What are my odds of:
Getting into College?
General odds of getting into college
In many parts of the world, chances of getting into at least one college is nearly 100%, given the applicant applies to multiple schools, considers community college as an option, and preferably has standardized test scores. Prospective students are usually looking for different traits in a school: affordability, prestige, location, and various other personal preferences.
In the calculator at the bottom of this page you'll be able to get an estimate of your odds of getting into at least one college that fits your criteria. For this calculator, specific schools admission chances can't be estimated - those will have their own individual calculators soon!
pictured above: UCLA
General odds of getting into California colleges
In California there are hundreds of colleges with both broad and specialized offerings. The two main public university systems in the state are the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems, comprising of 10* UCs and 23 CSUs.
According to data from collegetuitioncompare.com, the average admission rate for California colleges (not including community colleges) is 42%. Generally, California Community Colleges (CCCs) accept all students who properly apply.
* There are only 9 UC campuses open to undergrad admission, UC San Francisco only offers medical/science Master's and PhD programs
Above is a sheet with current admission rates of colleges in the CSU & UC systems and some private universities. Below is a map detailing the locations of different UC and CSU campuses.
How to improve your odds of freshman admission?
Consider community college before going to a 4-year university.
Apply to multiple schools
When filling out college applications to elite schools it is important to take your time and be meticulous. If you don't want to stress about competition you can aim to attend a high admission rate school.
Take (or retake) standardized tests (SAT/ACT) aiming for a decent/high score.
Strategically choose a major that has a higher admission rate.
For UC and other school that require personal insight questions try to not ramble, be succinct - try to showcase your personality, strengths, weaknesses, hardships, and motivations.
How to improve your odds of transfer admission?
The most common university transferring in California is from community colleges to CSU and UC schools. There is a TON of information about this process online. CCCs offer basically guaranteed admittance to at least one school that fits the students wants/needs.
4-year university to 4-year university is possible, it's not very well documented online but it is quite doable to transfer from one 4-year university to another during Sophomore or Junior year - in fact, I transferred from the University of Nevada-Reno to UC Santa Barbara as a Geography/GIS major in 2019.
Transferring between schools varies in difficulty:
UC to UC, CSU to CSU and CCC to CCC all have relatively simple pathways of transferring
UC to CSU and CSU to UC are both possible but may take some extra work getting coursework to transfer appropriately
CCC to CSU/UC is the simplest pathway of transferring
For out-of-state / private school transferring , the main task that will need be completed is figuring out how coursework and credits transfer over, contact admissions offices/search for course catalogs to get a decent estimate of where you fit into the other system. OOS transfer is possible if you're determined!
Retake standardized tests (SAT/ACT) aiming for a higher score.
Strategically choose a major that has a higher admission rate.
For UC and other school that require personal insight questions try to not ramble, be succinct - try to showcase your personality, strengths, weaknesses, hardships, and motivations.
College Admission Odds Calculator
Want a quick estimate of how likely you are to be accepted into a university that fits your wishlist? This calculator has you covered :))
Input your info below for an approximation of your odds. Keep in mind, these estimates are not guarantees, just general likelihood.
*HEADS UP: This calculator is still a work in progress, at the moment interpret amounts more than 100 for "percent of getting into college" as 99 and interpret amounts higher than 100 on "preferred college" as 95. This will be updated soon! :)