Acceptance Rate and Application Statistics
The following table compares the admission related statistics including number of applicants, admitted, and enrolled between best schools in California. The average acceptance rate of best schools in California is 11.01% and the average admission yield (enrollment rate) is 44.37%.
California Institute of Technology has the tighest (lowest) acceptance rate of 3.92% and Stanford University has the highest yield (enrollment rate) of 80.23% among best schools in California. The numbers in parenthesis() in below table represent the number and rate by gender (men/women). The statistics is based on the latest data from IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education for academic year 2021-2022.
| Rank | Name | Applicants | Admitted | Enrolled | Acceptance Rate | Enrollment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University | 55,471 (28,332/27,139) | 2,190 (1,068/1,122) | 1,757 (861/896) | 4% (4%/4%) | 80% (81%/3%) |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology | 13,026 (9,059/3,967) | 510 (260/250) | 270 (149/121) | 4% (3%/6%) | 53% (57%/3%) |
| 3 | Pomona College | 11,620 (4,678/6,942) | 771 (336/435) | 451 (196/255) | 7% (7%/6%) | 58% (58%/4%) |
| 4 | Claremont McKenna College | 5,632 (2,578/3,054) | 633 (283/350) | 358 (177/181) | 11% (11%/11%) | 57% (63%/6%) |
| 5 | University of California-Los Angeles | 139,489 (64,199/75,290) | 15,028 (6,207/8,821) | 6,584 (2,432/4,152) | 11% (10%/12%) | 44% (39%/6%) |
| 6 | University of California-Berkeley | 112,843 (53,561/59,282) | 16,295 (6,325/9,970) | 6,931 (2,956/3,975) | 14% (12%/17%) | 43% (47%/7%) |
| 7 | University of Southern California | 71,031 (31,418/39,613) | 8,884 (4,293/4,591) | 3,668 (1,737/1,931) | 13% (14%/12%) | 41% (40%/5%) |
| 8 | Harvey Mudd College | 4,737 (3,142/1,595) | 473 (216/257) | 225 (115/110) | 10% (7%/16%) | 48% (53%/7%) |
| 9 | Soka University of America | 519 (167/352) | 272 (80/192) | 133 (50/83) | 52% (48%/55%) | 49% (63%/24%) |
| 10 | Scripps College | 2,952 (0/2,952) | 872 (0/872) | 328 (0/328) | 30% (0%/30%) | 38% (0%/11%) |
| Average | 41,732 (19,713/19,801) | 4,593 (1,940/2,632) | 2,264 (964/1,300) | 11.01% (9.8%/13.3%) | 44.37% (44.7%/44.5%) | |
SAT Scores Comparison
The average SAT score of 25th percentile is 1,405 and 75th percentile is 1,527 for best schools in California. By subject, the average score of the SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing is 715 and the average SAT Math score is 751.
has the highest SAT scores of -1 and has the lowest SAT scores of 1,000,000 among best schools in California. The following table compares SAT Scores between best schools in California for academic year 2021-2022.
| Rank | Name | Submit%* (Submit#**) |
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing | Math | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25th 1 | 75th 2 | 25th 1 | 75th 2 | |||
| 1 | Stanford University | 15% (271) | 720 | 770 | 750 | 800 |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology | Test Scores are required to submit for applying to the school, but no data is available/reported. | ||||
| 3 | Pomona College | 37% (166) | 730 | 770 | 740 | 800 |
| 4 | Claremont McKenna College | 28% (102) | 700 | 750 | 720 | 780 |
| 5 | University of California-Los Angeles | Test Scores Neither required nor recommended for applying to the school. | ||||
| 6 | University of California-Berkeley | Test Scores Neither required nor recommended for applying to the school. | ||||
| 7 | University of Southern California | 31% (1,151) | 690 | 750 | 720 | 790 |
| 8 | Harvey Mudd College | 40% (89) | 710 | 760 | 770 | 800 |
| 9 | Soka University of America | 44% (58) | 560 | 645 | 645 | 755 |
| 10 | Scripps College | 31% (101) | 700 | 760 | 680 | 760 |
| Average | 32.29% | 687.14 | 743.57 | 717.86 | 783.57 | |
ACT Scores Comparison
The average ACT score of 25th percentile is 94 and 75th percentile is 102 for best schools in California. By subject, the average ACT Composite score is 33, the average ACT English score is 34, and the average ACT Math score is 32.
has the highest ACT scores of -1 and has the lowest ACT scores of 1,000,000 among best schools in California. The following table compares ACT Scores between best schools in California for academic year 2021-2022.
| Rank | Name | Submit%* (Submit#**) |
Composite | English | Math | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25th 1 | 75th 2 | 25th 1 | 75th 2 | 25th 1 | 75th 2 | |||
| 1 | Stanford University | 11% (186) | 34 | 35 | 35 | 36 | 31 | 33 |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology | Test Scores are required to submit for applying to the school, but no data is available/reported. | ||||||
| 3 | Pomona College | 29% (129) | 33 | 35 | 34 | 36 | 31 | 35 |
| 4 | Claremont McKenna College | 25% (90) | 32 | 35 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 35 |
| 5 | University of California-Los Angeles | Test Scores Neither required nor recommended for applying to the school. | ||||||
| 6 | University of California-Berkeley | Test Scores Neither required nor recommended for applying to the school. | ||||||
| 7 | University of Southern California | 19% (698) | 32 | 35 | 34 | 35 | 30 | 35 |
| 8 | Harvey Mudd College | 20% (45) | 34 | 36 | 34 | 36 | 33 | 35 |
| 9 | Soka University of America | 8% (10) | 24 | 28 | 24 | 32 | 25 | 28 |
| 10 | Scripps College | 23% (74) | 31 | 34 | 33 | 36 | 27 | 33 |
| Average | 19.29% | 31.43 | 34.00 | 32.00 | 35.00 | 30.14 | 33.43 | |
*Number of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.
**Percent of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.
125th Percentile: 25% of students scored at or below.
275th Percentile: 25% of students scored above.
Application Requirements
The following table list and compare the requirements when applying best schools in California based on academic year 2021-2022 data.
| Rank | Name | HS GPA | HS Rank | HS Record | Prep. Program | Rec. | Compe. | SAT/ACT | TOEFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University | ✓ | ✗ | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✗ | △ | ✓ |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✔ | ✔ |
| 3 | Pomona College | △ | △ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | △ | ✔ |
| 4 | Claremont McKenna College | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | △ | ✗ |
| 5 | University of California-Los Angeles | ✔ | ✗ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| 6 | University of California-Berkeley | ✔ | ✗ | ✔ | ✗ | △ | ✗ | ✗ | ✔ |
| 7 | University of Southern California | ✔ | ✗ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | △ | ✔ |
| 8 | Harvey Mudd College | △ | △ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | △ | ✔ |
| 9 | Soka University of America | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | △ | △ | ✔ |
| 10 | Scripps College | △ | △ | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✗ | △ | ✔ |
✔: Required △: Considered but not Required ✔: Recommended ✗: Neither Required nor Recommended
- HS GPA: High School or Secondary School GPA
- HS Rank: High School or Secondary School Rank
- HS Record: High School or Secondary School Record
- Prep. Program: Completion of College Preparatory Program
- Rec.: Recommendations
- Comp.: Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g., portfolios, certificates of mastery, assessment instruments)
The ranking data is provided by CollegeEvaluator. We compare the schools that ranked top 10 in Californiaand in top 500 ranking for all colleges and universities in United States.
*Number of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.
**Percent of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.
125th Percentile: 25% of students scored at or below.
275th Percentile: 25% of students scored above.