UC Merced Requirements for Admission

What are UC Merced's admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:

  • GPA requirements
  • Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
  • Application requirements

In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into UC Merced and build a strong application.

School location: Merced, CA

This school is also known as: University of California, Merced


Admissions Rate: 88.6%

If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.

The acceptance rate at UC Merced is 88.6%. For every 100 applicants, 89 are admitted.

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This means the school is lightly selective. The school will have their expected requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores. If you meet their requirements, you're almost certain to get an offer of admission. But if you don't meet UC Merced's requirements, you'll be one of the unlucky few people who gets rejected.


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UC Merced GPA Requirements

Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.

The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school's average GPA for its current students.

Average GPA: 3.6

The average GPA at UC Merced is 3.6.

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(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 3.6, UC Merced requires you to be above average in your high school class. You'll need at least a mix of A's and B's, with more A's than B's. You can compensate for a lower GPA with harder classes, like AP or IB classes. This will show that you're able to handle more difficult academics than the average high school student.


SAT and ACT Requirements

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Only a few schools require the SAT or ACT, but many consider your scores if you choose to submit them.

UC Merced hasn't explicitly named a policy on SAT/ACT requirements, but because it's published average SAT or ACT scores (we'll cover this next), it's likely test flexible. Typically, these schools say, "if you feel your SAT or ACT score represents you well as a student, submit them. Otherwise, don't."

Despite this policy, the truth is that most students still take the SAT or ACT, and most applicants to UC Merced will submit their scores. If you don't submit scores, you'll have one fewer dimension to show that you're worthy of being admitted, compared to other students. We therefore recommend that you consider taking the SAT or ACT, and doing well.

UC Merced SAT Requirements

Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.

Average SAT: 1080

The average SAT score composite at UC Merced is a 1080 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes UC Merced Competitive for SAT test scores.

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UC Merced SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile SAT score is 1030, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1350. In other words, a 1030 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1350 will move you up to above average.

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SectionAverage25th Percentile75th Percentile
Math540510690
Reading + Writing540500660
Composite108010301350

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.

UC Merced has the Score Choice policy of "All Scores."

This means that UC Merced requires you to send all SAT scores you've ever taken to their office.

This sounds daunting, but most schools don't actually consider all your scores equally. For example, if you scored an 1300 on one test and a 1500 on another, they won't actually average the two tests.

More commonly, the school will take your highest score on a single test date. Even better, some schools form a Superscore - that is, they take your highest section score across all your test dates and combine them.

Some students are still worried about submitting too many test scores. They're afraid that UC Merced will look down on too many attempts to raise your score. But how many is too many?

From our research and talking to admissions officers, we've learned that 4-6 tests is a safe number to submit. The college understands that you want to have the best chance of admission, and retaking the test is a good way to do this. Within a reasonable number of tests, they honestly don't care how many times you've taken it. They'll just focus on your score.

If you take it more than 6 times, colleges start wondering why you're not improving with each test. They'll question your study skills and ability to improve.

But below 6 tests, we strongly encourage retaking the test to maximize your chances. If your SAT score is currently below a 1030, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You don't have much to lose, and you can potentially raise your score and significantly boost your chances of getting in.


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UC Merced ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, UC Merced likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

Average ACT: 20

The average ACT score at UC Merced is 20. This score makes UC Merced Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.

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The 25th percentile ACT score is 20, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 31.

ACT Score Sending Policy

If you're taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.

Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.

This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 20 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you're happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.

ACT Superscore Policy

By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.

We weren't able to find the school's exact ACT policy, which most likely means that it does not Superscore. Regardless, you can choose your single best ACT score to send in to UC Merced, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 20.


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SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

Currently, only the ACT has an optional essay section that all students can take. The SAT used to also have an optional Essay section, but since June 2021, this has been discontinued unless you are taking the test as part of school-day testing in a few states. Because of this, no school requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing section, but some schools do recommend certain students submit their results if they have them.

UC Merced considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require or recommend it.



Final Admissions Verdict

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Because this school is lightly selective, you have a great shot at getting in, as long as you don't fall well below average. Aim for a 1030 SAT or a 20 ACT or higher, and you'll almost certainly get an offer of admission. As long as you meet the rest of the application requirements below, you'll be a shoo-in.

But if you score below our recommended target score, you may be one of the very few unlucky people to get rejected.


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Admissions Calculator

What are your chances of admission at University of California, Merced?
Chances of admission with these scores:

Here's our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are.

Pick your test: SAT ACT

SAT Score
Your GPA

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.

How would your chances improve with a better score?

Take your current SAT score and add 160 points (or take your ACT score and add 4 points) to the calculator above. See how much your chances improve?

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Application Requirements

Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of UC Merced here.

Application Requirements Overview

  • Common Application Not accepted
  • Electronic Application Available
  • Essay or Personal Statement Required for all freshmen
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Interview Not required
  • Application Fee $70
  • Fee Waiver Available? Available
  • Other Notes minimum 3.0 high school GPA for California residents

Testing Requirements

  • SAT or ACT Not used if submitted
  • Scores Due in Office None

Coursework Requirements

  • Subject Required Years
  • English 4
  • Math 3
  • Science 2
  • Foreign Language 2
  • Social Studies
  • History 2
  • Electives 1

Deadlines and Early Admissions

  •  
    • Offered? Deadline Notification
  • Regular Admission
    • Yes November 30 March 1
  • Early Action
    • No
  • Early Decision
    • No

Admissions Office Information


Other Schools For You

If you're interested in UC Merced, 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 UC Merced.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average SAT scores than UC Merced. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
San Jose State University San Jose, CA 1190 25
Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 1178 26
Ohio University Athens, OH 1174 25
University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX 1160 23
Florida International University Miami, FL 1159 24
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA 1145 23
Washington State University Pullman, WA 1130 23

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for UC Merced, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Tallahassee, FL 1090 22
State University of New York at Fredonia Fredonia, NY 1090 24
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC 1083 21
Texas State University San Marcos, TX 1080 23
Montclair State University Montclair, NJ 1070 21
Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 1067 22
Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA 1067 21

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for UC Merced, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If UC Merced is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
California State University Sacramento Sacramento, CA 1035 19
Kean University Union, NJ 1030 18
Texas A&M University - Kingsville Kingsville, TX 1030 20
California State University Northridge Northridge, CA 1020 19
University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX 1008 20
California State University East Bay Hayward, CA 992 19
California State University Fullerton Fullerton, CA 990 22

Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2024 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.


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Want to build the best possible college application?

We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.


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