Where your UC GPA fits at each campus
The middle 50% UC GPA of students each campus admitted for fall 2026 (10th and 11th grade, up to 8 honors points). A GPA in the range is common, not a promise: UC reads every application as a whole.
These ranges include every admitted student, residents and nonresidents, on the resident honors rules.
- UCLA4.20–4.3010.8% admitted
- UC Berkeley4.16–4.2810.5% admitted
- UC San Diego4.12–4.2827.2% admitted
- UC Irvine4.06–4.2730.3% admitted
- UC Santa Barbara4.05–4.2744% admitted
- UC Davis4.00–4.2545.8% admitted
- UC Santa Cruz3.79–4.2082.1% admitted
- UC Riverside3.66–4.1788.2% admitted
- UC Merced3.57–4.1694.7% admitted
Source: UC first-year admit data, fall 2026, preliminary as of June 2026.
How your UC GPA is calculated
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On this page · 5 sections
What the UC GPA Calculator answers
Your school’s GPA isn’t the one UC reads. UC recalculates it from your 10th and 11th grade A–G classes only, drops pluses and minuses, and caps the extra points from honors courses. This calculator gives you that number, checks it against UC’s minimum and compares it with each campus’s admitted students.
Use it in junior year as you build a college list. It doesn’t predict admission: UC reviews every application as a whole.
How to use the UC GPA Calculator
Pick how you’re applying
In the setup line above the rows, Applying as starts at California resident. Switch it to Nonresident if you live outside California.
Add your A–G classes
For each class pick a Grade, Semesters (2 for a year course with one grade) and Level. Use + Add class, then + Add year for 11th grade.
Read your three UC GPAs
The big number is your weighted, capped UC GPA, with Unweighted GPA, Fully weighted and Honors points beside it. Where your UC GPA fits compares it with all nine campuses.
How the UC GPA is calculated, with an example
UC GPA = (grade points + honors points, up to 8) ÷ semester grades
Grade points
A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0 for every semester grade. In high school classes a B+ and a B− both count as 3.
Honors points
+1 per semester of a UC-approved honors, AP, IB or college course with an A, B or C. At most 4 from 10th grade and 8 in all.
Take Maya, a California junior with five year-long A–G classes a year: 20 semester grades. Three of her 10th grade classes and three of her 11th grade classes are honors-level, and she earned an A, B or C in each.
| Year | Classes (2 semesters each) | Grade points | Honors points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th grade | English 10 A−, AP Computer Science Principles B+, AP World History A, Honors Chemistry B, Spanish 3 A | 36 | 6 (only 4 count) |
| 11th grade | AP English Language A, Honors Pre-Calculus B, AP US History B+, Physics A, Spanish 4 A− | 36 | 6 |
| Total | 20 semester grades | 72 | 8 of 12 count |
Her unweighted UC GPA is 72 ÷ 20 = 3.60. Only 4 of her 6 honors points from 10th grade count, and 4 + 6 = 10 is over the 8-point cap, so the capped GPA adds 8: (72 + 8) ÷ 20 = 4.00. With all 12 points it would be 84 ÷ 20 = 4.20, her fully weighted UC GPA. Try Maya’s example in the calculator shows the same numbers.
Heads-up Stacking honors classes in 10th grade lifts your school’s GPA more than your UC GPA: past 4 points, the extras show only in the fully weighted number.
How to read your UC GPA result
The big number is your weighted, capped UC GPA, the one UC checks against its minimum: 3.0 for California residents and 3.4 for nonresidents. UC cuts the GPA at two decimals and never rounds up, so a 2.996 is a 2.99.
Unweighted and Fully weighted are the other two versions, and a campus may use either one to select students. Honors points shows how many count, such as “8 of 12 count” for Maya. Still in 11th grade? Plan the grades you need shows the unweighted average your remaining semester grades need to reach a goal.
Where your UC GPA fits places your capped GPA on each campus’s range for students it admitted for fall 2026. Maya’s 4.00 sits in the middle 50% at Davis, Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced and below it at the other five.
| Campus | Middle 50% UC GPA | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 4.20–4.30 | 10.8% |
| UC Berkeley | 4.16–4.28 | 10.5% |
| UC San Diego | 4.12–4.28 | 27.2% |
| UC Irvine | 4.06–4.27 | 30.3% |
| UC Santa Barbara | 4.05–4.27 | 44.0% |
| UC Davis | 4.00–4.25 | 45.8% |
| UC Santa Cruz | 3.79–4.20 | 82.1% |
| UC Riverside | 3.66–4.17 | 88.2% |
| UC Merced | 3.57–4.16 | 94.7% |
Below a campus’s range? It’s a reach, not a no. Tap a campus in the calculator for its admissions page.
What changes your UC GPA
Where you live. For the 3.4 nonresident minimum, only AP and IB courses earn honors points; school honors courses don’t. Switch Applying as to Nonresident and her school honors classes lose their points, but her four AP classes still fill the cap: capped stays 4.00 while fully weighted drops from 4.20 to 4.00.
Which years count. Summer classes after 9th and 10th grade count as 10th grade, and the summer after 11th grade counts as 11th. Grades from 9th and 12th grade never enter it, though 9th grade classes still meet A–G requirements.
D and F grades. A D or F earns no honors point, even in an AP class. If you repeat the course by the summer after 11th grade, the new grade replaces the old one instead of averaging with it; enter the repeat with the same course name and the calculator drops the first grade.
Honors and college courses. A school honors class earns the point only if your school’s A–G list shows it as UC-certified honors, so the calculator leaves that choice to you. A UC-transferable college class counts as one grade and one honors point, keeps its plus or minus, and takes 1 semester and the College level.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good UC GPA?
It depends on the campus. For fall 2026, the middle 50% of admitted students ran from 3.57–4.16 at UC Merced to 4.20–4.30 at UCLA, on the capped, weighted UC GPA. The minimum to be considered is 3.0 for California residents and 3.4 for nonresidents.
Does UC use weighted or unweighted GPA?
The minimum uses a weighted GPA with honors points capped at 8, no more than 4 of them from 10th grade. Campuses may also look at your unweighted GPA or a fully weighted one with every honors point.
Do 9th grade grades count for UC?
No. The UC GPA uses A–G grades from the summer after 9th grade through the summer after 11th grade. Classes from 9th grade can still meet the A–G course requirements.
How many honors points can you get for the UC GPA?
At most 8 in the capped GPA, and no more than 4 from 10th grade. Each semester of a UC-approved honors, AP, IB or transferable college course with an A, B or C earns one point.
Is the UC GPA rounded?
No. UC cuts the GPA at two decimal places without rounding up, so 3.579 counts as 3.57. That matters when you’re close to the 3.0 or 3.4 minimum.
Sources
- GPA requirementUniversity of California Admissions
- First-year admit data, fall 2026University of California Admissions
- First-Year Admission 101 (2025 Counselor Conference)University of California Admissions