UC Berkeley Acceptance Rate: By Year, Major, and Residency

Quick answer:

UC Berkeley admitted 10.5% of first-year applicants for fall 2026 (13,967 of 133,154). California residents were admitted at 12.4%, out-of-state U.S. applicants at 10.0%, and international applicants at 5.4%, according to the University of California’s preliminary fall 2026 application counts and admit count data.

If UC Berkeley is on your student’s list, this page gives you the official numbers for the last several admissions cycles, broken out by residency and by major, and explains what those numbers can and cannot tell you about your student’s chances.

At Collegewise, we know that the UC application can be confusing. That’s why each year, our expert counselors (including former UC admissions officers) create the University of California (UC) Guide: a detailed, step-by-step resource that covers the whole process, with insider tips and updates from the last cycle.

UC Berkeley Acceptance Rate by Year

Berkeley’s first-year acceptance rate fell from 11.4% in fall 2025 to 10.5% in fall 2026, the lowest of any UC campus that year. Applications also reached a record 133,154, while the number of admits went down.

UC Berkeley Acceptance Rate Out-of-State

For fall 2026, Berkeley admitted 10.0% of out-of-state U.S. applicants (3,155 of 31,707) and 5.4% of international applicants (1,367 of 25,220). Taken together, all nonresidents were admitted at 7.9% (4,522 of 56,927).

Berkeley is unusual here. At most UC campuses, out-of-state applicants are admitted at a higher rate than Californians. In fall 2026, Berkeley and UC Merced were the only campuses where out-of-state U.S. applicants had a lower admit rate than California residents.

The UCs, like most colleges, evaluate students in the context of their own school and community. This is referred to as holistic admission. A student from a small public high school in Sedona, Arizona, is not measured against a student from a private school in Austin, Texas.

So while Berkeley’s out-of-state rate can look intimidating, it should not stop a strong student from applying.

UC Berkeley In-State Acceptance Rate

California residents had (and continue to have) the best odds at Berkeley: 12.4% for fall 2026 (9,445 admits from 76,201 applicants), down from 13.6% in fall 2025 and 14.9% in fall 2025. California residents made up about 68% of first-year admits at Berkeley.

What the Acceptance Rate Does Not Tell You

A single campus-wide number hides most of what matters for one student. Before you use it to judge your teen’s chances, keep these points in mind.

• Residency changes the odds tremendously. California residents typically have better odds than out-of-state and international students. Still, there is an increase in competition, with the majority of applications submitted to Berkeley coming from in-state students.
• Major also changes the odds. In fall 2025, UC’s admission-by-discipline data show Berkeley admit rates from 2% to 25% depending on the field a student applied in. Applying to Engineering is a different decision from applying to Letters & Science (see table below for more information).

UC Berkeley Acceptance Rates by Major

Berkeley does not publish an acceptance rate for each individual major. The closest official data is the University of California Center’s freshman admission by discipline dashboard, which groups related majors together.

The table below shows the most recent figures published by the University for the fall 2025 cycle.

UC Berkeley Engineering Acceptance Rate

UC’s discipline data put Berkeley’s engineering admit rate at 7.1% for fall 2025 (1,788 admits from 25,025 applicants). This is well below the 11.4% campus-wide admit rate for the same year. Berkeley’s College of Engineering admits students by major, so a student who applies there and is not admitted is not considered for another Berkeley college.

What if I selected an alternate major on my UC application? Berkeley only guarantees review for the primary choice of major. More information on this can be found under the “Campus & Majors” section of our UC guide.

UC Berkeley Haas Acceptance Rate

Berkeley admitted 323 of 7,102 first-year applicants to Business (Haas) for fall 2025, about 4.5%, according to the same UC discipline data. The UCs have not yet released complete admissions data for the 2026 cycle.

Most first-years enter Haas through the four-year Spieker program, which enrolled 205 students in fall 2026 with an average GPA of 3.92, according to Haas’s class profile.

UC Berkeley’s Acceptance Rates Compared to Other UC Campuses (2026 Data)

Why UC Berkeley? Understanding the Campus

The UCs share one application, but they are all very different campuses. Here’s what draws students to Berkeley.

Academics

UC Berkeley offers 184 academic departments and programs, from Nursing and English to Civil Engineering and Communications. Its student-faculty ratio is 19.4 to 1, and 71% of classes have fewer than 30 students, according to Berkeley’s Common Data Set 2025-26. Smaller classes give students more time with professors and with each other, which matters when the jump from high school to a 500-person lecture is a real adjustment.

Location and Campus Life

Location is a big reason students choose Berkeley. The campus sits across the bay from San Francisco, close to the water and to neighboring cities. The campus’s proximity to Silicon Valley provides direct access to many tech giants, innovative companies, and career-launching startups.

As counselors, we help students sort their non-negotiables from their “nice-to-haves” when choosing a college. But before deciding on Berkeley, ask:

• Do I like the city setting, or would I feel more comfortable in a suburban location?
• What type of nightlife am I looking for in college?
• Do I prefer a hot, cold, or mild climate?
• What do I like to do in my free time, and will I be able to do that in college?

Cost

As a public university supported by the State of California, Berkeley costs California residents far less than comparable private universities. For 2026-27, the cost of attending Berkeley is between $39,428 and $54,674 per academic year.

How to Make a Strong UC Berkeley Application

1. Take care of your academics and track your progress on the UC A-G requirements.
2. Read the Personal Insight Questions (PIQs) early. The UCs rarely change them, and it gives you more time to perfect your responses.
3. Answer the question asked. Many students circle the topic without getting to the point and waste the limited space available.
4. Watch the length. Each PIQ response has a 350-word maximum.
5. Treat the minimum GPA requirement as a minimum. The middle 50% of Berkeley’s fall 2026 admits had an unweighted GPA of 3.90-4.00 and a weighted GPA of 4.36-4.72, according to Berkeley’s student profile.
6. Know the deadline. The UC application window runs in the fall; see our UC application deadline guide for this year’s dates.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

With former UC admissions officers and UC experts on staff and after 27 years in the business, we’ve seen our fair share of application mistakes. Steer clear of these three mistakes:

Reinventing the wheel for every single UC application. Students can apply to all 9 UC campuses (should they choose). Although we don’t recommend this approach, we suggest that students repurpose elements of their application where they can. Depending on how many colleges a student applies to, they can write upwards of a dozen essays and worry about multiple deadlines. Recycling PIQ responses can help take the weight off a student’s shoulders during what is often described as a stressful time.

Not familiarizing yourself with every UC campus. It’s no secret that UC Berkeley is an incredible college choice. We’ve highlighted how it stands out above other institutions. But the last thing students want is to get accepted, attend college, and realize they made a terrible mistake because they didn’t know what they were getting into. Spend time researching colleges; it will likely save you time and money in the long run.

Not vetting your “About You” personal information. This is likely one of the most important things to consider when applying to the UCs. The “About You” section will ask for personal information about you and your family. This section is also how the UCs determine scholarship eligibility. Not running the information by a parent or guardian can cost a student an opportunity to receive monetary support.

Final Thoughts

The application process to UC Berkeley can be quite challenging for students, especially when considering how many other qualified candidates are in the same applicant pool. It’s important to weigh all your options and identify the best way for you and your family to maximize your chances of acceptance.

Collegewise has proudly guided over 3,500 students to the UC campuses, including Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine, and other highly competitive UCs. Our experts, including former UC admissions officers, work closely with students to provide comprehensive college counseling support that tackles every component of the application process, including:

• Deadline management and strategic positioning
• PIQ brainstorming, editing, and revision
• Activity enhancement and coaching
• Academic A-G guidance

If your family might find working with one of our Collegewise experts helpful, a free consultation is the best way to get started. This consultation will help us determine how to best help you reach your academic goals. Schedule a free consultation today.