What it takes to make it into a University of California school

What does it take to get into a UC school? In a word - plenty.

High school seniors and their parents are learning firsthand that getting into one of the nine campuses in the University of California system takes hard work, an outstanding grade point average and equally impressive scores on the SAT or ACT. This is particularly true for Berkeley and UCLA.

Here are some fascinating numbers on admissions for the fall of 2009 from the UC system’s admissions office.

An applicant’s GPA is based on grades from the “a-g” requirements taken during the 10th and 11th grade, including up to eight honors courses. (Honors course grades are calculated on a 5.0 scale.) Average exam scores are based on students’ highest official reported scores.

MAKING THE GRADE: AVERAGE GPAs AND TEST SCORES BY UC CAMPUS

Campus                   Avg. GPA          Avg. SAT          Avg. ACT          15+honors courses

Berkeley                    4.16                    2,012                   29                    33.0%

Davis                         4.00                    1,880                   27                    76.9%

Irvine                        4.01                    1,866                   27                    72.5%

UCLA                          4.17                    1992                   29                    38.0%

Merced                        3.54                    1,611                   23                    93.3%

Riverside                    3.63                    1,661                   23                    87.7%

San Diego                  4.09                    1,955                   28                    60.8%

Santa Barbara            3.92                    1,851                   27                    73.0%

Santa Cruz                 3.76                    1,787                   26                    88.6%

MANY APPLIED THIS YEAR, BUT HOW MANY WERE CHOSEN?
Overall, 58,631 or 72.5 percent of all applicants were accepted.

Campus                  Percent Admitted                     Number admitted                   

Berkeley                           29.5                                          11,184

Note: Of the applicants to Berkeley with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 43.3 percent were accepted, while 6.9 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

Davis                                46.2                                          18,146

Note: Of the applicants to UC Davis with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 90.5 percent were accepted, while 61.8 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

Irvine                                42.8                                          17,452

Note: Of the applicants to UCI with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 92.6 percent were accepted, while 80.7 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

UCLA                                   21.4                                          9,869

Note: Of the applicants to UCLA with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 51.4 percent were accepted, while 9.3 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

Merced                                79.1                                          7,851

Note: Of the applicants to UC Merced with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 98.8 percent were accepted, while 98.2 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

Riverside                            79.8                                          18,874

Note: Of the applicants to UCR with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 94.3 percent were accepted, while 92.2 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

San Diego                            38.0                                          15,718

Note: Of the applicants to UCSD with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 80.7 percent were accepted, while 35.8 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

Santa Barbara                     48.4                                          19,630

Note: Of the applicants to UCSB with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 93.9 percent were accepted, while 65.9 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

Santa Cruz                           63.7                                          16,135

Note: Of the applicants to UC Santa Cruz with a 4.0 GPA or better in 2008, 96.8 percent were accepted, while 94.8 percent with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99 were admitted.

What’s the message here for middle schoolers and high schoolers on the road to college? Work hard, grades are crucial and take challenging honors and AP classes. For a free step-by-step guide on college planning beginning in the sixth grade, see Such A Smart Mom’s “Smart Moves: On the Road to College.”

Summer is a great time to start the college search Read: Simple suggestions and great Web sites for college planning this summer

Source: University of California. You can find more detailed information on 2009 admissions at the UC’s Office of the President. Additional information on 2008 freshman admission profiles can be found on the UC site. Names of the individual campuses are listed on the left side of the page. Click on the name of the campus to get information on admit rates and other information. You will find a PDF icon on each campus page that you can click on for even more information.