Acceptance Rates, Scores, Requirements, and Stats for California Colleges

Applying To California Colleges

The average acceptance rate is 42.56% at California colleges and universities where total 1,715,962 students have applied and 730,361 have been accepted. The average undergraduate application fees is $75.03 and the graduate application fees is $68.51. Next table presents the general admission information for applying to California colleges.

General Admission Information of California Colleges
Open Admission Policy	450 out of 737 schools
Average Undergraduate Application Fees	$ 75.03
Average Graduate Application Fees	$ 68.51
Average Acceptance Rate	42.56%
Average Yield (Enrollment Rate)	19.62%
Average Test Scores	1,177 SAT / 73 ACT

Acceptance Rates and Headcounts

For academic year 2020-2021, total 1,715,962 students (750,397 men and 964,879 women) applied to and 730,361 (293,539 men and 436,821 women) students were accepted to admit California Colleges. Among them, 60,887 men and 82,381 women were enrolled into California schools. The average acceptance rate is 42.56% and admission yield (enrollment rate) is 19.62%. The table below shows the California colleges admission statistics including admission and enrolment rates.

Admission Statistics for California Colleges (2020-2021)
	Total	Men	Women
Applicants	1,715,962	750,397	964,879
Admitted	730,361	293,539	436,821
Enrolled	143,268	60,887	82,381
Acceptance Rate	42.56%	39.12%	45.27%
Enrollment Ratio	19.62%	20.74%	18.86%

[Chart]California Colleges Average Acceptance Rate and Yield

Average SAT and ACT Scores

For California college, 113,167 students (79.92% of enrolled) have submitted their SAT scores and 44,708 students (32.52%) have submitted their ACT scores for seeking degrees. For score submitters, SAT 75^th percentile score is 1,279 and 25^th percentile score is 1,075. For ACT scores, 75^th percentile score is 82 and 25^th percentile score is 63. Next table shows the detail SAT and ACT scores distribution of enrolled students at California colleges and universities.

SAT and ACT Score Distribution at California Colleges
	25^th Percentile	75^th Percentile
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing	536.67	634.41
SAT Math	538.74	644.60
ACT Composite	21.67	27.40
ACT Math	20.60	26.75
ACT English	21.12	28.21

[Chart] SAT/ACT Distribution - California Colleges

[Chart] Average SAT Scores - California Colleges

[Chart] Average ACT Scores - California Colleges

Calendar System and Accepted Credits

In California State, 260 schools use semester calendar systems and 65 schools are based on quarter system. Next table lists the number of schools with their calendar systems.

Semester	260 out of 737 schools
Quarter	65 out of 737 schools
Trimester	24 out of 737 schools
Four-one-four plan	9 out of 737 schools
Other academic year	29 out of 737 schools
Differs by program	111 out of 737 schools
Continuous	197 out of 737 schools
Un-Known/Other	42 out of 737 schools

Next table describes credits that California colleges and universities are accepting for their students

Dual Credits	236 out of 737 schools
Credits for Life Experiences	168 out of 737 schools
Advanced placement (AP) Credits	284 out of 737 schools
Credit for Military Training	260 out of 737 schools

Application Requirements

103 California schools require High School GPA and 125 schools require High School Record (or Transcript). The test scores such as SAT and ACT are required by 65 California colleges. Next table summarizes the application requirements for applying to California colleges.

Admission Checklist for California Colleges
	Required	Recommended
High School GPA	103	8
High School Rank	2	32
High School Record (or Transcript)	125	1
Completion of College Preparatory Program	56	32
Recommendations	55	12
Formal Demonstration of Competencies	26	6
Admission Test Scores	65	17
TOEFL	75	10
Other Test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	15	2

Know about California Colleges

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