Acceptance rates for colleges and universities can be confusing. First you must find the college’s admit rate and then you must find out whether it’s a “rolling” or “non-rolling” admit rate. The UCSB class of 2025 acceptance rate is the number of admitted students divided by the number of applicants. The admissions cycle for Fall 2022 will start December 1, 2021 and closed January 15, 2022. The first acceptances were announced on February 18th and more will continue to come in until around April 1st, 2022. In total they will have around 14,000 freshman applications (including all transfer students. The UCSB acceptance rate by major details below show the percentage of applicants admitted in a given year based on their undergraduate college and intended major.
Reading through the article below will definitely give you free access to the best and latest information on UC Santa Barbara minimum sat score, UC Santa Barbara GPA requirements & UCSB sat requirements.
What’s more? You will find related posts on UC Santa Barbara admission requirements, UCSB acceptance rate by major & ucsb acceptance rate 2020 on collegelearners. See which majors are most likely to get you into UCSB and how hard your chances are. Think you want to study CS? It helps if you major in Philosophy.
UCSB Acceptance Rate
During the 2018-19 admissions cycle, UC Santa Barbara had an acceptance rate of 29.6%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 29 students were admitted, making UCSB’s admissions process highly competitive.
Santa Barbara accepts about one-third of applicants, with above average grades and standardized test scores. As with all UC campuses, UC Santa Barbara has holistic admissions and is test-optional, so admissions officers are evaluating students on more than numerical data. Students are required to write four personal insight essays as part of the application. Students can easily apply to multiple colleges within the University of California system when they apply to UCSB. It’s not uncommon for students with special talents or compelling stories to get a closer look even if their grades and test scores are a bit below average. It is essential to have impressive extracurricular activities and strong essays when applying to UCSB.
California residents applying must have a 3.0 or better and no grade lower than a C in 15 college preparatory “a-g” courses. 3.4 or higher is the minimum GPA requirement for non-residents. Students from participating high schools may also qualify if they are in the top 9% of their classes.
UCSB has a comprehensive freshman selection process due to its selective nature. UCSB’s College of Creative Studies requires auditions or portfolios for some art, music, and writing programs. All UC schools, including University of California, Santa Barbara, do not accept letters of recommendation unless they are specifically requested. Admission interviews are not offered by the university.
UCSB acceptance rate by major: 32.2%
The acceptance rate at UCSB is 32.2%. In other words, of 100 students who apply, 32 are admitted.
This means the school is quite selective. If you have strong academic scores, you have a great shot at getting in.
Final Admissions Verdict
Because this school is quite selective, strong academic scores are critical to improving your chances of admission. If you’re able to score a 1480 SAT or above, you’ll have a very strong chance at getting in. But if you get a 1230 SAT or below, it’ll be a steep uphill battle for you to get admitted.
| Admissions Statistics (2018-19) | |
|---|---|
| Number of Applicants | 93,457 |
| Percent Admitted | 29.6% |
| Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) | 18% |
10 Easiest major to get into UCSB
Our UCSB acceptance rate by majors is already compiled by collegelearners.com! While keeping in mind that admissions rates can and do change, the list below shows the data from collegelearners.com as of 3/26/2019 for UCs acceptance rates by major. The Office of Admission works with all students who wish to attend UC Santa Barbara and with guidance counselors across the nation to provide current, relevant information about our campus.
| MAJOR | MID-RANGE GPA | ADMIT RATE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Actuarial Science | 3.49 – 3.89 | 37% |
| 2. | Art History | 3.22 – 3.50 | 30% |
| 3. | Comparative Studies – Language, Society, Culture | 3.26 – 3.64 | 34% |
| 4. | Statistical Science | 3.43 – 3.81 | 28% |
| 5. | Geography | 3.32 – 3.76 | 31% |
| 6. | Mathematics | 3.39 – 3.84 | 31% |
| 7. | Financial Mathematics and Statistics | 3.48 – 3.80 | 21% |
| 8. | Mathematical Sciences | 3.38 – 3.76 | 33% |
| 9. | English | 3.34 – 3.81 | 40% |
| 10. | Feminist Studies | 3.33 – 3.60 | 41% |
UC Santa Barbara Admission Requirements
Students must successfully complete UC-approved courses in the A-G subject areas with a ‘C’ grade or better.* If you attend a California high school, check that the classes you take are on your school’s UC Certified Course List by referencing the A-G Course List resource website. UC Santa Barbara requires that you either take the SAT or ACT. See the table below for how UC Santa Barbara’s accepted students have performed on both tests. You may be wondering how many test scores should you submit. Generally, don’t freak out about taking the test too often. Industry consensus is that you can submit up to 6 tests as a reasonable limit. If you’re a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change from this point on. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 4.12, you’ll need a higher SAT score to compensate and show that you’re prepared to take on college academics. This will help you compete effectively with other applicants.
1. Subject Requirement
Students must successfully complete UC-approved courses in the A-G subject areas with a ‘C’ grade or better.* If you attend a California high school, check that the classes you take are on your school’s UC Certified Course List by referencing the A-G Course List resource website.
2. Grade Point Requirement
Students must earn a minimum GPA of 3.0 (3.4 for non-California residents) in all A-G courses. Only the grades you earn in A-G subjects in the tenth and eleventh grades – including summer sessions – are used to calculate your preliminary GPA.* Courses you took in the ninth and twelfth grades can be used to meet A-G subject requirements if you earned a grade of C or better, but they will not be used to calculate your GPA.
3. Personal Life Accomplishments
UCSB doesn’t just look at academic accomplishments to bring in our freshman class. We look at your extracurricular activities and accomplishments in light of the opportunities available to you. Learn how applications are reviewed.
4. UC Santa Barbara SAT Requirements
UC Santa Barbara’s average SAT score is 1255 – this is the sum of the math and reading portions of the SAT (the 1600 scale). Check out the below table for a deeper look into how students performed – it’s also very interesting to look at the average test score over time. The trend over time helps give insight into whether UC Santa Barbara is getting more or less competitive.
25th Percentile 75th Percentile Average
Math 570 730 650
Reading 550 660 605
2019 Total 1120 1390 1255
2018 Total 996 1203 1100
2017 Total 940 1140 1040
UC Santa Barbara’s average SAT score is 1255. To be a competitive applicant for UC Santa Barbara your SAT score should come close to the average. If you’re closer to the 1120, you’re likely going to have a tougher time getting accepted. To consider UC Santa Barbara a “target” school (one that you are likely to get into) you should aim for a score of 1390.
If you’re interested in UCSB, you’ll probably be interested in these schools as well. We’ve divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to UCSB.
These schools are have higher average SAT scores than UCSB. If you improve your SAT score, you’ll be competitive for these schools.
School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
New York University New York, NY 1440 32
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 1435 33
Emory University Atlanta, GA 1435 33
Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 1420 33
Boston University Boston, MA 1420 32
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 1409 31
Villanova University Villanova, PA 1395 33
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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into
If you’re competitive for UCSB, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.
School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Binghamton University Vestal, NY 1375 30
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA 1365 31
University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 1355 30
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 1350 30
University of Washington Seattle, WA 1340 30
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 1335 29
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA 1335 29
UCSB SAT Requirements
What are UCSB’s average SAT scores and GPA? In this guide, we’ll discuss what scores are needed for you to get admitted into UCSB. You’ll also get to calculate your own chances with our admissions calculator.
This school is also known as: UCSB, UC Santa Barbara, University of California, Santa Barbara
UCSB Admissions Statistics
There are three critical numbers when considering your admissions chances: SAT scores, GPA, and acceptance rate. All these combine to tell you what you scores are required to get into University of California, Santa Barbara.
Average SAT: 1355
The average SAT score composite at UCSB is a 1355.
UCSB SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)
The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1230, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1480.
In other words, a 1230 places you below average, while a 1480 will move you up to above average. There’s no absolute SAT requirement at UCSB, but they really want to see at least a 1230 to have a chance at being considered.
Here’s the breakdown of new SAT scores by section:
Section Average 25th Percentile 75th Percentile
Math 690 610 770
Reading + Writing 665 620 710
Composite 1355 1230 1480
Exclusive: Want to learn how to improve your SAT score by 160 points?
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Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you’ll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
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What are your chances of admission at University of California, Santa Barbara?
Chances of admission with these scores:
31.59%
Here’s our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are.
Note: Your admission decision relies not only on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but also on your coursework difficulty, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. This tool provides only a simplistic estimate of your chances of admission. Instead of treating this tool as a crystal ball, we recommend you consider the big picture of what your chance means:
80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
50-80%: More likely than not getting in
20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in
We recommend you apply to schools across a range of chances. Applying to some safety schools will guarantee you have a college to go to, while applying to some reach schools will give you a shot at getting into the school at the top of your range.
Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into
If you’re currently competitive for UCSB, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If UCSB is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.
School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 1315 29
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY 1300 30
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA 1290 29
Syracuse University Syracuse, NY 1275 28
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 1270 28
Penn State University Park University Park, PA 1265 28
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH 1265 27
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UC Santa Barbara GPA Requirements
UC Santa Barbara’s average GPA is 3.15. UC Santa Barbara does require GPA. UC Santa Barbara is currently selective. However, be aware that oftentimes schools in this GPA range are increasing their selectivity in hope of increasing “prestige”. We can’t read the minds of UCSB application readers, but they likely want to increase the average GPA from 3.15 to 3.31 this year – to play it safe, we recommend striving for the 3.31 GPA.
*BEFORE CONTINUING PLEASE NOTE: GPA and “prestige” DO NOT mean a college is right for you. UC Santa Barbara may seem amazing on paper, but you may hate it… That’s why 700,000 students transfer colleges every year – they end up going to the wrong school. It’s crucial to watch the videos on CampusReel and make sure you can envision yourself on UCSB’s campus. These UCSB admission statistics do not sufficiently tell you what a college or university is like.
Last year UC Santa Barbara’s acceptance rate was 32.64. However, check out how the acceptance rate has changed over time.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance Rate | N/A | N/A | 32.64 % |
As you can see, UC Santa Barbara is a little easier to get into than last year.
Acceptance rate alone does not indicate your likelihood for getting into UCSB – it’s a very high level understanding of the true competition. Use the acceptance rate as a general guide for curating a list of 10-15 schools that fall into different ranges of competitiveness. Then, use the below data to get a deeper understanding of how your application will compare to the rest of the pool.
UC Santa Barbara’s average ACT score is 72. To be a competitive applicant for UC Santa Barbara your ACT score should come close to the average. If you’re closer to the 79, you’re likely going to have a tougher time getting accepted. To consider UC Santa Barbara a “target” school (one that you have a good chance of getting into) you should aim for a score of 65.
| 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | 26 | – | 26 |
| Reading | 26 | 33 | 29 |
| Writing | 27 | 32 | 29 |
| 2019 Total | 79 | 65 | 72 |
| 2018 Total | 41 | 55 | 48 |
| 2017 Total | – | – | – |
As you can see from the data above, UC Santa Barbara is difficult to get into. Not only should you be aiming for a 3.15 but also SAT scores around 1255. Now you know where you need to be for getting into UC Santa Barbara from a grade and test score perspective. Let’s quickly outline what else you’ll need to provide for your application to get reviewed, and then we’ll move onto the most important section: differentiating your app.
Follow these steps to maximize your chances of getting into UCSB. Everything you read above will help prepare you for what you need to achieve to have a shot at UCSB, but these steps will take you even further in applying that knowledge and differentiating your application.
Main Academic Excellence that is in line with UCSB admission standards.
Score at least a 1255 on the SAT or 72 on the ACT.
Maintain a GPA of at least a 3.15.
Join Extracurriculars that Align with UCSB’s Values.
Join your school band, a sports team or another group activity. If UC Santa Barbara values music heavily, for example, then try to participate in an organization related to that topic.
Volunteer in your hometown. Santa Barbara has tons of ways to be involved beyond just the college. UC Santa Barbara wants applicants that are also good ambassadors for the school – they want students who will give back to the local community and broader Santa Barbara area in general.
Spend your summer doing something that speaks to your values, personal growth, leadership qualities and other less quantifiable characteristics. UCSB needs to see past your test scores and grades – they need to know that you will be a valuable and contributing member of their community. You are more than grades and test scores – your experiences should demonstrate that.
Prepare Your Application
Write a stellar essay that shows UC Santa Barbara something they can’t figure out from the other parts of your application. For a detailed guide on writing the best college essay, check this out.
Get teacher recs that speak to your character. If you know what you’re majoring in and include that in your UCSB app, try to have at least 1 recommendation from a teacher in that department.
Apply Before the Deadline. Too many students wait until the last minute to submit their application, and too much can go wrong during this precious time window. Since many students are applying on the last day, it’s possible that UCSB’s own system crashes. Don’t risk the added stress this can cause – submit your app a few days early.
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