UCLA: Acceptance Rate, Cost and Admission

University of California guide · By CalChannel Editorial Team · Updated September 29, 2026

UCLA admitted 9.4% of first-year applicants for Fall 2025, or 13,659 of 145,086, according to its Common Data Set. Enrolled first-years averaged a 3.94 high school GPA, and SAT and ACT scores are not used. For California residents, UCLA’s estimated annual budget is $45,500 living in a residence hall; nonresidents pay $84,770.

UCLA, the University of California, Los Angeles, is a public research university in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and one of ten campuses in the UC system. It’s also one of the most applied-to universities in the country, which is why its admission numbers look the way they do.

Here are the official numbers: who gets in, what it costs, how big it is and how it compares with other UC campuses.

What Is UCLA?

UCLA is the University of California, Los Angeles, a public research university founded in 1919. It’s part of the University of California system, alongside campuses such as UC Berkeley and UC San Diego. People sometimes call it “University of Los Angeles,” but the official name is University of California, Los Angeles.

The University of California, Los Angeles runs on the quarter system, with three main terms a year instead of two semesters. Undergraduates enroll in the College of Letters and Science or in one of several professional schools, including the Samueli School of Engineering, the School of the Arts and Architecture, the School of Theater, Film and Television, the Herb Alpert School of Music, the School of Nursing and the Luskin School of Public Affairs.

What Is the UCLA Acceptance Rate?

The University of California, Los Angeles admitted 9.4% of first-year applicants for Fall 2025: 145,086 students applied, 13,659 were admitted and 6,553 enrolled, according to its Common Data Set 2025-26. That puts UCLA among the most selective public universities in the country.

The waitlist is worth a note: UCLA offered waitlist spots to more than 20,000 students and admitted about 11% of those who accepted a spot. It’s a real chance, not a guarantee. UCLA is also one of the largest destinations for California community college transfer students, with more than 28,000 transfer applicants for Fall 2025.

How to Get Into UCLA

The University of California, Los Angeles uses the UC application and a holistic review. The strongest predictors are your grades in A-G courses and the rigor of your coursework: enrolled first-years for Fall 2025 averaged a 3.94 high school GPA. Your answers to the UC Personal Insight Questions give context that grades can’t.

So what’s the practical takeaway? With a 9% admit rate, UCLA is a reach for almost everyone. Apply to several UC campuses on the same application, and include CSU and private options that fit your record.

How Much Does UCLA Cost?

The University of California, Los Angeles estimates a nine-month budget of $45,500 for California residents living in a residence hall, including $16,430 in university tuition and fees. Nonresidents pay an additional $39,270 in Nonresident Supplemental Tuition, for a total of $84,770.

Under UC’s Tuition Stability Plan, tuition for new students is set when they enter and stays flat for up to six years. For California families, UC says most families earning up to $100,000 receive enough grant and scholarship aid to cover UC tuition under its Blue and Gold commitment, and Cal Grants, Pell Grants and the Middle Class Scholarship can reduce costs further.

“The biggest line in UCLA’s budget isn’t tuition, it’s food and housing, at close to $20,000 a year. For California families, the real question is usually where a student will live, not what UCLA charges in fees. Compare UCLA’s residence hall budget with living at home and commuting before deciding which option you can afford.”

CalChannel Editorial Team

For a full breakdown of what UC campuses charge, see our guide to UC tuition.

How Big Is UCLA?

UCLA had 47,432 students in Fall 2025, including 33,534 undergraduates and 13,898 graduate students, according to its Common Data Set. It’s one of the largest universities in California, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 20:1.

Students also finish at very high rates. About 97% of first-year students returned for their second year, 86% of the 2019 entering class graduated in four years, and 93% graduated within six years. Nearly all first-years live in university housing.

Where Is UCLA Located?

UCLA is in Westwood, a neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles, between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica and just south of Bel Air. Westwood Village, the shopping and dining district next to campus, is a short walk from the residence halls, and the beach in Santa Monica is roughly five miles away.

The campus is known for Royce Hall and Powell Library, the brick-and-arch buildings that anchor its main quad, along with the hillside residence halls that students call “the Hill.” Los Angeles also has many other colleges nearby, including private options such as USC and Loyola Marymount and several Cal State campuses.

How Does UCLA Compare to Other UC Campuses?

UCLA and UC Berkeley are usually seen as the two flagships of the UC system. Both are highly selective, research-intensive and nationally ranked. UCLA draws more applicants than any other UC campus, runs on quarters rather than semesters, and offers a Los Angeles location with ties to entertainment, health care and the arts.

Every UC campus charges the same systemwide tuition, so the cost difference between UCLA and another UC comes mostly from housing and living costs. Our University of California guide compares all nine undergraduate campuses side by side.

What Is UCLA Known For?

UCLA is known for strength across a wide range of fields, including psychology, biology, economics, engineering, film and theater, nursing and public health, and for the medical center and research enterprise of the David Geffen School of Medicine. It’s also consistently ranked among the top public universities in the United States.

Athletics are a major part of campus life. The Bruins compete in NCAA Division I and joined the Big Ten Conference in 2024. UCLA has won more than 120 NCAA team championships, one of the highest totals of any university, and its football team plays home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line on UCLA

UCLA is the University of California’s Los Angeles campus: a public research university in Westwood with 33,534 undergraduates, a 9.4% acceptance rate for Fall 2025 and a 93% six-year graduation rate. Admission depends on grades, course rigor and the UC application essays, not test scores.

For California residents, plan for about $45,500 a year in a residence hall before aid, and check whether the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, Cal Grant or Middle Class Scholarship applies to you. Apply by November 30, and compare UCLA with other UC campuses on the same application.

CalChannel Editorial Team California college guides

The CalChannel editorial team researches and writes guides to California colleges, admissions and financial aid. We build our college profiles and aid guides from colleges’ own published data, federal IPEDS data and the California Student Aid Commission. Read our editorial policy.