Last admissions cycle, University of California, Berkeley (or just Berkeley) admitted 11.3% of applicants, a figure that highlights how selective the process has become. But that number alone doesn’t reveal much about what’s really happening in Berkeley’s admissions landscape. How exactly is that percentage calculated? What’s the breakdown between in-state and out-of-state? While Berkeley does release some admissions data, understanding the full picture requires looking more carefully at the numbers and the broader context around them. Each year, we analyze this information in detail so students can approach highly selective admissions with a clearer perspective and a more thoughtful strategy.
To do that, we turn to the . Like most colleges and universities across the United States, Berkeley completes the CDS—a standardized reporting framework used by organizations such as U.S. News & World Report and College Board. The report contains a wide range of institutional data, but the section most relevant to applicants is Section C, which focuses specifically on first-time, first-year admissions. Today, we’re going to dive into to give you a glimpse into their process.
Trend Spotting: Five Years of Berkeley Admissions
Stepping back to examine Berkeley’s admissions trajectory over several years can be especially revealing. In recent cycles, the number of students applying has increased from earlier in the decade but has stabilized in the last few years.
| Year | Total Applicants | Number of Admitted Students | Overall Acceptance Rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 124,245 | 13,714 | 11.03% |
| 2024 | 125,916 | 14,769 | 11.70% |
| 2023 | 128,226 | 14,614 | 11.40% |
| 2022 | 112,846 | 16,410 | 14.50% |
| 2021 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers
Why This Matters: With over 100,000 applicants each cycle, Berkeley is an extremely popular and extremely selective school for prospective students.
Applying to Berkeley means entering a pool filled with 120k+ applicants who already look impressive on paper. Tens of thousands of students apply each year, and the vast majority have strong transcripts and challenging coursework. At Berkeley, those academic credentials are the baseline. What ultimately distinguishes applicants is how clearly their interests and achievements fit together.
C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications
Let’s look at the admissions data breakdowns based on gender and location:
| First-time, First-year Applicants | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance Rate | Enrolled | Yield Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 57,337 | 5,058 | 8.80% | 2,640 | 52.20% |
| Women | 60,324 | 7,788 | 12.90% | 3,498 | 44.90% |
| Another Gender | 2,098 | 252 | 12% | 84 | 33.30% |
| Unknown Gender | 4,486 | 616 | 13.70% | 50 | 8.10% |
| Total | 124,245 | 13,714 | 11% | 6,272 | 45.70% |
*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers.
| First-time, first-year applicants | Total | In-state | Out-of-state | International |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied | 124,245 | 72,156 | 29,788 | 22,301 |
| Percent of total applicant pool | 100% | 58.10% | 23.90% | 17.90% |
| Admitted | 13,714 | 10,774 | 2,186 | 754 |
| Acceptance Rate | 11.00% | 14.90% | 7.30% | 3.40% |
| Enrolled | 6,272 | 5,247 | 643 | 382 |
| Yield Rate | 45.70% | 48.70% | 29.40% | 50.70% |
| Percent of incoming class | 100% | 83.70% | 10.30% | 6.10% |
*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw number
Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:
More women apply to Berkeley than men, and they also enroll at slightly higher rates
As a public university, Berkeley’s yield rate is lower than that of some similarly selective private institutions, partly because many admitted students are also weighing other highly selective options
Out-of-state applicants are at a disadvantage, but in-state acceptance rates are also very competitive
Like many selective schools, international acceptance rates are incredibly low
Over time, Berkeley has become one of the most competitive public institutions in the United States, attracting students from across the country and around the world. As a result, most students should consider Berkeley a reach school, even most in-state applicants. Even highly accomplished and worthy applicants often see that admission is far from guaranteed, especially for competitive majors.
Waitlist
Berkeley releases waitlist data, which we love! Many schools don’t, which leaves students in the dark about their odds. The numbers, and our experience working with students, prove that getting off the waitlist isn’t impossible, but it is very challenging. Getting off the waitlist varies significantly from year to year, depending on how many admitted students ultimately enroll, but historically, only a small share of waitlisted applicants receive an offer later in the spring or summer.
| Students Placed on Waitlist | 10,894 |
|---|---|
| Percent of Total Applicants Waitlisted | 8.80% |
| Students Accepting a Spot on The Waitlist | 7,853 |
| Percent of Students Accepting Waitlist Spot | 72.10% |
| Students Admitted off The Waitlist | 26 |
| Waitlist Acceptance Rate | 0.33% |
| Percent of total students accepted off the waitlist | 0% |
*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers
Key Waitlist Takeaways:
A relative few students are waitlisted, meaning if you are waitlisted, they do see you as a potential fit
The vast majority of students offered a spot on the waitlist take it
Berkeley accepts a very, very small percentage of students off the waitlist, and waitlisted students make up a very small portion of their total incoming class
When students receive a waitlist decision from Berkeley, the reaction often swings to one extreme or the other. Some students assume it’s essentially a rejection in disguise. Others treat it as if their inevitable acceptance is just delayed. In reality, it’s neither. A waitlist decision means Berkeley sees you as someone who could succeed on campus, but the admissions office doesn’t currently have space in the class.
What happens next depends largely on how the class shapes up after admitted students make their decisions. Waitlist movement can be limited and varies significantly from year to year, but it does occur. Every admissions cycle, we work with students navigating waitlists at Berkeley and other highly selective universities, helping them take the right steps to stay in contention if spots open later in the process.
Standardized Test Scores and Grades
This is normally where we give you the ACT and SAT spreads for enrolled freshmen, but Berkeley doesn’t give us that data. That’s because Berkeley is “test-free.” From their website:
“Berkeley is test-free, which means we will not use SAT/ACT test scores in any part of our application process.
Berkeley has always used, and will continue to use, holistic review, which means there is no one factor on the application that will determine a student’s admission status. SAT/ACT test scores were not the only academic indicators available on the application to assess students. Other academic indicators will continue to be assessed in the review process, including grades, the rigor of a student’s courses, other non-required tests (AP exams, IB test, etc.), and a student’s individual academic context.
While SAT/ACT scores will not be used in the admissions process, any scores submitted to Berkeley will be used for placement or subject credit purposes should the student be admitted to Berkeley.”
We don’t love this. Evidence shows that strong test performance correlates with higher academic achievement in college, and most other colleges worth their salt either require, or at the very least, accept test scores. We do not like it when schools remove another data point that you can use to prove your worth.
And the numbers support that. Looking at who chooses to report scores – and how competitive those scores tend to be – gives us valuable insight into what Michigan considers strong academic preparation.
Annoying. But they do give us the HS GPAs of enrolled freshmen, something many schools omit. The average GPA of first time, first year students who submitted their GPA was 3.9, and 100% of enrolled students submitted their GPA.
| GPA Range | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 4 | 37.70% |
| 3.75 - 3.99 | 51.50% |
| 3.5 - 3.74 | 8.60% |
| 3.25 - 3.49 | 1.50% |
| 3.0 - 3.24 | 0.40% |
| 2.5 - 2.99 | 0.30% |
Key GPA Takeaways:
Anything meaningfully below a 3.9 (the average GPA of an enrolled student) weakens an application
Students reporting GPAs under 3.75 are statistical outliers and should not be used as a benchmark
It’s also worth addressing the small group of admitted students who appear in lower academic bands – like those with GPAs in the low 3s. When families notice those numbers, it can create the impression that Berkeley’s standards are more flexible than they really are. In reality, those cases are outliers. They don’t indicate that the admissions bar is lower, and applicants should not approach the process assuming they might be the exception.
The truth is that we rarely know the full story behind those admissions decisions. Some may be recruited athletes. Others could be first-generation college applicants, students from under-resourced schools, or applicants whose extraordinary circumstances provide important context for their academic record. Every highly selective institution ends up with a handful of these atypical profiles in its admitted class, but they shouldn’t be treated as a model for how the process works. For the overwhelming majority of applicants, Berkeley’s expectations remain extremely high.
Considerations
This is the section of the Common Data Set where the numbers stop doing all the explaining. Berkeley certainly evaluates concrete academic signals, like GPA, course rigor, and other indicators that show whether a student is prepared for collegiate academics. But those metrics just establish the bar, and once applicants clear that bar, admissions officers begin weighing broader “considerations” that are harder to quantify. This is where the more strategic elements of an application start to matter. Let’s begin with academics:
| Academic Factors | Very Important | Important | Considered | Not Considered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rigor of secondary school record | X | |||
| Class rank | X | |||
| Academic GPA | X | |||
| Standardized test scores | X | |||
| Application Essay | X | |||
| Recommendation(s) | X |
Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:
Getting the best grades in the hardest classes your school offers is extremely important
Many high schools don’t report class rank, which might be why it’s excluded
Make sure to spend lots of time working on your personal insight questions
| Nonacademic Factors | Very Important | Important | Considered | Not Considered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interview | X | |||
| Extracurricular activities | X | |||
| Talent/ability | X | |||
| Character/personal qualities | X | |||
| First generation | X | |||
| Alumni/ae relation | X | |||
| Geographical residence | X | |||
| State residency | X | |||
| Religious affiliation/commitment | X | |||
| Volunteer work | X | |||
| Work experience | X | |||
| Level of applicant’s interest | X |
Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:
Berkeley does not track demonstrated interest, and they do not care about legacy
How you spend your time outside of the classroom is very important to Berkeley
Make sure to pick up some volunteer work, and maybe even get a summer job
Look, some aspects of your application are simply unchangable. Geographic background or first-generation status, for example, are straightforward pieces of information in your file. But many of the qualities admissions offices care about most, like character, intellectual curiosity, creativity, and talent, don’t come with a clear scoring system. Instead, admissions readers piece together an understanding of who you are by reading across your entire application: essays, recommendations, activities, and the overall story that emerges. Applicants can be thoughtful about how they present themselves, but interpretation ultimately rests with the admissions committee.
This is also where extracurricular activities start to carry real weight. For students who are genuinely competitive at Berkeley, especially out-of-state applicants, surface-level involvement does not stands out. The strongest applicants aren’t simply accumulating clubs, sports team memberships, or filling their resumes with unrelated commitments. Instead, they tend to invest deeply in a smaller number of pursuits that reflect genuine curiosity and sustained effort. Their activities actually connect to one another and reveal a sense of direction. In other words, admissions officers aren’t just looking for busy students; they’re looking for students whose interests form a coherent narrative. Depth, consistency, and originality tend to matter far more than sheer quantity, and helping students build that kind of thoughtful profile is a major part of the work we do each year.
Conclusion
You probably already knew that Berkeley is extremely competitive. But by now, the goal is that you have a clearer understanding of what that competitiveness actually means – beyond a single acceptance-rate statistic.
At the same time, admissions decisions aren’t made by spreadsheets alone. Data can highlight patterns and thresholds, but it doesn’t fully capture what Berkeley values in an applicant, and it certainly doesn’t define any individual student. When we work with applicants, whether they’re applying to Berkeley in-state, out-of-state, or targeting particularly selective programs within the university, our approach is always individualized. Each strategy is built around the student’s academic strengths, interests, and long-term goals. There’s no universal formula for admission to Berkeley, or to any college, but there are thoughtful choices that can strengthen your application. Our job is to help students shape a profile that stands out in a very large and very accomplished applicant pool, and we do it every year.
One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Berkeley and the UCs. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started.