How to Get Into UCI: Requirements and Strategies
/Learn the UC Irvine acceptance rate, average GPA, and application requirements to improve your UCI admissions odds
UC Irvine is ranked #36 by us news and world report for best colleges
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Part 1: Introduction
If your high-achieving child wants to experience the best of southern California while receiving a world-class education, they should consider the University of California, Irvine. Consistently ranked among the top 10 public universities by US News & World Report, UCI is the perfect place for ambitious students who dream of making their mark on the world.
One of the nine undergraduate campuses included in the University of California system, UC Irvine was founded just over 50 years ago but has quickly climbed the UC rankings to secure the #3 spot. Through consistent research and innovation, UCI has earned its reputation as a national leader in sustainability and environmental protection. UC Irvine is proud to be the most energy-efficient university campus in California.
In the classroom, UCI students sit with peers from across the country and around the world.
With a student/teacher ratio of approximately 18:1 and nearly 70 percent of UCI’s classes containing less than thirty students, each student is able to receive individualized attention from their esteemed professors—including winners of Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, and the National Medal of Science.
On any given day, UCI students might sit in a Chicano/Latino Studies class taught by a winner of the National Humanities Medal or a Chemical Biology course taught by one of the researchers discovering treatments for COVID-19. After class, students might relax or study on-campus in Aldrich Park before attending a meeting of the Anteaters for Recycling and Conservation student group. To gain career experience, students can venture off-campus for internships or to shadow doctors at the nationally-ranked UCI Medical Center. And before calling it a night, students might head to Disneyland and catch one of their legendary fireworks shows.
And after UC Irvine? Graduates join an alumni network of over 200,000 members who are spread throughout California and beyond. This highly respected network includes Fortune 500 CEOs, best-selling novelists, congressmen, senators, US ambassadors, presidential aides, and pioneers in technology. Wherever new UCI graduates turn, they’ll find a fellow Anteater eager to help them climb the career ladder.
Thanks to its strong reputation, over 100,000 high-achieving students apply to UC Irvine each year—competing for less than 10,000 seats. With the competition this fierce, your child will need to be strategic in order to boost their UCI admissions odds. In this guide, we’ll explore the UCI acceptance rate and application requirements to help your child’s UCI dreams come true.
(Suggested reading: How to Succeed as a UC Irvine Premed)
UC Irvine ranking
Forbes: 61
Niche: 57
U.S. News & World Report: 33 (tie)
Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education: 34
Where is UCI located?
Nestled in the center of Orange County, UCI boasts one of the most ideal locations you could imagine. The Pacific Ocean is a mere 5 miles west of campus, offering students many pristine beaches to frequent during their downtime. If UCI students don’t feel like relaxing in the sun, they can drive 20 minutes north to reach the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks. And if appreciating nature is the mood of the day, Southern California offers a wealth of hiking trails, state parks, and a nearby mountain range to explore.
Several big industries have made Orange County their base of operations, giving UCI students ample career development opportunities. For example, Orange County is a leader in the green or cleantech industry, particularly in areas of energy production, energy efficiency, and environmental protection. You’ll also find large industry hubs in health care, business, international trade, high tech, and tourism.
UC Irvine setting
UCI sits on a 1,475-acre suburban campus in the thriving city of Irvine. The campus is built around Aldrich Park, which serves as an easy meeting place for students to rest and enjoy the California sunshine. Student housing spreads along the outskirts of campus, hosting about three-quarters of UCI underclassmen. The upperclassmen commonly move to off-campus apartments as they seek to get more involved in the surrounding communities.
Within minutes of venturing out from the UCI campus, you can find just about anything—from diverse fast-food options to expensive fine dining, from mom-and-pop donut shops to gourmet rolled ice cream. The city of Irvine caters to its large student population, offering many activities directed towards young adults and professionals. UCI students regularly enjoy shopping at the Irvine Spectrum, grabbing fresh produce from local farmers’ markets, and even picking pumpkins or strawberries during their respective seasons at a local 30-acre farm.
UCI student population
Undergraduate students: 29,503
Graduate students: 7,847
UCI acceptance rate
Here are the admissions statistics for the class of 2027:
Applications: 121,095
Acceptances: 31,181
Acceptance rate: 25.7%
UC Irvine’s transfer acceptance rate is 43.5%.
UC Irvine tuition and scholarships
UCI’s 2024–2025 cost of attendance (i.e., tuition, room, board, and fees) is $42,044.00 for California residents and $76,244 for non-residents
72 percent of UCI students receive grants or scholarships, and 57 percent pay no tuition. The average need-based financial aid award is $23,806 and the average merit-based award is $8,166.
Who gets into UC Irvine?
UCI students demonstrate strong academics; typically, 99 percent of students accepted to UCI ranked in the top ten percent of their graduating high school class. Here are academic and demographic statistics for the class of 2027.
UCI median weighted GPA: 4.2
25th percentile: 4.07
75th percentile: 4.28
UCI median unweighted GPA: 3.95
25th percentile: 3.86
75th percentile: 4.00
UC Irvine has not yet released student demographics for the class of 2027, but we can still take a look at the data from the class of 2027.
California residents: 81.0%
International students: 11.9%
The largest demographic of students are Asian Americans (42.2%), followed by Chicano and Latino students (24.3%), white students (14.1%), and Black students (3.6%).
UC Irvine no longer accepts standardized test scores. However, here are the most recent average ACT and SAT scores:
UC Irvine average ACT score
25th percentile: 27
75th percentile: 34
UC Irvine average SAT score
25th percentile: 1280
75th percentile: 1510
The most popular major categories at UCI are social sciences; business, management, and marketing; engineering; psychology; computer science; and biological and biomedical sciences.
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Part 2: UCI admissions requirements
UC Irvine seeks to enroll students who possess strong academic potential and personal character. Applicants demonstrate these qualities primarily through their high school coursework, test results, and extracurricular activities.
UC Irvine’s “A-G” course requirements
Each member of the UC system uses the same “A-G” course requirements as its standards for admission. The goal is to ensure that students entering a UC school will possess the necessary knowledge and thinking skills in order to be a successful UC student.
All applicants must complete these “A-G” requirements by the time they graduate high school. Students have to earn a C or higher in these classes in order to fulfill each requirement. While the “A-G” requirements are similar to most college prep tracks, you’ll want to check your child’s high school plan against this list. Missing just one or two required classes may disqualify them for admission to UCI and all other UC campuses.
(A) History/social science: Two years required
One year of world history, cultures, or geography
One year of U.S. history OR half a year of U.S. history and half a year of U.S. government
(B) English: Four years required
(C) Mathematics: Three years required, but four years recommended
One year of geometry and one year of advanced algebra required
(D) Laboratory science: Two years required, but three years recommended
Requires two of the following: biology, chemistry, and physics
(E) Language other than English: Two years required, but three years recommended
(F) Visual and performing arts: One year required
(G) College preparatory electives: One year required
Can be additional A-F courses in excess of requirement
Other approved courses: psychology, speech or debate, computer science, economics, AVID, etc.
This list reveals the minimum class requirements students must fulfill in order to be considered for admission to UCI, but applicants should aim higher if they want to have strong admissions odds. UCI looks for students who pursue coursework beyond the minimums, specifically through honors, dual-enrollment, and AP or IB classes.
If your child is planning to apply to a rigorous major program, they should research specific course requirements beyond the basic “A-G” classes. For example, UCI’s engineering program requires students to complete four years of math—at least up to pre-calculus—and strongly suggests students take physics and chemistry.
In general, UCI prefers students who display outstanding achievement in one or more specific academic areas. One way to do this is to take several advanced courses in a specific area, such as the sciences. Students should also pursue special academic projects and extracurricular activities in the same or a closely related subject area to distinguish themselves as specialists.
UC Irvine testing requirements
UCI no longer uses students’ SAT or ACT scores as part of the application review process. But before you tell your child they should skip submitting their scores or taking the SAT or ACT altogether, it’s worth knowing that test scores can still be used to determine class placements or fulfill some graduation requirements.
UCI extracurricular requirements
Most UCI applicants have strong GPAs and histories of rigorous coursework—it’s practically a baseline requirement to be seriously considered for admission. So the best way for students to stand out and truly impress the UCI admissions committee is through their extracurricular activities.
UC Irvine views applicants’ demonstrated talents, commitment to volunteering, and work experiences as “very important” factors in admissions decisions. Specifically, UCI wants students to demonstrate their character and potential for leadership through their extracurriculars—these qualities indicate how positively applicants will be able to contribute to the campus community.
The best strategy for approaching extracurriculars is to focus intensely on one area, rather than spreading time and energy over many different activities in order to appear “well-rounded.” UCI will be more impressed with a student who’s managed to become an expert in a single field of their interest than with an applicant who’s been moderately involved in a wide variety of pursuits.
To offer an illustration, if your child is passionate about music, they could be a member of a local community orchestra. They could also volunteer their time performing mini-concerts at nursing homes and provide music lessons to younger students. They might gather musicians together and organize a fundraiser concert to benefit a specific charity—demonstrating leadership ability. And to dip their toes into research, they could assist a study investigating the effectiveness of music therapy to treat depression.
If your child were to submit this list of activities on their application, the UCI admissions office would be mightily impressed. To boost their admissions odds, help your child determine their greatest area of interest and find unique, exciting ways to become a specialist in that field.
(Suggested reading: How to Write an Impressive UC Activities List)
UCI application requirements
All UC campuses use a single application—allowing students to potentially apply to every UC school at once. Students must submit their UC application between October 1st and December 2nd. Here is a list of the UC Irvine application requirements:
A completed University of California application
High school transcripts are needed to input grades into the online application but aren’t submitted.
Optional: AP or IB exam scores
If your child is applying to the Claire Trevor School of the Arts as a music, dance, or musical theatre major, they must submit a video audition.
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Part 3: 2024–2025 UC Irvine personal insight questions
Rather than writing a single college essay, UC applicants must answer four of eight possible personal insight questions (PIQs). Because students cannot submit letters of recommendation or interview as part of the UCI admissions process, their PIQs serve as the best opportunity to express their potential and uniqueness to the admissions committee.
Students should use their PIQs—each one answered in less than 350 words—to share what’s most important about them. What are their most significant hopes, ambitions, inspirations, and life experiences? How can they uniquely contribute to the UCI academic and social community? This should be the type of material used to write personal insight questions.
The PIQs also offer students a chance to explain their context or any challenging experiences that affected their academic performance. The UC system uses a comprehensive review process that evaluates students’ achievements in light of the opportunities they’ve had. So students with fewer opportunities should use their PIQs to advocate for their college potential.
Writing college essays can be stressful, so we developed an entire guide to help your child learn how to write great UC essays. We break down each prompt, explain the most important components, and share sample PIQ responses. This guide is a must-read if your child is applying to UCI this year.
Looking for UC Personal Insight Question examples? Subscribe below to gain instant access to 50 full-length example essays covering each prompt, plus an in-depth analysis of each essay to learn what UC admissions committees are looking for.
Gain instant access to 50 exclusive full-length UC personal insight question essay examples covering all eight questions, plus in-depth analyses for each empowering you to write exceptional essays.
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Part 4: Frequently asked questions
Is UC Irvine hard to get into?
UC Irvine is competitive to get into especially depending on the program your child is applying to. Certain programs, such as engineering, are highly regarded and receive more applications than others.
That said, the university’s overall acceptance rate, as mentioned above, is more than 25%. This means UCI is not quite as selective as other UC schools, for instance, UCLA or UC Berkeley.
Does UC Irvine admit by major?
UC Irvine doesn’t typically admit by major, though their admissions committee may take your child’s intended major into consideration when making admissions decisions. For example, your child will have the option to list a first-choice and second-choice major on their application if they are already certain of what they want to study. However, this doesn’t mean they will be admitted to their first-choice program. Due to space constraints, UCI may offer your child their second choice or accept them as an undeclared undergraduate.
Additionally, some majors—such as computer science and engineering—are highly competitive. Your child should focus on simply getting accepted to the school and looking into declaring their major during the first year. This is also a common path for UCI undergraduates.
What major is UC Irvine best known for?
UC Irvine is well-known for its computer science major at their Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences which will have your child taught by distinguished faculty as they navigate UCI’s challenging curriculum. UC Irvine is also known for its Samueli School of Engineering whose faculty have won top-tier awards from associations like the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and even faculty member one who holds a Daniel Guggenheim Medal.
If your child is fascinated by both subjects, there is an option to combine the two with a major leading to a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering.
Final thoughts
As a top-ranked university with an unmatched location, UC Irvine is understandably a difficult university to get accepted to. But by excelling in rigorous coursework, going in-depth with extracurriculars, and writing strong PIQs, your child can put their best foot forward and increase their UCI admissions odds.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on college admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into top programs like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT using his exclusive approach.