Back to posts

UCLA Requirements

College Admissions

If you’re looking into college in California then exploring the UCLA requirements for admission should be one of your first stops. UCLA provides an incredible education with the benefits of a public university. So if you’re curious about what the UCLA requirements for admission are and how to boost your application’s chances of being accepted, then keep reading.

What is UCLA’s Acceptance Rate?

Before I walk you through the UCLA requirements for admission, I want to give you some information that will help you understand the kind of school you’re applying to. This will help you better prepare for the application process and put the advice I’m going to give you throughout this post into context. I’m sure you know UCLA is a competitive school, but did you know that the UCLA acceptance rate was 18% for its last application cycle? That means of the 97,121 applications received by UCLA, only just shy of 17,500 were accepted.

As I said, it’s a competitive school. And that only becomes clearer when you dig into what qualities these students have. They definitely do have something in common: they’re high achievers academically. Consider the fact that 69% of all admitted applicants had a 4.30 GPA or above. There’s also the fact that 59% of domestic applicants took at least 21 advanced courses while in high school. Still not convinced? Take a look at the breakdown below for some more data on the students who met the UCLA requirements for admission.

25th Percentile 75th Percentile
THAT Resident Out of State Inter- national Total THAT Resident Out of State Inter- national Total
Fully Weighted GPA 4.29 4.38 4.00 4.25 4.58 4.80 4.36 4.62
Unweighted GPA 3.85 3.87 3.89 3.86 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00
ACT Composite 27 32 32 29 34 34 34 34
SAT Composite 1280 (1790) 1440 (2060) 1460 (2100) 1350 (1900) 1520 (2220) 1540 (2270) 1540 (2260) 1530 (2250)
Honors Courses (domestic only) 16 22 n / a 18 24 36 n / a 28

So now that you know what kind of students get into this school, let’s take a closer look at the UCLA requirements for admissions.

What are the UCLA Requirements for Admissions?

The University of California school system has a specific set of requirements for you to fulfill for your applications to be considered. And the UCLA requirements are no different. Below you’ll find the minimum course requirements for your high school career.

Subject Years Required Special Note
(a) History/Social Science 2 1 year of world history or geography and 1 year of US history, can also use half year of U.S. history and half year of U.S. civics and government
(b) English 4 Include reading of classic and modern literature, also needs to have consistent and regular writing
(c) Mathematics 3 required, 4 recommended Must include elementary algebra, advanced algebra, and one year of geometry
(d) Laboratory Science 2 required, 3 recommended Need to focus on at least two: biology, chemistry, and physics.
(e) Foreign Language 2 required. 3 recommended Same language
(f) Visual and Performing Arts 1 One year-long class covering one of the following: dance, drama/theater, music, or visual arts.
(g) College Prep Electives 1 Add one year to any of the previous requirements. If additional year of foreign language is chosen, must be the same foreign language as previously studied.

Pretty easy to fulfill these, right? You can work with a college consultant to figure out which classes would be the best fit for these categories. You can get a better idea of what classes specifically will fulfill these requirements by going to this interactive website that will teach you all about the UCLA requirements for the a-g courses.

Now that you know the sorts of students who get into UCLA and the admissions requirements, let’s take a look at how you can leverage this information to increase your chances of being admitted.

Keep your college consultant on hand during this process. If you don’t have one yet, I recommend you check out the this link to learn more about how critical college consultants are to a successful application and you find out how to work with the consultants I’ve personally trained.

Be sure to use the percentiles I gave you at the beginning of the post as parameters for your GPA, standardized test scores, and how many advanced courses you opt to take. Make sure to work with a tutor to make sure your grades stay up and partner with a top scorer on the SAT or ACT so you can learn from the best when you officially sit for the test. Be sure to view these things as a high priority and put in all the work necessary.

What Other Schools Can You Apply To?

If you’re curious about what other schools are in UCLA’s league, check out the list below!

School Name Location ACT Average SAT Average
American University Washington, DC 28 1340
Binghamton University Vestal, NY 29 1350
Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 32 1430
Boston University Boston, MA 29 1370
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA 26 1270
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA 30 1370
New York University New York, NY 30 1410
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 29 1420
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY 28 1280
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 28 1300
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 29 1340
University of California, Davis Davis, CA 27 1290
University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 28 1360
University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 27 1310
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 28 1340
University of Georgia Athens, GA 28 1320
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA 27 1270
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 30 1430
University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 28 1330
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 28 1320
Villanova University Villanova, PA 30 1370

UCLA is one of the most competitive public schools in the country. With so many top academics applying, it can be a little intimidating to submit your materials. But if you use the information I provided in this post, you’ll be able to increase your chances of your application being noticed by UCLA or the other schools I’ve listed here.

What are your thoughts on UCLA? Let us know in the comments section below!

Get The Most Important College Admissions Data In The Last 12 Months Delivered Straight To Your Inbox Now.