Hard to chance you as an OOS but you’ve got an impressive application and I agree with you that LMU and UCSC are probably going to come through for you - good luck with your favorites and all the rest - make sure your PIQ’s are really excellent and you’ll improve your chances with the other UC’s on your list.
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Our DD also wanted to attend college in CA. She is a Santa Clara University graduate. Have you considered that college? The Jesuit mission of community service and giving back to the communities might align with your interests.
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I second this as well as University of San Diego. I think these might be a better fit than Pepperdine when looking at the rest of your list. As a full pay out of state, I think you’ll find yourself in California, best of luck to you.
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Here is some 2025 admit rate data (most recent) with associated UC GPA admit ranges. Some of the data is not major specific but by discipline. I have included all the UC’s and a few extra CSU’s.
| Campus | Political Science/International Relations or Studies |
|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 15% Unweighted 3.89-4.00 UC Capped weighted GPA 4.14-4.29. Weighted uncapped 4.31-4.65 |
| UC Davis | 38% UC Capped weighted GPA 4.00-4.25 |
| UC Irvine | 28% PS/ IR 40% UC Capped weighted GPA 4.03-4.26 Unweighted 3.83-4.00 |
| UCLA | 9% College of Letters and Sciences/Social Science major/ UC Capped weighted GPA 4.18-4.30. Weighted uncapped 4.38-4.73 Unweighted 3.95-4.00 |
| UC Merced | 90% UC Capped weighted GPA 3.40-4.00 |
| UC Riverside | 90% UC Capped weighted GPA 3.70-4.12 |
| UC San Diego | 25% for Social Science majors/ UC Capped weighted GPA 4.08-4.28 Unweighted 3.84-4.00 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 33% For College of Letters and Sciences/ Social Sciences UC Capped weighted GPA 4.12-4.29 Average Unweighted 3.91 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 70% UC Capped weighted GPA 3.81-4.20 |
| San Diego State | 53% Avg CSU Campus GPA 4.08 |
| Cal Poly SLO | 14% College of Liberal Arts SLO GPA 3.96-4.25 |
| Cal State Long Beach | 60% Avg CSU Major GPA 4.02 |
| Economics/Business Economics | Campus | Overall UC GPA admit range (25th-75th percentile) |
|---|---|---|
| 15% For the College of Letters and Sciences. | UC Berkeley | Campus Weighted uncapped 4.32-4.68 Capped weighted 4.15-4.29. Weighted UW 3.90-4.00 |
| Admission by College: 37% for Economics | UC Davis | Campus Capped weighted 4.00-4.27. Unweighted 3.79-4.00 |
| 33.4% Economics/Business Economics 26.4% | UC Irvine | Campus Capped weighted 4.04-4.28. Unweighted 3.83-4.00 |
| Admission by College/Social Science Discipline 9.3% | UCLA | Social science discipline Weighted uncapped 4.41-4.76 Capped weighted 4.20-4.30. Unweighted 3.95-4.00 |
| 81% | UC Merced | Campus Capped weighted 3.54-4.15 |
| Economics 99%/Business Economics 96% | UC Riverside | Campus Capped weighted 3.65-4.16 |
| Estimated 23% Economics/13% Business Economics | UC San Diego | Campus Capped weighted 4.11-4.28 Unweighted 3.84-4.00 |
| Admission by College: 37% for Economics (pre) or Economics and Accounting | UC Santa Barbara | Campus Weighted Uncapped average 4.29 Capped weighted 4.09 Average Campus Unweighted 3.91 |
| 67% Economics | UC Santa Cruz | Campus Capped weighted 3.83-4.20 |
| 56% Economics | San Diego state | Campus CSU Average 4.08 |
| 17% Economics | Cal Poly SLO | School of Business SLO GPA 4.05-4.25 |
| Campus | Sociology | GPA admit ranges (25-75th) |
|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 9% College of L&S Social Science Discipline | UC Capped weighted GPA 4.15-4.29 Campus Unweighted 3.90-4.00 Campus Weighted Uncapped 4.31-4.65 |
| UC Davis | 47% College of L&S | UC Capped weighted GPA 4.00-4.24 Campus Unweighted 3.79-4.00 |
| UC Irvine | Sociology: 40% | UC Capped weighted GPA 4.00-4.25 Campus Unweighted 3.83-4.00 |
| UCLA | 9% College of L&S Social Science Discipline | UC Capped weighted GPA 4.17-4.30 Campus Unweighted 3.95-4.00 Discipline Weighted Uncapped 4.41-4.76 |
| UC Merced | 93% | UC Capped weighted GPA 3.18-3.79 |
| UC Riverside | 90% | UC Capped weighted GPA 3.33-3.81 |
| UC San Diego | Social Science Discipline 26% | UC Capped weighted GPA 4.08-4.28. Campus Unweighed 3.84-4.00 |
| UC Santa Barbara | College of L&S Social Science Discipline 38% | UC Capped weighted GPA 4.07-4.28. Campus Unweighted average 3.91 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 67% | UC Capped weighted GPA 3.68-4.03 |
| Cal Poly SLO | 19% | College of Liberal Arts SLO GPA 3.96-4.25 |
| Cal State Long Beach | Sociology: 59% | Average CSU GPA 3.90 |
| San Diego State | Sociology: 69% | Average Campus GPA 4.08 |
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It looks to me like you have good credentials for the schools you listed. Test optional might hurt the ones that accept test scores a little, so if you can work on that and get a good test score that could help with non-UCs.
The UCs seem to really want people who will contribute to campus life and you have leadership, work and involvement. I would focus on that and also on your work when you apply. A lot of kids don’t work and I think they like seeing kids who can get good grades, be involved in school and community and also work.
When you write about your extracurriculars, I would focus on concrete numbers to show your impact, like for “Director of Outreach” write something like: “As Director of Outreach for a student-run, statewide nonprofit that advocates for student voices in education policy decisions, I was able to increase membership by (X number of) students, raise $x dollars and _____.”
My son is also from out of state and applied to the following in California (and got accepted to all of them):
UCLA, Berkeley, USC, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Pepperdine.
He got a Dean’s Scholarship at USC, honors at Irvine and Regent Scholarship at Pepperdine. No scholarships from UCs. He is going to UCLA in a couple of months.
For an idea of what they look for, he had a 4.0 unweighted GPA, 7 APs (ended up with all 5s), a few dual-enrollments, 1520 SAT and really good extracurriculars—all-state runner, 3-year captain and league champ, founder of a homeless support club, student rep on the school board, ADL peer trainer, Orientation leader, UNICEF board member, chapter head of Letters for Rose, coordinator of the intercultural awareness club, homecoming king (which he did put on his UC application–some said to and some said not to. I thought it showed that people liked him). Some other things but nothing extra related to academics really.
The good thing about the UCs is that the system’s application allows you to share a lot more information about yourself. Rather than 10 spots to explain, they give you 20. You have more space to explain your Extracurriculars and you can write 4 impactful essays out of the 8 topics. My kid spent a ton of time on his essays I think his UC essays were really strong. His USC essay was my favorite though.
The essays can be a big difference maker.
Good luck!
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Then if possible avoid taking on any debt at all for your bachelor’s degree. The various Universities of California are expensive for out of state students.
This makes sense to me also. Do make sure that you also apply to at least one and preferably two “true safeties”.
I usually recommend that students apply to at least one in-state public school that is also a safety. This does not mean that you will go there, it will just provide one option when you are considering your options in March and April. One issue is that sometimes in-state schools are slightly easier to get accepted to. Also if your parents freak out when they see what schools will actually cost, or if you decide at the last moment to save some money in the college fund for graduate school, then an in-state public school will often provide an affordable safety. However, I will admit that even we did not always follow this rule.
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Just as a heads up: Santa Cruz is a very good school; the issue that they have is the housing. They’re in a strong “Nimby” community= Not In My Back Yard.
The UC community in Santa Cruz are aware that there is a significant housing shortage and for decades they’ve tried to add additional student housing.
The problem is the residents there are organized and don’t want the community changed, at all, even if it means affordable housing for its students. Any new housing is immediately opposed and protested.
If students can’t find housing for their sophomore, junior or senior years, they transfer out. They don’t want to transfer but if they can’t find anything within their budgets, then they don’t have a choice.
You will need a lot of cash and advanced planning to find anything in that area.
So before you commit to Santa Cruz, you need to make sure that you’re going to have accessible housing and you should visit and go to the housing office and ask.
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You have a great list. I have not read through all responses but a few things: California schools take the oos kids to off set prices. Except full pay at many on your list. Some will give some help but not much. That’s true for most out of state public’s. Your stats give you good chances. But the schools you listed are very different. California is a big state and very different in many areas. Southern and Northern are often joked about as could be two different states. Visit the schools to the extent you can. And definitely visit before final decisions. Finally, Born and raised Californian, we don’t call it Cali 
. Good luck!
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Same. Born and raised Californian.
In our SoCal community, residents don’t like the term “Cali”. Despite what you may believe, we’re proud of the historical Spanish and American significance of California. So it’s “California”.
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Wish every student would clarify their transcript like this. Allows CC chancers to have extra info about the #1 criteria used by admissions.
In your case, I think you do quite well with your list. While USC is giving me pause, you will have three before you get there.
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How does all A grades (= 4 each) average to 3.9?
Assuming some are A- and school grades that below a 4? In that regard worth noting that CA publics - I think - count those as a 4 as well.
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I have a few A- and As among mostly A+, the signs count for different GPA points at my school!
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On the tours and info sessions we went to, they leaned weirdly hard into a “there are more bikes than people here” talking point. As nice as bikes are, I could never wrap my head around why the additional unmanned bikes were supposed to be such a selling point, lol. That said, we really liked the school.
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In June UCSC announced that they are now guaranteeing on-campus housing for 2 years, if that makes a difference to the OP.
S25 has several friends there who have been able to secure housing after their freshman year (announcement applies to incoming class this fall) without much trouble - small sample but FWIW.
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Starting this Fall UCSC guarantees 2 years of housing to all admitted students. It hopefully gives freshmen enough time to find friend groups and look for housing together. CAcc transfers will be covered their whole time. It was as you said a HUGE problem so it’ll make UCSC more attractive (and livable) again!
@evg: seconding visiting because these colleges and their environment are very different from one another.
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I just want to say assume you will get ZERO scholarships other than any auto merit given at the school. You will not get outside scholarships significant enough to make up for a huge gap in ability to pay all 4 years. You are looking at potentially 240-320k in college costs.
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