Student Profile
Be excellent.
Becoming a Golden Bear requires more than a test score. To “be Berkeley” requires persistence (link is external). And passion. And a desire to give back. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the first in your family to attend college (link is external) or you’re the latest in a long tradition of educational excellence: You stand up and you stand out.
Keep in mind that UC Berkeley receives far more applications than it can admit. Consequently, to gain admission, you need to present an academic profile much stronger than that represented by the minimum University of California admission (link is external) requirements.
Student Profile
| Freshmen | |
|---|---|
| * Based on Office of Undergraduate Admissions data; enrollment estimate as of 10/2017. | |
| GPA | 3.91 (unweighted) 4.44 (weighted) |
| ACT (25th & 75th percentiles) | 30-34 |
| SAT Composite (25th & 75th percentiles) | 1290-1480 |
| SAT Math Section (25th & 75th percentiles) | 640-760 |
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing Section (25th & 75th percentiles) | 640-730 |
| 2017 | 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Based on Office of Undergraduate Admissions freshman data as of 10/2017. | ||||||
| Applications | Admits | % | Applications | Admits | % | |
| Total: Freshman | 85,054 | 15,567 | 18.3% | 82,573 | 14,433 | 17.5% |
| CA Resident | Out-of-State | International | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Based on Office of Undergraduate Admissions freshman data as of 10/2017. | ||||||
| Admits/Apps | 9,715/ 49,280 | 4,490 / 20,326 | 1,362 / 15,448 | |||
| Admit Rate | 19.7% | 22.1% | 8.8% | |||
| Avg. GPA Apps | 3.64 | 3.75 | 3.73 | |||
| Avg. GPA Admit | 3.91 | 3.92 | 3.93 | |||
| Avg. SAT Apps | 1232 | 1373 | 1391 | |||
| Avg. SAT Admit | 1334 | 1449 | 1455 | |||
| Avg. ACT Apps | 28 | 31 | 31 | |||
| Avg. ACT Admit | 31 | 33 | 33 | |||
| Transfer | |
|---|---|
| * Based on Office of Undergraduate Admissions data; enrollment estimate as of 07/2017. | |
| College GPA | 3.68-3.94 |
| 2017 | 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Based on Office of Undergraduate Admissions freshman data as of 08/2017. | ||||||
| Applications | Admits | % | Applications | Admits | % | |
| Total: Transfers | 18,607 | 4,615 | 24.8% | 19,142 | 4,632 | 24.2% |
What we look for in Berkeley students
Here at UC Berkeley we conduct what is known as holistic review. That means, we review each application in its entirety, word by word, page by page. We literally hug your application!
While grades and test scores are important and our applicant pool is highly competitive, we read each application individually—looking beyond the numbers—for students who can add to the extraordinary educational atmosphere at Berkeley. One aspect, leadership (link is external), can be demonstrated in many ways on your application.
Start your application early and distinguish yourself by writing about your own experience in a way that sets you apart from other applicants.
Learn more