UC San Diego Acceptance Rate: Class of 2030 Admissions Statistics

UC San Diego (UCSD) admitted 38,846 students out of 136,740 applicants for the Class of 2029, resulting in a 28.41% acceptance rate. Because UCSD is part of the University of California (UC) system, the university follows a single application cycle and does not offer Early Action (EA) or Early Decision (ED).

In this blog, we’ll examine UCSD’s most recent overall, transfer, and waitlist acceptance rates and explore how these numbers have changed over time.

• UCSD Acceptance Rates
• Why UCSD Doesn’t Offer Early Admissions
• UCSD Transfer Acceptance Rate
• UCSD Waitlist Acceptance Rate
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Takeaways

UCSD Acceptance Rates

UCSD’s overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 rose to 28.41%, up from 26.77% for the Class of 2028. This increase is largely tied to a rise in admitted students, with 38,846 offers extended from a pool of 136,740 applicants, compared with 35,989 admits out of 134,455 applicants the previous year.

Despite this recent increase, UCSD’s acceptance rate has generally tightened over the past decade as application numbers across the UC system continue to grow. Here’s the complete picture:

Note: All data has been compiled from UCSD’s Common Data Set.

UC San Diego has experienced a clear rise in applications over the past decade, increasing from 88,428 applicants for the Class of 2021 to 136,740 for the Class of 2029. Meanwhile, the number of admitted students has generally declined, dropping from over 40,000 admits for the Class of 2025 to about 31,274–38,846 in more recent cycles.

As a result, acceptance rates have tightened significantly over time. The highest acceptance rate in this period was 38.30% for the Class of 2024, while the lowest was 23.83% for the Class of 2026.

Why UCSD Doesn’t Offer Early Admissions

UCSD does not provide EA or ED because it follows the admissions policies of the UC system, which uses a single application cycle for all first-year applicants.

This unified timeline helps ensure that every applicant is evaluated under the same criteria and at the same time, which aligns with the UC system’s goal of maintaining fairness and accessibility for a large and diverse applicant pool.

UCSD Transfer Acceptance Rate

The most recent available UCSD transfer data comes from Fall 2025, with an acceptance rate of 52.70%. Here’s the breakdown:

Note: The Fall 2025 transfer data comes from UCSD’s official announcement published on its website.

UCSD’s Fall 2025 transfer admission rate of 52.07% is significantly higher than its first-year acceptance rate of 28.41%. This higher rate reflects the university’s strong transfer pathway, particularly through California community colleges, which supply a large share of transfer applicants each year.

UCSD Waitlist Acceptance Rate

The latest available waitlist data comes from Class of 2028, when UCSD had a 23.69% waitlist acceptance rate. Here’s a closer look at the breakdown:

Note: The waitlist data is sourced from UCSD’s Common Data Set for the Class of 2028.

For the Class of 2028, UCSD’s waitlist acceptance rate was 23.69%, close to the university’s overall undergraduate acceptance rate of 26.77%. The narrow gap suggests that UCSD’s waitlist sees far more movement than those at many highly selective universities, where waitlist admissions are often rare.

If you want a deeper breakdown of how UCSD manages its waitlist and what your chances look like, check out our comprehensive guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is UCSD’s current acceptance rate?

The most recent confirmed acceptance rate for UCSD is 28.41% for the Class of 2029. In that cycle, the university received 136,740 applications and admitted 38,846 students, reflecting the large applicant pool typical of UC campuses.

2. Does UCSD offer Early Action or Early Decision?

No, UCSD does not offer EA or ED. Like all campuses in the UC system, UCSD uses a single application cycle.

3. How hard is it to transfer to UCSD?

Transfer admission to UCSD is competitive but generally more accessible than first-year admission. For Fall 2025, UCSD admitted 12,355 of 23,441 transfer applicants, resulting in a 52.70% transfer acceptance rate, significantly higher than its 28.41% overall acceptance rate.

4. What are my chances of getting off UCSD’s waitlist?

Waitlist admission varies each year depending on enrollment needs. For Fall 2024, 27,521 applicants were waitlisted, and 19,156 chose to remain on the list. UCSD ultimately admitted 4,539 students from the waitlist, producing a 23.69% waitlist acceptance rate.

5. Why is UC San Diego’s acceptance rate relatively low?

UCSD receives more than 130,000 applications each year, while the number of available seats remains limited. However, it is still higher than the acceptance rates at ultra-selective schools like the Ivy League, largely because UCSD is a large public university that admits a greater number of students each year.

Takeaways

• UCSD’s acceptance rate has shifted over the past decade as application numbers have surged. It declined from 34.17% for the Class of 2021 to a low of 23.83% for the Class of 2026, before rising slightly to 28.41% for the Class of 2029.
• Unlike many private universities, UCSD does not offer EA or ED. As part of the UC system, UCSD uses a single admissions cycle.
• Other pathways vary widely. For Fall 2025, UCSD reported a 52.70% transfer acceptance rate, reflecting strong transfer pipelines from California community colleges. Waitlist outcomes can also fluctuate; for Fall 2024, UCSD admitted 4,539 students from the waitlist, producing a 23.69% waitlist acceptance rate.
• Given the scale of UCSD’s applicant pool, which often exceeds 130,000 applications each year, working with a college admissions expert to present a clear academic profile and strong extracurricular involvement can help you stand out in an increasingly competitive admissions process.