Families often look for a UC GPA number that explains whether a student is competitive. The source-school tables are more useful than that, but also more limited. GPA should be read next to applicant volume, campus mix, admit rate, and enrollment behavior.
Short answer
UC GPA by high school shows the average GPA of applicants, admits, and enrollees from a source school when UC reports enough data. It is best used to understand the strength of a school's applicant pool and admitted group, not to estimate an individual student's odds.
What UC GPA means in this context
UC publishes GPA in its admissions data as an academic profile measure for first-year applicants and admitted students. UC says the GPA is based on A-G subjects from 10th and 11th grade coursework and includes up to eight honors courses.
The important point is that this is an average for a reported group. A high school can have a high applicant GPA and a lower admit rate if many students apply to selective campuses. Another school can have a lower applicant GPA and a higher universitywide admit rate if its campus mix is different.
High-volume schools with the highest admitted GPA
This table filters to high schools with at least 100 universitywide UC applicants in Fall 2025. That threshold avoids highlighting tiny groups where one or two students can swing the average.
| School | Admit GPA | Applicant GPA | Admit rate | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harker SchoolSan Jose, Santa Clara - CA Private | 4.17 | 4.13 | 78.7% | 188 |
| Gretchen Whitney High SchoolCerritos, Los Angeles | 4.17 | 4.14 | 88.6% | 158 |
| Notre Dame High SchoolSan Jose, Santa Clara - CA Private | 4.17 | 4.13 | 81.3% | 128 |
| Sage Hill SchoolNewport Coast, Orange - CA Private | 4.15 | 4.13 | 87.9% | 132 |
| Mira Costa High SchoolManhattan Beach, Los Angeles | 4.12 | 4.04 | 70.8% | 367 |
| West Ranch High SchoolValencia, Los Angeles | 4.11 | 4.06 | 75.4% | 207 |
| La Jolla HighLa Jolla, San Diego | 4.11 | 3.97 | 66.1% | 171 |
| Carondelet High SchoolConcord, Contra Costa - CA Private | 4.11 | 4.03 | 69.2% | 117 |
| Cathedral Catholic H SSan Diego, San Diego - CA Private | 4.10 | 4.00 | 59.9% | 182 |
| Salinas High SchoolSalinas, Monterey | 4.10 | 4.04 | 79.5% | 117 |
| La Costa Canyon High SchoolCarlsbad, San Diego | 4.10 | 4.03 | 66.7% | 108 |
| Tesoro High SchoolRancho San Margarit, Orange | 4.09 | 4.04 | 65.3% | 213 |
Where admitted GPA most exceeds applicant GPA
The gap between admitted GPA and applicant GPA can show how selective the admitted group was relative to the full applicant group from that school. It still does not reveal major, rigor, activities, essays, or individual context.
| School | GPA gap | Admit GPA | Applicant GPA | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Springs High SchoolSan Bernardino, San Bernardino | 0.36 | 3.77 | 3.41 | 133 |
| Preuss School UcsdLa Jolla, San Diego | 0.29 | 3.80 | 3.51 | 115 |
| Santa Ana High SchoolSanta Ana, Orange | 0.24 | 3.76 | 3.52 | 128 |
| Rialto High SchoolRialto, San Bernardino | 0.20 | 3.79 | 3.59 | 113 |
| Herbert Hoover High SchoolSan Diego, San Diego | 0.19 | 3.88 | 3.69 | 125 |
| Hawthorne High SchoolHawthorne, Los Angeles | 0.19 | 3.68 | 3.49 | 112 |
| Valhalla High SchoolEl Cajon, San Diego | 0.19 | 4.03 | 3.84 | 101 |
| Lakewood High SchoolLakewood, Los Angeles | 0.18 | 3.95 | 3.77 | 121 |
| Ramon C Cortines Sch Of VisualLos Angeles, Los Angeles | 0.18 | 3.89 | 3.71 | 110 |
| Venice High SchoolLos Angeles, Los Angeles | 0.17 | 4.00 | 3.83 | 223 |
| Orange Vista High SchoolPerris, Riverside | 0.17 | 3.79 | 3.62 | 186 |
| El Rancho High SchoolPico Rivera, Los Angeles | 0.17 | 3.81 | 3.64 | 134 |
Why GPA alone can mislead
- UC GPA averages do not show intended major or college.
- Averages do not show course rigor beyond the GPA calculation itself.
- Campus mix matters because UCLA, Berkeley, Irvine, Davis, Merced, and other UC campuses have different applicant pools.
- Small-count values may be blank or unstable from year to year.
- Enrollee GPA can differ from admitted GPA because admitted students choose different destinations.
Search GPA context for a specific school
Start with a high school, then compare GPA with applicants, admits, enrollment, campus mix, and the multi-year trend.
FAQ
Where can I find UC GPA by high school?
collegeacceptance.info shows UC applicant, admit, and enrollee GPA by high school when UC reports enough data for that school and year. Search a school page, then review the GPA context alongside applicants, admits, enrollees, campus mix, and admit rate.
What does UC GPA mean in the source-school tables?
UC describes freshman GPA in these admissions data pages as high school GPA in A-G subjects, computed from 10th and 11th grade coursework and including up to eight honors courses.
Is admitted GPA the GPA needed to get into UC?
No. Admitted GPA is an average for a group of admitted students from a school. It is historical context, not a cutoff or individual prediction.
Why is GPA missing for some high schools?
UC omits or suppresses some small-count values. A blank GPA field usually means the source-school table did not report enough data for that school, year, campus, or group.
Should I compare GPA across high schools?
Use caution. GPA averages are useful context, but they do not show course rigor, intended major, essays, activities, first-generation context, income, or the individual application details UC reviews.
Methodology and source notes
This article uses local calculations from collegeacceptance.info source-school admissions and GPA records. Tables are filtered to California public and private high schools with at least 100 universitywide UC applicants in Fall 2025.
Source-school GPA fields are matched to school admissions records by source-school identity. Duplicate leading-zero and non-leading-zero GPA files are deduplicated by school name, city, county, and school type.
Sources: University of California Admissions by Source School and UC first-year admit data notes