Valencia High School: UC admissions

Placentia · Orange CountyPublic high school

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

In fall 2025, 184 students from Valencia High School applied to the University of California and 157 (85%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC Irvine with 163 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (13 of 152 admitted, 9%), and the easiest was UC Merced (100%). Admitted students had an average UC GPA (weighted, capped) of 3.94.

What stands out

Its rate of admission to at least one UC campus (85%) was 9 points above the Orange County average (76%). Between 2021 and 2025, UC Berkeley got harder for Valencia High School students (18% → 10% admitted), while UC Santa Cruz got easier (55% → 81%). Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Santa Cruz and worse at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

Fall 2025 results by campus

CampusAppliedAdmittedAdmit rateAll applicants’ rateEnrolledAvg GPA appliedAvg GPA admitted
Any UC campus18415785%—773.903.94
UC Berkeley1241210%11%44.024.26
UC Davis1114440%44%33.944.18
UC Irvine1633723%29%153.944.20
UC Los Angeles152139%9%83.974.25
UC Merced5656100%94%—3.913.91
UC Riverside14613895%87%263.913.94
UC San Diego1562717%28%123.944.25
UC Santa Barbara1123935%38%53.944.23
UC Santa Cruz544481%72%—3.843.95

“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 campus71% (156/219)73% (159/218)80% (153/192)74% (151/204)85% (157/184)
UC Berkeley18% (22/119)8% (12/144)16% (20/123)16% (21/131)10% (12/124)
UC Davis48% (36/75)45% (50/110)44% (38/87)41% (40/98)40% (44/111)
UC Irvine28% (55/199)33% (65/198)32% (55/173)29% (56/192)23% (37/163)
UC Los Angeles9% (14/163)9% (16/176)11% (17/157)10% (17/168)9% (13/152)
UC Merced95% (18/19)94% (16/17)100% (15/15)93% (25/27)100% (56/56)
UC Riverside75% (94/125)82% (108/132)85% (115/135)81% (106/131)95% (138/146)
UC San Diego25% (39/158)26% (44/172)23% (37/160)20% (33/165)17% (27/156)
UC Santa Barbara31% (40/130)27% (36/135)37% (44/118)31% (40/129)35% (39/112)
UC Santa Cruz55% (23/42)45% (25/56)67% (35/52)71% (50/70)81% (44/54)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

Enter your GPA to compare yourself with students from Valencia 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.