/43)
UC Los Angeles— (—/45)— (—/44)7% (5/67)— (—/43)7% (3/45)
UC Merced100% (11/11)100% (13/13)89% (17/19)72% (13/18)96% (27/28)
UC Riverside47% (15/32)66% (21/32)80% (47/59)54% (22/41)79% (38/48)
UC San Diego41% (24/59)55% (31/56)47% (40/86)31% (20/65)27% (18/67)
UC Santa Barbara52% (14/27)64% (14/22)40% (17/43)55% (11/20)57% (13/23)
UC Santa Cruz38% (6/16)39% (7/18)72% (13/18)41% (11/27)69% (11/16)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

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

Other Imperial County high schools

All Imperial 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.