UC Santa Cruz SAT Scores and GPA

What are UC Santa Cruz's average SAT scores and GPA? In this guide, we'll discuss what scores are needed for you to get admitted into UC Santa Cruz. You'll also get to calculate your own chances with our admissions calculator.

Location: Santa Cruz, CA

This school is also known as: UCSC, UC Santa Cruz, University of California, Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz 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 Cruz.


Average SAT: 1285

The average SAT score composite at UC Santa Cruz is a 1285.

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UC Santa Cruz SAT Score Analysis

The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1170, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1400.

In other words, a 1170 places you below average, while a 1400 will move you up to above average. There's no absolute SAT requirement at UC Santa Cruz, but they really want to see at least a 1170 to have a chance at being considered.

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SectionAverage25th Percentile75th Percentile
Math655590720
Reading + Writing630580680
Composite128511701400

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Average GPA: 3.89

The average GPA at UC Santa Cruz is 3.89. This makes UC Santa Cruz Extremely Competitive for GPAs.

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

With a GPA of 3.89, UC Santa Cruz requires you to be near the top of your class, and well above average. You'll need mostly A's, ideally with several AP or IB classes to help show your preparation at a college level.

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 3.89, 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.



Admissions Rate: 61.3%

The acceptance rate at UC Santa Cruz is 61.3%. In other words, of 100 students who apply, 61 are admitted.

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This means the school is somewhat selective. You should prepare your academic scores well, but you have an excellent chance if you impress them.



Final Admissions Verdict

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Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission. Scoring at a 1285 SAT or above will already give you a great shot at getting in. Scoring a 1400 will nearly guarantee you admission, given that your GPA is roughly the average of 3.89.


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Admissions Calculator

What are your chances of admission at University of California, Santa Cruz?
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.
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Other Schools For You

If you're interested in UC Santa Cruz, 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 Santa Cruz.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

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

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
University of Washington Seattle, WA 1410 32
American University Washington, DC 1368 30
University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 1355 29
University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 1355 30
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY 1352 31
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 1331 30
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA 1330 30

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

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

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Auburn University Auburn, AL 1304 27
University of Maryland Baltimore County Baltimore, MD 1300 27
Chapman University Orange, CA 1296 28
University of Denver Denver, CO 1292 30
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 1291 28
Ithaca College Ithaca, NY 1287 29
University of California, Davis Davis, CA 1280 28

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

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

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX 1242 28
Temple University Philadelphia, PA 1241 28
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 1225 26
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH 1223 26
Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT 1210 25
Ohio University Athens, OH 1174 25
Pace University New York, NY 1173 26

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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