Notice: The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will be closed to in-person services from January 10th through January 14th. Our front desk is now virtual and will be available via this Zoom link(link is external). Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9am-12pm and Tuesday, Thursday 1pm-4pm Pacific Time.
Student Profile
The numbers below are presented as a snapshot of our incoming class of Golden Bears. These are not benchmarks and should only be used as a reference. Admission to Berkeley goes beyond academic indicators. We look for persistence (link is external)(link is external), 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)(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)(link is external) requirements.
NOTE: The information below is an enrollment estimate based on Office of Undergraduate Admissions data as of 09/2020.
Freshman Student Profile
Freshmen | |
|---|---|
| Unweighted GPA | 3.86-4.00 |
| Weighted GPA | 4.27-4.62 |
| ACT* | 29-35 |
| SAT* | 1330-1530 |
Data points reflect the middle 50% of students in our 2020 admitted class.
*Starting with students applying for fall 2021 admission, UC Berkeley will not consider SAT/ACT exam scores in the admission process.
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | Admits | % | Applications | Admits | % | |
| Total: Freshman | 88,066 | 15,461 | 17.6% | 87,389 | 13,558 | 16.8% |
| From Public Schools | From Rural Areas | First Generation |
|---|---|---|
| 76.5% | 5.2% | 26.6% |
Transfer Student Profile
| Transfer | |
|---|---|
| College GPA | 3.71-4.00 |
Data points reflect the middle 50% of students.
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | Admits | % | Applications | Admit | % | |
| Total: Transfers | 19,074 | 4,818 | 25.3% | 19,074 | 4,818 | 25.3% |
| From CCCs | Veterans | Re-Entry |
|---|---|---|
| 95.1% | 3.0% | 14.3% |
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)(link is external), can be demonstrated in many ways on your application.
Start your application early(link is external) and distinguish yourself by writing about your own experience in a way that sets you apart from other applicants.