University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
University of California-Los Angeles is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, a large city, with 33,475 undergraduates. Social sciences and biology are its signature fields: together they make up 40% of its bachelor's degrees, two and a half times their share across the colleges we cover. 93% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $82,511 ten years after starting.
Part of the University of California: one application covers Berkeley · Davis · Irvine · Los Angeles · Merced · Riverside · San Diego · Santa Barbara · Santa Cruz.
University of California-Los Angeles admitted 13,659 of 145,086 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (9.4%).
- Acceptance rate
- 9.4%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $15,203
- $49,403 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $12,548
- Average, students with aid
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of California-Los Angeles is known for
Measured by the 9,679 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences
24.8%
of its bachelor's degrees: about three times the 8.0% share across the colleges we cover.
Biology
14.9%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 7.4% share across the colleges we cover.
- Economics8308.6% of degrees$95,440+15% vs $82,686 nationally
- Psychology6857.1% of degrees$61,050+20% vs $50,706 nationally
- Sociology6696.9% of degrees$64,692+23% vs $52,657 nationally
- Political Science and Government6536.7% of degrees$74,202+17% vs $63,293 nationally
- Research and Experimental Psychology4124.3% of degrees$61,134+10% vs $55,695 nationally
- Applied Mathematics3693.8% of degrees$103,887+13% vs $91,532 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Large city
Los Angeles, CA
Undergraduates
33,475
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
20 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
8%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at University of California-Los Angeles
Three things University of California-Los Angeles published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
University of California-Los Angeles reports that test scores are not considered at all.
That is the school’s own answer on the form it fills in every year. A score you send is not read as part of the decision here.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
University of California-Los Angeles files the essay under “very important”.
That is the top of the scale the form offers, and the only other factors this school puts there are Course rigor and GPA.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
1,514 admitted from a waitlist of 20,563.
13,612 students accepted a place on that list, and 1,514 were admitted from it, 11.1% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
9.4%
13,659 admitted of 145,086 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.94
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at University of California-Los Angeles?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
What University of California-Los Angeles costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $15,203 ($49,403 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $38,614. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $12,548 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$15,203
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$49,403
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$38,614
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$12,548
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $38,614 full cost.
- Under $30k$5,579Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$6,682Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$9,811Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$14,142Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$29,682Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
93%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
97%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$82,511
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$14,000
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What University of California-Los Angeles says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Test scores
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendations
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rank
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 20,563
- Accepted the place
- 13,612
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 1,514
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
8 essay prompts on the application: you choose 4 to write.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Regular DecisionNovember 30, 2026
Verified July 11, 2026 · Source
Guides for University of California-Los Angeles applicants
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in California
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Claremont McKenna College9.4%
- University of Southern California11.2%
- University of California-Berkeley11.4%
- Pomona College6.8%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
