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UC Schools Ranked 2026/27: Which UC is Best for You?
Nine campuses compared on rankings, admit rates, strengths, and fit
Rebecca J.
Harvard & UCLA Graduate
Summary
UC Berkeley and UCLA are the best UC schools on every major ranking. US News ties them as the No. 1 public university for 2027, Forbes places them first and second among publics, and they were the two most selective campuses for fall 2026 at 10.5% and 10.8%. The right UC for your child still depends on major and fit: Berkeley for engineering, data science, and business, UCLA for pre-med and film, UC San Diego for life sciences, UC Davis for agriculture and animal science.
What is the best UC school?
UC Berkeley and UCLA are the best UC schools, by ranking measures. US News ties them as the No. 1 public university in its 2027 edition, both 20th among all national universities. Forbes 2027 puts Berkeley 9th and UCLA 12th nationally, first and second among publics. For fall 2026 they were also the two most selective campuses, admitting 10.5% and 10.8% of first-year applicants.
Which of the two suits your child, and whether either is the right target, really depends on the major.
Berkeley has the edge in engineering, computer science, business, and research.
UCLA is the pick for pre-med, film and entertainment, and Southern California networks.
UC San Diego heads the remaining seven for life sciences, and UC Davis has the top-ranked veterinary school in the country.
The UC system also has a quirk the Ivy League doesn't. At Berkeley and UCLA you're admitted to a college or major, so the "best UC" question has to be answered for campus and major together.
The major you apply to changes your odds
Berkeley and UCLA admit by college or major, and the spread is wide. For fall 2025, the most recent cycle with major-level data, Berkeley's admit rate ranged from 2% for public health to 25% for arts and humanities. UCLA nursing admitted 1% of applicants, and so did UC Irvine nursing. A student who's a long shot for one program can be competitive at the same campus in a different major. Decide the major before you decide the campus.
The nine UC campuses at a glance
The University of California has nine undergraduate campuses. A tenth, UC San Francisco, enrolls only graduate and professional students. Eight of the nine placed in the top 100 of US News' 2027 national ranking, with Santa Cruz slipping to 109th, and all nine are among Forbes' top 100 public colleges for 2027. For fall 2026, 205,431 students applied for first-year admission, and 74.6% were admitted to at least one campus.
Campus | Fall 2026 first-year admit rate | US News 2027 national rank | Forbes 2027 national rank |
UC Berkeley | 10.5% | 20 (tie) | 9 |
UCLA | 10.8% | 20 (tie) | 12 |
UC San Diego | 27.2% | 29 | 22 |
UC Irvine | 30.3% | 34 (tie) | 37 |
UC Santa Barbara | 44.0% | 44 | 39 |
UC Davis | 45.8% | 34 (tie) | 36 |
UC Santa Cruz | 82.1% | 109 | 80 |
UC Riverside | 88.2% | 80 | 97 |
UC Merced | 94.7% | 69 | 211 |
Admit rates are UC's fall 2026 first-year figures, as published on UC Admissions' campus admit-data pages.
How do the UC schools rank in 2026-27?
Berkeley and UCLA tie as the No. 1 public university in the US News 2027 Best Colleges rankings and take the top two public spots in Forbes' 2027 list. UC San Diego is the clear third campus on both, at 6th among publics in US News and 4th in Forbes. Davis and Irvine share 34th nationally in US News.
Campus | US News 2027 national rank | US News 2027 public | Forbes 2027 national rank | Forbes 2027 public |
UC Berkeley | 20 (tie) | 1 (tie) | 9 | 1 |
UCLA | 20 (tie) | 1 (tie) | 12 | 2 |
UC San Diego | 29 | 6 | 22 | 4 |
UC Davis | 34 (tie) | 8 (tie) | 36 | 10 |
UC Irvine | 34 (tie) | 8 (tie) | 37 | 11 |
UC Santa Barbara | 44 | 14 | 39 | 12 |
UC Merced | 69 | 30 | 211 | 95 |
UC Riverside | 80 | 37 | 97 | 36 |
UC Santa Cruz | 109 | 50 | 80 | 26 |
US News 2027 Best Colleges, released September 21, 2026; Forbes America's Top Colleges 2027, released September 18, 2026.
The two lists reward different things.
Forbes weights alumni salary, student debt, graduation rate, return on investment, and retention, which favors campuses whose graduates earn well.
US News weights graduation and retention, Pell graduation rates, peer assessment, and faculty resources, which helps explain why Merced ranks 69th there and 211th on Forbes. In US News' 2026-27 Best Global Universities, Berkeley is 7th in the world and the top US public, UCLA is 11th, and UC San Diego is 23rd. Niche's 2027 rankings go a different way and name UCLA the No. 1 public university in the country.
UCLA vs UC Berkeley: which is better?
Which one is better depends on what your child wants to study. On prestige they're just about even at home, but Berkeley edges ahead abroad on the strength of its global research ranking.
Berkeley's College of Engineering, its electrical engineering and computer sciences program, and the Haas School of Business sit 40 miles from Silicon Valley, and its research output is the deepest in the system. Its undergraduate data science program is No. 1 in US News' 2027 rankings. Haas now admits first-years directly through its four-year Spieker program, which has its own supplemental application on top of the UC application.
UCLA has the David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA Health on campus, the School of Theater, Film and Television, and the largest applicant pool of any university in the country, with 146,692 first-year applications for fall 2026.
The calendars differ too. Berkeley runs on semesters, and UCLA on 10-week quarters, which suits students who like variety and punishes anyone who falls behind in week three. Pre-meds at UCLA need to plan their chemistry sequence before setting foot on campus.
Selectivity is now a virtual tie. The UC Berkeley acceptance rate fell to 10.5% for fall 2026 after applications rose about 5% and offers fell about 3%, which put Berkeley narrowly ahead of UCLA as the most selective campus. The UCLA acceptance rate rose to 10.8%, up from 9.4% for fall 2025, after UCLA made about 16% more offers. Residency reverses the order. Californians have better odds at Berkeley, at 12.4% against 10.2% at UCLA. Out-of-state applicants have better odds at UCLA, at 14.9% against 10.0% at Berkeley.
What is each UC campus best for?
Each UC campus has a distinct strength, and for several majors the best program sits outside Berkeley and UCLA.
| Strongest for | Why it stands out |
UC Berkeley | Engineering, computer science, data science, economics, business | 7th in the world and top US public in US News' global ranking; No. 1 undergraduate data science (US News 2027); first-year entry to Haas; Silicon Valley access |
UCLA | Pre-med, film and television, nursing, social sciences | UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine on campus; School of Theater, Film and Television; Niche's No. 1 public university for 2027 |
UC San Diego | Biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science, AI, oceanography | Scripps Institution of Oceanography; the La Jolla biotech cluster; No. 8 undergraduate AI program (US News 2027); third UC on both 2027 rankings |
UC Santa Barbara | Physics, materials science, chemistry, environmental science | Eight Nobel laureates on the faculty since 1998, including two physics winners in 2025; College of Creative Studies for advanced students |
UC Irvine | Computer science, game design, public health, criminology, pre-med | Top 40 in Forbes 2027 at a 30.3% admit rate; large pre-health pipeline; Orange County employer base |
UC Davis | Agriculture, animal science, viticulture and enology, food science | Its veterinary school has ranked No. 1 in US News for ten straight years; the largest UC campus by land; no other UC competes in agricultural science |
UC Santa Cruz | Astrophysics, environmental studies, game design, linguistics | Home of the UCSC Genome Browser; headquarters of UC Observatories; residential college system |
UC Riverside | Biology, engineering, business, first-generation STEM access | No. 1 in US News' 2027 social mobility ranking; admitted more California first-years than any other campus for fall 2026 |
UC Merced | STEM access, emerging research, environmental leadership | Newest campus (2005); 94.7% first-year admit rate for fall 2026; 4th in US News' 2027 social mobility ranking; Yosemite Leadership Program |
Best UC schools by major
Pre-med
UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine each have a medical school and hospital system on or beside campus, which gives undergraduates the strongest clinical and research access in the system. All three run on quarters, so a pre-med student has to sequence science courses carefully from the first term.
Computer science and data science
Berkeley, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine are the top choices, and CS is capacity-limited at all three, so the major-level admit rate runs well below the campus rate. UC San Diego added an undergraduate AI major in fall 2025.
Engineering
Berkeley is the system's flagship, with eight engineering specialties in US News' 2027 top five. UC San Diego's Jacobs School and UCLA's Samueli School are credible alternatives at slightly better odds.
Business
Berkeley is the one UC where a first-year can apply straight into a business school, through Haas' Spieker program. Elsewhere, students usually reach business through economics or a business administration major.
Entertainment and media
UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television and its Los Angeles location have no match in the system.
Research and PhD tracks
Berkeley, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara place the most undergraduates into doctoral programs in the sciences. Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies admits a small group into majors such as physics, biology, math, and computing, with a separate application and earlier access to research.
UC schools ranked from hardest to easiest to get into
UC Berkeley is the hardest UC school to get into and UC Merced the easiest, by fall 2026 first-year admit rate:
UC Berkeley: 10.5%
UCLA: 10.8%
UC San Diego: 27.2%
UC Irvine: 30.3%
UC Santa Barbara: 44.0%
UC Davis: 45.8%
UC Santa Cruz: 82.1%
UC Riverside: 88.2%
UC Merced: 94.7%
UC Schools vs Ivy League acceptance rates
UC admit rates don't compare cleanly with Ivy League rates, because the application works differently. Students file one UC Application and add campuses to it, and for fall 2026 the average applicant picked almost five of the nine. That's close to a million campus applications from 205,431 students, so each campus faces a much larger and more mixed pool. A 27.2% rate at UC San Diego still means nearly three of every four applicants were denied, and Irvine turned away about seven in ten.
UC acceptance rates for in-state, out-of-state, and international applicants
Campus | California residents | Out of state | International |
UC Berkeley | 12.4% | 10.0% | 5.4% |
UCLA | 10.2% | 14.9% | 8.1% |
UC San Diego | 24.1% | 37.2% | 27.4% |
UC Irvine | 22.7% | 49.5% | 45.5% |
UC Santa Barbara | 34.6% | 63.9% | 63.2% |
UC Davis | 34.7% | 71.0% | 66.6% |
UC Santa Cruz | 82.6% | 87.2% | 74.4% |
UC Riverside | 88.7% | 96.6% | 82.3% |
UC Merced | 99.1% | 85.7% | 80.0% |
Fall 2026 first-year rates calculated from UC Office of the President preliminary application counts and admission offers as of June 17, 2026. Final figures will change slightly as waitlist offers close.
Out-of-state applicants were admitted at higher rates than Californians at seven of the nine campuses for fall 2026, at 49.5% against 22.7% at Irvine and 71.0% against 34.7% at Davis. Berkeley and Merced are the exceptions. At UCLA, Californians made up 57% of first-year admits, down from 63% a year earlier. International applicants had the lowest odds at five campuses, including Berkeley (5.4%) and UCLA (8.1%), but beat Californians at San Diego, Irvine, Santa Barbara, and Davis. Out-of-state and international students pay more than three times as much in tuition, which is part of why the mid-tier campuses admit them so readily.
A campus's overall admit rate also hides how much the odds vary by major. At Berkeley, UCLA, San Diego, and Irvine, the most popular programs admit a much smaller share of applicants than the campus as a whole, so your child's real chances depend on the major they choose. Whether to apply undecided or with a declared major is worth thinking through campus by campus.
I can never predict where kids are going to get into the University of California. I can never tell. Sometimes they get into all of them, sometimes they get into just one.
Rebecca J.
Platinum Strategy Consultant
What GPA do you need for each UC campus?
Admitted students at UC Berkeley and UCLA post a middle-50% UC GPA of 4.16 to 4.28 and 4.20 to 4.30, so three quarters of admits at both campuses arrive above 4.16. The floor drops to 3.57 at UC Merced. UC's minimum GPA is 3.0 for California residents and 3.4 for non-residents, but that only makes a student eligible. At all six selective campuses, at least three-quarters of admitted students had a UC GPA of 4.0 or higher.
Campus | Middle 50% GPA of admitted students |
UC Berkeley | 4.16 - 4.26 |
UCLA | 4.20 - 4.30 |
UC San Diego | 4.12 - 4.28 |
UC Irvine | 4.06 - 4.27 |
UC Santa Barbara | 4.05 - 4.27 |
UC Davis | 4.00 - 4.25 |
UC Santa Cruz | 3.79 - 4.20 |
UC Riverside | 3.66 - 4.17 |
UC Merced | 3.57 - 4.16 |
UC Admissions first-year admit data for fall 2026, by campus.
UC Schools calculate GPA differently
The UC GPA is its own number, and the table only makes sense once you understand how it's worked out. It counts A-G courses from 10th and 11th grade only, and it awards honors points for up to eight semesters of approved honors, AP, or IB courses, so it tops out near 4.4, well below the 4.8 or 5.0 some high schools report. A student with a 4.0 unweighted and a full honors load ends up at roughly 4.3 to 4.4 on the UC scale, at or just above the top of Berkeley's and UCLA's middle 50%.
How UC admissions differs from private universities
UC admissions runs on its own rules: one application for all nine campuses, no early round, no test scores considered, no recommendation letters collected, and admission by major at the most selective campuses.
One application, nine campuses
Pick any number of campuses on one UC application, submitted October 1 to November 30.
No early decision round
Every campus reviews every applicant in one cycle. There's no ED or EA advantage to plan around.
Test-blind since 2021
SAT and ACT scores play no part in admission decisions at any campus, even if you send them.
Admission by major
Berkeley and UCLA admit by college or major, and capped programs run far below campus rates.
UC doesn't use the Common App. Every applicant files the UC Application, the same form used across all nine UCs, and it’s the only way to apply. Each campus costs $80 to add, or $95 for international applicants, and fee waivers cover up to four campuses for eligible US applicants. The academic review centers on the UC GPA described above, so build the campus and major list from that number, and leave the GPA printed on a school transcript out of the calculation.
In place of a personal statement, applicants are asked to answer four of the eight UC personal insight questions (PIQs) at 350 words each, with the same four answers going to every campus selected. The activities list takes up to 20 entries covering both activities and awards, where the Common App splits them into 10 activities and 5 honors. AP and IB exam scores can still be reported, even though the SAT and ACT can't. Readers score the whole file through comprehensive review with no interview.
Testing requirements could soon change
UC's Academic Senate is reviewing whether to bring back the SAT and ACT, with recommendations due by June 2027, and students applying for fall 2028 would be the first affected by any change. Anyone applying this fall applies test-blind.
It's the best application in the country, because they don't take recommendations, and they no longer take test scores. So it's just who you are as a person. You have to have been busy, engaged, and making a difference.
Rebecca J.
Platinum Strategy Consultant
Which UC campus fits your child?
Every UC is a large public research university, so none offers the small-seminar first year of a Princeton or a Brown. Student-to-faculty ratios sit around 18:1 to 20:1 across the system, two to three times the ratios at Ivy League schools. In the first two years, much of the teaching in discussion sections and labs falls to graduate students.
Day to day, that means nobody at a UC keeps close tabs on a first-year. The students who thrive are self-starters who track down their own research lab, clubs, and friends, because none of it comes looking for them. A student who needs closer attention will usually be better served by a small liberal arts college.
Within the system, the campuses differ a lot in scale, setting, and pace. Berkeley and UCLA each enroll more than 33,000 undergraduates on city campuses, and large lecture classes in the first two years are standard. Research opportunities are also most plentiful there. UC San Diego has about 35,400 undergraduates, the most of any UC, split across eight residential colleges, which gives students a smaller community inside a large STEM campus. UC Santa Barbara, with about 23,000 undergraduates, and UC Santa Cruz, with about 18,000, sit on the coast, and Santa Cruz runs its own residential college system. UC Davis enrolls almost 32,000 undergraduates, and campus life centers on the college town of Davis and its bike paths. UC Irvine, with about 30,000 undergraduates, sits in a planned Orange County suburb with a quiet campus and a large employer base nearby. UC Riverside and UC Merced admit most applicants and top US News' social mobility ranking at No. 1 and No. 4, and Merced is the smallest campus in the system, with about 8,200 undergraduates.
Berkeley and Merced run on semesters, and the other seven use quarters. Quarters mean more courses over a degree and midterms arriving almost as soon as term starts, so students who want a gentler first year should factor that in.
I always tell people, when you want to go to a big college, you have to find out a way to make it small for you.
Rebecca J.
Platinum Strategy Consultant
What does a UC cost your family?
A year at a UC costs $49,078 for California residents living on campus and $90,100 for non-residents and international students, according to UC's 2027-28 estimates. That makes a UC one of the best-value degrees in the country for Californians and about as expensive as a private university for everyone else. Tuition and campus fees make up about $18,200 of the resident figure and about $59,200 of the non-resident one, with housing and meals adding roughly $21,700 for both.
Most California families earning up to $100,000 receive enough grant and scholarship aid to cover UC tuition through the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, and aid reaches well above that line. UC says 52% of its California undergraduates pay no tuition. Non-residents and international students receive little or no need-based grant aid from UC. At Berkeley, new nonresident students aren't eligible for the university's need-based grants at all, so for families outside California the sticker price is close to the real price. Compare it against private universities that meet full need before treating a UC as the affordable option.
FAQs on UC Schools
How many UC schools are there?
There are ten University of California campuses. Nine admit undergraduates: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. UC San Francisco is graduate-only.
What is the easiest UC to get into?
UC Merced, which admitted 94.7% of first-year applicants for fall 2026, followed by UC Riverside at 88.2% and UC Santa Cruz at 82.1%.
What is the hardest UC to get into?
UC Berkeley, at 10.5% for fall 2026, just ahead of UCLA at 10.8%.
Do UC schools require the SAT or ACT?
No. All nine campuses are test-blind for students applying this fall. UC is reviewing the policy, and any change would first apply to fall 2028 applicants.
How much does it cost to apply to the UCs?
$80 per campus for US applicants and $95 for international applicants. Eligible US applicants can get fees waived for up to four campuses.
Is it easier to get into a UC from out of state?
At seven of nine campuses, yes. For fall 2026, out-of-state applicants were admitted at higher rates than Californians everywhere except Berkeley and Merced.
How Crimson approaches the "best UC" question
The strongest UC applications are built over three years, so Crimson starts early. That means planning courses around the UC GPA, getting to know the PIQ prompts early, and settling on the right campuses and majors long before the application opens.
Every Crimson student gets a personalized roadmap and a team to match, which can include a strategist, a former admissions officer, and an essay mentor. They know what Berkeley and UCLA now demand, with admit rates near 10% that put them alongside the most selective private universities in the country.
