UCLA Regular Decision

As the southern branch of the storied California State Normal School, UCLA was established in 1882 and is now the flagship of the UC system.

UCLA is the system’s second-oldest campus and a national leader in innovation, education, and athletics. UCLA is one of the few “Public Ivies,” or public universities with academic standing and results comparable to those of the prestigious Ivy League institutions. UCLA has a long list of distinguished alumni and faculty.

In fact, UCLA has ties to people who have won the highest accolades in the world, including five Turing Award winners and 27 Nobel Prize winners. Senator Kristen Gillibrand, legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson, and comedians Carol Burnett and Steve Martin are UCLA alums.

UCLA makes the most of its available space despite being one of the smaller University of California campuses. The oldest buildings on campus feature Roman architecture, while more recent construction has a sleek, contemporary appearance. A wide variety of vegetation, including ficus and sycamore trees, as well as a visually arresting area known as “the Sunken Gardens,” complement these structures.

UCLA has strong ties to the entertainment sector as a result of its location in Los Angeles. This connection includes internship opportunities at nearby studios and businesses in addition to the University serving as a filming location for movies like Erin Brockovich and Legally Blonde.

Being a Los Angeles institution, UCLA is known for a variety of things, including its research initiatives and sports teams.

When Is UCLA’s Regular Decision Due?

UCLA receives more applications from academically gifted students than any other university in the nation each year. With the big wave of applications coming, when is UCLA’s regular decision due? When it becomes available on August 1, you can begin working on your application in your senior year. UCLA applications are accepted from October 1 to November 30.

Application Deadlines

Aug-01	UCLA regular decision application opens for freshmen and transfers fall applicants
October 1 – November 30	The filing period for freshmen and transfer applicants for fall admission
Mar-02	Financial aid application and GPA verification due
May-01	Due for submission of Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) for admitted freshmen
Jun-01	Due for submission of Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) for admitted transfer students

How Selective Is UCLA?

UCLA has a 12 percent acceptance rate, making it one of the most selective schools, according to Forbes. For the UCLA Class of 2025, more than 139,000 applicants were received. About 31,000 students were accepted by UCLA admissions out of those applicants.

Despite the fact that UCLA does not have any set GPA requirements, the typical GPA is 3.95.

Although UCLA does not currently use test results in their application review process, the typical SAT scores range from 1290 to 1520.

Knowing that admission to UCLA is highly competitive is important if you’re wondering how to apply. Any student would consider UCLA to be a “reach.” More than just having the required SAT or GPA, students ponder how selective is UCLA.

Start preparing well in advance for the application deadline to increase your chances of admission. Simply remember the UCLA Regular Decision application deadline since there is no UCLA Early Decision.

What is the GPA on average at UCLA?

Your admission to UCLA is not contingent on your GPA. However, you ought to make an effort to meet the typical GPA requirements.

The UCLA Class of 2025 had an overall GPA of 3.95. You should work to maintain a high GPA because UCLA’s GPA requirements are subject to change.

According to the UCLA GPA requirements, applicants for the UCLA Class of 2025 must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (or 3.4 for non-California residents).

Therefore, if your GPA falls short of UCLA’s requirements, work on strengthening the rest of your application. Understanding the typical UCLA SAT scores is also useful when looking into how to get into UCLA, despite the fact that UCLA does not review test scores for admission.

The highest priority is given to your junior year GPA by UCLA. As a result, be sure to perform well in your high school courses. Choosing the appropriate courses for you is the first step. Utilize the resources at your school to improve your chances of meeting UCLA’s GPA requirements.

What is required for the University of California application?

The UC application period runs from November 1 through November 30. The UC application opens on August 1st. UCLA does not offer an early decision option. As a result, all materials must be submitted by the final UCLA regular decision application deadline of November 30.

The following must be submitted:

• UCLA Application
• The UC Personal Insight Questions

The Coalition App and the Common App are not accepted by UCLA admissions. Instead, you will submit all of your documents through the UC application portal.

Through the fall of 2024, UCLA admissions has decided not to look over applicants’ standardized test results. Students do not need to submit ACT or SAT scores for admission, and these scores will not be used in the application review process, just like those of the UCLA Class of 2025.

Candidates are required to submit the UC Personal Insight Questions as well. Later in this guide, we will go into more detail about the UC Personal Insight Questions.

Which extracurriculars is UCLA interested in?

Do you want to know how to enroll at UCLA? Find your interests and passions first.

Your candidate profile is made up of your extracurricular activities in addition to your academic achievements.

A 1-2 sentence summary of who you are, what you do, and why colleges should admit you constitute your candidate profile. You can stand out from the competition with a strong candidate profile. It is a crucial component of your strategy on how to get into UCLA.

UCLA admissions officers want to see that you participate in pursuits that reflect your interests. Therefore, focus on the caliber rather than the quantity of your activities.

Showcase any extracurricular activities that highlight your unique abilities, accomplishments, and talents.

UCLA admissions considers candidates who exhibit leadership, creativity, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to improve the campus community in addition to the GPA requirements. Your application narrative for UCLA will not take into account your SAT scores, so your extracurricular activities are even more crucial

When writing about your extracurricular activities, provide as much context as you can. This aids the UCLA admissions staff in comprehending the nature of the activity and your participation.

Each UC school’s admissions office uses this section of the application to learn more about your unique life experiences, interests, and aspirations.

Even though it only constitutes a small portion of the decision, it aids in setting the rest of your application in context:

• Gives context for your application
• Increases your chance of admission
• Provides information about you to the admissions office

There are eight essay questions available, which the UC application refers to as “personal insight questions.” There is no correct response regarding which option you select, you just need to choose 4 out of 8 options. Each question has a 350-wordd limit for answers.

Here are the most recent personal insight questions for the University of California freshman application:

1. Give an example of a time when you were a leader and you had a positive impact on others, helped to settle a conflict, or made a sustained contribution to group efforts.
2. Everyone has a creative side that can be expressed in a variety of ways, including problem-solving, creative and original thought, and the arts, to name a few. Describe the ways in which you use your creativity
3. What do you consider to be your greatest talent or ability? How have you honed that talent over time and displayed it?
4. Describe a significant educational opportunity you have seized or a learning obstacle you have faced, and how you overcame it.
5. Describe the biggest obstacle you have faced and the steps you have taken to get past it. How has this difficulty impacted your academic performance?
6. Consider a subject in school that interests you. How have you advanced this interest both inside and outside of the classroom?
7. What have you done to improve the environment at your school or in your community?
8. Aside from the information included in your application, what else do you think makes you a standout applicant for admission to the University of California?

What Is UCLA’s Acceptance Rate for Regular Admission?

The UCLA regular decision acceptance rate for the fall of 2021 was 11%, according to the school’s official website. The university with the most applications is UCLA. For Fall 2021, UCLA received 168,135 applications in total, including 139,490 from prospective freshmen and 28,645 from juniors looking to transfer.

Early action or early decision for any applications is not available at UCLA. So technically, to answer “What is UCLA’s acceptance rate for regular admission?”, it’s still 11% (for the fall of 2021). To add, the school only accepts UCLA regular decision applications for the fall term and operates on a quarter system calendar.

What Are the Odds of Getting Off the Waitlist?

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) calculated that 4,912 applicants applied for their undergraduate program in 2017.

Eight hundred five (805) of those candidates were accepted off the waitlist.

When applicants for undergraduate admission to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2022 are put on a waiting list, 85 percent of the total number of students admitted off the waitlist were able to enroll. If these students are accepted, the admissions staff will get in touch with them.

In general, waitlists are very well-liked by prospective students, and there are typically many more applicants than there are openings.

Information on the Transfer Waitlist

To manage their enrollments, all UC campuses—with the exception of Merced—use a waitlist system for transfer applicants. Processes for waiting lists may vary by campus. No UC campus that employs a transfer waitlist gives waitlisted applicants the opportunity to challenge the waitlist decision.

Here are some details about the campuses:

Invitation to Waitlist

• For all campuses, excluding Santa Cruz, the deadline to accept a waitlist invitation is May 15. By April 20th, students must choose to join the Santa Cruz waitlist.
• In order to opt-in at Davis, you must submit a statement and your most recent transcripts. At Berkeley, some majors may allow spring admission.
• Berkeley and UCLA both offer the option of updating coursework and writing a statement.

In general, campuses expect to announce their waitlist admissions decisions between June 1 and July 31. Campuses are free to announce admissions decisions before June 1 and to hold off on announcing the waitlist until after July 31.

How Do You Increase Your Chances of Getting into UCLA?

1.Take the most difficult classes that are offered while maintaining a GPA of at least 3.9.

The class of 2025 at UCLA had an average high school GPA of 3.9, and 47.3% had a 4.0. Simply put, UCLA considers good grades “very important” when making admissions decisions, making them a requirement to enroll. Additionally, you’ll need to achieve the school’s Academic Index threshold as well as the academic prerequisites by earning good grades.

Extremely selective colleges and universities that receive a lot of applications often use the Academic Index. An applicant’s entire academic history is combined into one number by the Academic Index, which makes it simple for admissions officers to weed out applicants who don’t meet the academic requirements of a college.

In order to impress a prestigious school like UCLA, you frequently need to have earned your grades in the most difficult coursework possible. Competitive applicants to top ten schools like UCLA frequently have upwards of 12 AP credits under their belts.

2. Create interesting essays

Essays are the best way for you to differentiate yourself from other applicants once you have met UCLA’s academic requirements.

UCLA views essays as “very important” to the application process and gives them a lot of weight. Four of the eight questions are required to be answered by applicants to UCLA.

Writing essays is a great way to highlight the character traits and personal qualities that UCLA values in applicants. Keep in mind to write in your own voice and to emphasize why UCLA is a great fit for you.

3. Find your “spike” by developing one or two Tier 1-2 extracurriculars.

Extracurricular activities offer a great opportunity for applicants to stand out, and UCLA views them as an “important” factor in admissions decisions. Many students who plan to attend college believe that colleges want applicants who are well-rounded, but the best colleges really want students who have one or two well-developed interests and have shown achievement or leadership in those areas.

A “spike,” or particularly strong interest, is another excellent way to catch the eye of admissions officers.

While elite universities like UCLA seek applicants with one or two focused interests, not all extracurricular activities are created equal. Understanding how a college values a specific activity is simple with the “four tiers of extracurriculars”

• The activities in Tier 1 are the most significant; they are uncommon and exhibit excellence, accomplishment, and leadership. Winning a prestigious national award or enrolling in a prestigious merit-based summer program are examples of Tier 1 activities.
• Activities in Tier 2 show excellence, accomplishment, and leadership, but are more prevalent and have less of an impact than those in Tier 1. Examples include being recognized at the state level in music or athletics, holding the office of student body president, or receiving a regional honor.
• Extracurriculars from Tier 3 are frequently seen on applications but lack the distinction of those from the higher tiers. A varsity sport captainship or holding a leadership position in a well-known club are examples of Tier 3 activities.
• Admissions officers are most likely to see activities from Tier 4 because they carry the least weight. Activities in Tier 4 range from general volunteer work to involvement in a club or sport.

Keep in mind that UCLA views talent/ability as an “important” component of the admissions process in addition to extracurricular activities.

Extracurricular activities are a great way to highlight your strengths and how they set you apart from other applicants, whether you’re leading a team to a state championship or taking home a prestigious prize like the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

4. Aim for an ACT of 34 and a SAT of 1510.

For the class of 2025, the middle 50% SAT at UCLA was 1290-1510, and the middle 50% composite ACT score was 29-34.

Any score in the middle of f 50% is considered to be good, but your chances of admission improve the closer you get to the higher end of the range.

Despite the fact that UCLA rates standardized tests as “very important” on the Common Data Set, they will continue to use a test-blind strategy through the fall of 2024. Standardized test results will be accepted by UCLA as part of your application and used to determine your eligibility for the California statewide admissions guarantee, as an alternative way to meet eligibility requirements, or for course placement once you’ve enrolled.

Students who are drawn to UCLA are those who aspire to greatness, who believe they have a unique contribution to offer the world, and who are eager to both cultivate and express their talents. If you’re one of them, start with booking a consultation with AdmissionSight to discuss your admission preparations. If you’re worried about how to apply to UCLA regular decision admission, do not fret! AdmissionSight has both experience and resources to help you ace your application to UCLA.