University of California, Berkeley: insights

University of California, Berkeley

What UC Berkeley's own numbers say, from its Common Data Set 2025-26.

Women and menUC Berkeley

Women are admitted at 13%, men at 9.6%.

Women13%

Men9.6%

Source: UC Berkeley's Common Data Set 2025-26

WaitlistUC Berkeley

0 of 6,479 students who stayed on the list got in.

Admitted off the list0.0%

Not admitted100%

Source: UC Berkeley's Common Data Set 2025-26

The admit rate has moved down steadily, from 14.8% in 2018-19 to 11.5% in 2025-26. If the trend holds, expect about 10.0% in 2026-27.
6,479 students stayed on the waitlist and 0 were admitted from it (0.0%).
In-state applicants are admitted at about 1.9 times the out-of-state rate.
Men were admitted at a lower rate: 13.3% for women against 9.6% for men.
Applications rose 42% from 2018-19 to 2025-26 (89,621 to 126,864), faster than 60% of colleges here.

From students' own posts on Reddit and admissions forums: self-reported, unverified, never used in your odds.

All 18 admits who named a round applied Regular Decision, since UC has one main application window.
Most admits who shared grades had very high GPAs, 3.9 to 4.0 or higher, matching the reported middle range of recent admits.
Many admits did research with real output, such as first-author or co-authored papers, funded ML studies or lab internships.
Many admits founded and ran ventures or nonprofits, from AI startups to tutoring groups and women-in-STEM clubs.
CS, engineering and data-related majors are the most common intended majors among posted admits.
Students report waitlists almost never move: zero waitlisted students were admitted in 2025, and one year about 26 were taken.
Students report Computer Science is the toughest major (about 2% of freshman applicants admitted), and the overall rate was about 11% for Fall 2025.
Students report UC is test-blind and holistic, with the personal insight questions mattering a lot, and results feel hard to predict even for top-ranked students.
Students report a small early batch in early February for scholars programs and some special programs, such as Regents or Chancellor's, MET and Haas.
Students report Berkeley gives no financial aid to international applicants and costs far more for out-of-state students.