University of California, Irvine
What UC Irvine's own numbers say, from its Common Data Set 2025-26.
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Who says yesUC Irvine
82% of students admitted to UC Irvine go elsewhere.
Only 18% of admits enroll, so UC Irvine admits far more students than it has seats.
Enroll18%
Go elsewhere82%
Source: UC Irvine's Common Data Set 2025-26
3 more things the data says PRO
- 18% of admitted students chose to enroll, lower than 92% of similar colleges.
- Men were admitted at a lower rate: 30.6% for women against 27.1% for men.
- Applications rose 31% from 2018-19 to 2025-26 (95,065 to 124,231), faster than 50% of colleges here.
What students say PRO
From students' own posts on Reddit and admissions forums: self-reported, unverified, never used in your odds.
- Many admits posted top scores for a UC, with SAT scores of about 1400 to 1590 and unweighted GPAs mostly 3.8 to 4.0; the 12 who named a round all used Regular Decision.
- Many had research or published work, often with a professor, like co-authored papers, conference talks, climate research or lab internships.
- Many founded a business, nonprofit or club, like a reselling company, an employment nonprofit, a hackathon, a women-in-STEM club or a startup.
- Computer science admits typically showed robotics captaincy, apps with 1,000+ users, hackathon leadership, open-source work or software internships.
- Several first-generation admits carried heavy duties, like 55 hours a week of childcare, construction work from childhood, a family caregiving role or a clothing brand started at 15.
- Students report the waitlist is large and moves a lot, with 5,814 admitted off it for 2025 freshmen, offers going into late July, and no letters of continued interest accepted.
- Students report UCI is unpredictable: 4.0 engineering and business applicants were waitlisted or rejected while accepted elsewhere in the UC system.
- Students report appeals almost never work, about 26 of 1,426 approved in 2024, and UCI will not discuss decisions by phone.
- Students report major choice is a factor, and a full first-choice major may lead to an alternate major or Undeclared offer.
- Out-of-state and international admits report limited aid: one got a $15,000 scholarship and still faced about $80k a year cost.
Every number, year by year: University of California, Irvine on Open College Data. Something wrong? Suggest a correction.