UC San Diego acceptance rate and admissions statistics
UC San Diego admitted 39,054 of 136,750 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 28.6%. Every number below comes from the college’s own Common Data Set, each year linked to its document; a figure the college leaves blank says “Not published”, and the notes at the foot of the page say where a total is the sum of rows the college printed.
What did admitted applicants have? How to get into UC San Diego counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
UC San Diego acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 136,750 | 39,054 | 28.6% | 7,801 | 20.0% |
| 2024-25 | 134,455 | 35,989 | 26.8% | 7,330 | 20.4% |
| 2023-24 | 130,845 | 32,403 | 24.8% | 7,007 | 21.6% |
Acceptance rate is admitted divided by applied; yield is enrolled divided by admitted. Both are computed by Aristo Scholars from the two counts printed beside them.
Early decision at UC San Diego
Early decision counts: Not published. UC San Diego’s Common Data Set prints no early decision applicant or admit counts (section C21) for any year shown.
UC San Diego waitlist
UC San Diego SAT and ACT scores
SAT and ACT ranges: Not published. UC San Diego’s Common Data Set leaves section C9 blank for every year shown.
What UC San Diego says matters in admission
In section C7 each college rates its own admission factors as Very Important, Important, Considered or Not Considered. These are the factors UC San Diego rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Academic GPA, Application essay
- Important: Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities, State residency, Volunteer work
- 2024-25
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Academic GPA, Application essay
- Important: Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities, State residency, Volunteer work
- 2023-24
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Academic GPA, Application essay
- Important: Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities, State residency, Volunteer work
UC San Diego testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test-blind: UC San Diego does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission or scholarship decisions. Scores may be used only to meet minimum requirements or for course placement after enrolling.
From UC San Diego’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
C9 is blank in every year because UC San Diego does not consider test scores, and C21 reports no early decision plan. C1 totals are the totals printed in the residency table.
UC San Diego acceptance rate questions
- What is the UC San Diego acceptance rate?
- UC San Diego's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 136,750 first-year applicants and 39,054 admitted, an acceptance rate of 28.6%. It was 26.8% in 2024-25 and 24.8% in 2023-24.
- What SAT scores do UC San Diego students have?
- UC San Diego's Common Data Set publishes no SAT ranges for these years. Its current testing policy is below.
- How many students get off the UC San Diego waitlist?
- In 2025-26, UC San Diego offered 36,709 applicants a place on the waitlist; 25,411 accepted one, and 5,284 were admitted from it.
- Does UC San Diego require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test-blind: UC San Diego does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission or scholarship decisions. Scores may be used only to meet minimum requirements or for course placement after enrolling.
Applying to UC San Diego?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what UC San Diego says it weighs.
Source: UC San Diego Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with UC San Diego. All official acceptance rates