How To Get Into UCSB: Admissions Stats + Tips | CollegeVine Blog

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What’s Covered:

• How Hard Is It to Get Into UCSB?
• Average Academic Profile of Accepted UCSB Students
• What is UCSB Looking for?
• How to Improve Your Chances of Getting into UCSB

 

Currently ranked #5 in U.S. News & World Report’s Top Public Schools, the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is a public university in Isla Vista, California. It was founded in 1891 and became part of the University of California system in 1944, joining just two other members at the time, UC Berkeley and UCLA.

 

Undergraduates at UCSB study at one of three colleges:

 

• College of Letters & Science
• College of Creative Studies
• College of Engineering

 

Like several other schools in the UC system, UCSB is selective. So, what does it take to get in?

 

How Hard Is It to Get Into UCSB?

 

For the 2020–2021 admissions cycle, 89,752 students applied, and 32,842 were admitted, for an acceptance rate of 36.6%.

 

UCSB’s acceptance rate is low, but your chances of admission will vary by your profile. To find out your personal odds of acceptance, check out CollegeVine’s free admissions calculator. Using your grades, test scores, extracurriculars, and more, we’ll predict your chances of acceptance and give you tips on improving your profile!

 

Average Academic Profile of Accepted UCSB Students

 

GPA

 

The average high school GPA for the freshman class was 4.17 weighted.

 

SAT/ACT

 

SAT and ACT scores are no longer considered in the UCSB admissions process.

 

Class Rank

 

With 78.69% of the freshman class submitting class rank, 100% were in the top 10% of their graduating class. 

 

What is UCSB Looking for?

 

Like many other public universities, UCSB does have minimum requirements for admission. Bear in mind, however, that meeting them does not guarantee admission.

 

Requirements include completing approved courses in A-G subject areas with at least a grade of C. (Letter grade requirements are suspended between winter 2020–summer 2021. Passing or credit suffices.)

 

A-G subjects are:

A: History/Social Science

B: English

C: Mathematics

D: Science

E: Language other than English

F: Visual & Performing Arts

G: College-Preparatory Elective

 

California residents must earn at least a 3.0 GPA, and non-residents must earn a minimum GPA of 3.4. The university also wants to see you challenging yourself by taking the most rigorous curriculum available to you.

 

But UCSB considers more than your academic achievements. “We look at your extracurricular activities and accomplishments in light of the opportunities available to you,” the university says. “As we consider each individual application—and rest assured, we do consider each one—we look beyond grades.”

 

The goal is to assess how you might contribute to the UCSB community. They also want to see specialization—outstanding performance in a particular subject area.

 

NB: Although the schools within the UC system use the same application, each campus evaluates applications independently of one another and does not consider or know the status of your application at another campus.

 

How UCSB Evaluates Applications

 

According to UCSB’s 2020–2021 Common Data Set, the following factors are “very important”:

 

• Academic GPA
• Application Essay

 

This factor is “important”:

 

• Rigor of secondary school record

 

These are “considered”:

 

• Extracurricular activities
• Talent/ability
• Character/personal qualities
• First generation
• Geographical residence
• State residency
• Volunteer work
• Work experience

 

These factors are “not considered”:

 

• Class rank
• Standardized test scores
• Recommendation(s)
• Interview
• Alumni/ae relation
• Religious affiliation/commitment
• Racial/ethnic status
• Level of applicant’s interest