University of California-Davis (UC Davis) Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

Among all UC campuses, UC Davis is unusual in officially listing only two factors as "very important" in its admissions review: rigor of secondary school record and GPA. This is not a signal that other factors don't matter - it is a signal that the academic foundation is non-negotiable. Admitted students carry a weighted GPA above 4.0 and strong performance in A-G coursework. Davis is fully test-blind, so your transcript is the primary lens through which your academic capability is assessed. STEM applicants in particular should prioritize strong performance in science and mathematics sequences, as approximately 55% of UC Davis undergraduates pursue STEM degrees and those programs draw the most competitive applicant pools.

UC Davis encourages applicants to declare an alternate major, and this guidance is more meaningful here than at most UC campuses. Davis explicitly recommends choosing an alternate major in a different college from your first-choice major to maximize your pathway to admission. The new Business Administration major (~175 seats) is particularly competitive with an acceptance rate near 20% - applicants targeting business should list Managerial Economics as their alternate, per Davis admissions officers' own guidance. Understanding the admit rates and enrollment caps by program before you apply is a high-leverage strategic move that many applicants overlook entirely.

UC Davis's PIQ evaluation rewards applicants who demonstrate tangible community engagement, work experience, and leadership - particularly in contexts relevant to agriculture, environment, health sciences, or regional civic life, all areas where Davis has historic institutional strength. The UC system explicitly includes volunteer experience and work experience as "important" factors at Davis - more explicitly than at many of its peer campuses. Applicants who have held meaningful jobs, contributed to agricultural or environmental projects, conducted scientific research, or engaged in sustained community service will find that Davis's review process genuinely values these experiences when they are articulated with specificity and documented with hours and measurable outcomes in the PIQ responses.

UC Davis's yield rate - the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll - is only 16%, one of the lowest in the UC system and dramatically lower than UC Berkeley (45%) or UCLA (52%). This means Davis is accustomed to admitting students who ultimately choose other schools, and it also means that Davis frequently extends admission to a larger proportion of its pool. For applicants with strong but not elite profiles, Davis often represents a more accessible entry point into the UC system's top research universities. Demonstrating genuine interest in Davis-specific programs, faculty, or research institutes (particularly in its renowned agricultural sciences, environmental science, and veterinary programs) in your PIQs can help distinguish you from the majority of applicants who treat Davis as a default safety school.