UC Santa Cruz acceptance rate by major
UC Santa Cruz life sciences acceptance rate
UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) admitted 10,997 of 14,258 first-year life sciences applicants for fall 2025, or 77.1%. That is 4.6 percentage points above the campus as a whole (72.5%).
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UC Santa Cruz life sciences, fall 2025
Admit rate
77.1%
Campus overall 72.5%
Applicants
14,258
Every residency
Admitted
10,997
1,156 enrolled
Admitted GPA, middle half
3.86 to 4.22
UC weighted, capped
How life sciences compares with UC Santa Cruz overall
It ranked 7th lowest of the 10 disciplines with a page at UC Santa Cruz that fall. In fall 2012, the first fall UC printed for this discipline here, 6,320 applied and 4,231 were admitted (66.9%). By fall 2025 applicants numbered 14,258. Across the 14 falls UC printed, the rate was lowest in fall 2018 (48.6%) and highest in fall 2025 (77.1%).
| Fall | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate | Whole campus | Admitted GPA, middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14,258 | 10,997 | 77.1% | 72.5% | 3.86 to 4.22 |
| 2024 | 13,774 | 9,836 | 71.4% | 65.8% | 3.88 to 4.23 |
| 2023 | 12,510 | 8,621 | 68.9% | 62.5% | 3.90 to 4.23 |
| 2022 | 12,859 | 6,718 | 52.2% | 46.8% | 3.96 to 4.26 |
| 2021 | 12,378 | 7,790 | 62.9% | 58.7% | 3.85 to 4.22 |
| 2020 | 12,343 | 8,157 | 66.1% | 64.6% | 3.77 to 4.18 |
| 2019 | 10,299 | 5,432 | 52.7% | 51.2% | 3.84 to 4.20 |
| 2018 | 11,185 | 5,439 | 48.6% | 47.3% | 3.84 to 4.20 |
| 2017 | 9,618 | 4,996 | 51.9% | 50.9% | 3.79 to 4.18 |
| 2016 | 8,741 | 5,413 | 61.9% | 57.9% | 3.72 to 4.13 |
| 2015 | 8,129 | 4,362 | 53.7% | 50.3% | 3.75 to 4.15 |
| 2014 | 7,347 | 4,305 | 58.6% | 55.7% | 3.70 to 4.11 |
| 2013 | 7,383 | 3,987 | 54.0% | 51.3% | 3.72 to 4.12 |
| 2012 | 6,320 | 4,231 | 66.9% | 59.9% | 3.60 to 4.04 |
Only the falls in which UC printed both applicants and admits for Life Sciences at UC Santa Cruz are shown (14 of 14). The whole-campus column is every first-year applicant to UC Santa Cruz that fall.
Life Sciences at other UC campuses, fall 2025
| Campus | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Santa Cruz (this page) | 14,258 | 10,997 | 77.1% |
| UCLA | 23,700 | 3,121 | 13.2% |
| UC Berkeley | 19,316 | 3,114 | 16.1% |
| UC Irvine | 18,556 | 5,620 | 30.3% |
| UC San Diego | 25,093 | 8,177 | 32.6% |
| UC Santa Barbara | 21,225 | 8,909 | 42.0% |
| UC Davis | 25,418 | 12,732 | 50.1% |
| UC Riverside | 15,719 | 13,023 | 82.8% |
| UC Merced | 10,012 | 9,646 | 96.3% |
Does UC Santa Cruz admit by major?
Neither UC's discipline table nor any page from UC Santa Cruz that we have on file says whether UC Santa Cruz weighs the intended major in first-year review, so this page does not say either. Ask UC Santa Cruz's admissions office before reading this rate as the odds for one major.
UC counts an applicant under the broad discipline of the major they listed. These counts include applicants from California, other states and other countries together, so a California student’s own rate can differ.
UC Santa Cruz life sciences acceptance rate: questions
- What is the UC Santa Cruz life sciences acceptance rate?
- In fall 2025, UC Santa Cruz admitted 10,997 of 14,258 first-year life sciences applicants, 77.1%, by UC's own count of every applicant in state and out.
- Is life sciences harder to get into than UC Santa Cruz overall?
- In fall 2025 its rate was 4.6 percentage points above the campus as a whole (72.5%). It ranked 7th lowest of the 10 disciplines with a page at UC Santa Cruz that fall.
- Does UC Santa Cruz admit by major?
- Neither UC's discipline table nor any page from UC Santa Cruz that we have on file says whether UC Santa Cruz weighs the intended major in first-year review, so this page does not say either. Ask UC Santa Cruz's admissions office before reading this rate as the odds for one major.
- What GPA do UC Santa Cruz life sciences admits have?
- The middle half of admitted life sciences applicants had a UC weighted, capped GPA of 3.86 to 4.22 in fall 2025, against 3.83 to 4.20 for all of UC Santa Cruz. The range describes who was admitted; it is not a cutoff.
More on UC Santa Cruz
- UC Santa Cruz acceptance rate by major, every discipline
- How to get into UC Santa Cruz: GPAs, test scores and activities of admits
- UC acceptance rates by major at every campus
- UC acceptance rates for every California high school
Other majors at UC Santa Cruz: Arts & Humanities · Business · Computer Science · Education · Engineering · Other/Interdisciplinary · Physical Sciences/Math · Social Sciences · Undeclared
Weighing life sciences at UC Santa Cruz?
A Specialist can read your student’s file against these numbers and talk through which major and campus fit it.
Source: University of California Information Center, Freshman admission by discipline, fall 2012 to 2025. UC leaves a number blank when it is too small to print, and this page never fills one in. GPAs are UC’s weighted, capped GPA. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with the University of California.