Does anyone know the general acceptance rates of the selective/specialized majors at UCSD?
UCSD is not very transparent about their major admit rates. This data is the latest available from the UCOP website Fall 2023 and the admit data and GPA ranges listed are by discipline: Freshman admission by discipline | University of California
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Hi Aafat! Yes i did same… searched for 3.5 gpa outcomes on these sites and saw lots of success stories - all very reassuring but kept my expectations tempered and now am thrilled with the results she is getting! She is a great writer and I think she really made the most of her essays. Her gpa was brought down by math grades, but they did have an upward trajectory which probably mitigated that a bit. She did not apply to Merced and Riverside. She actually wants to go to NYC - and I think she is leaning Parsons (which gave her a merit scholarship), Pratt, or FIT, but she is also very interested in Emerson also (still waiting on financial aid letter there). I made her pick some cal state and UCs to apply to since those are in state for us and the private and oos may not be affordable. So for UCs she only picked SC, Cal, LA, and SD - I figured these were all reaches due to her gpa. The UCSD waitlist is very exciting, and the UCSC acceptance even more so!
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Do you recall which two campuses use capped weighted GPA? I’ve seen conflicting information on this (and couldn’t find it on the Ask Ms. Sun site).
All UC campuses consider all 3 UC GPA’s but UCLA and UC Berkeley focus on the Unweighted and Weighted Uncapped based on their Freshman profile information listed on their websites.
UCOP data focuses on the Capped weighted UC GPA for all the campuses.
I have to go back and check..
If you read ucla website for freshman applicant profile, they give the UW and Weighted GPA. The data for all UCs provide Capped weighted GPA.
There was a post here on the forum earlier, where the poster’s Spouse had served as a reader for UCLA and during the training she felt the emphasis was more on the unweighted and weighted rather than the capped.
I’m sure all three GPAs are looked at, but the capped maybe used more to ascertain the cut off And create a level playing field for all applicants.
love it. Gives me hope.
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I got accepted for AI major OOS. Is the acceptance rate for AI major similar to CS or higher because it is so new?
UCSD Results Survey 2025:
This form is for tracking decision results, so it’s all centralized for future students. If you could fill this out once you get your decision, that would be very appreciated!
You can see all other people’s individual responses in the links above, along with overall form statistics (such as what percent got accepted).
Since it is a new major there is no admission data yet.
S25 Accepted .. Data Science
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA (CA): 4.53
Weighted and Capped GPA (CA): 4.21
High rigor in courses (Mostly APs else Honors)
Num AP courses/exams: 14 APs (most 5s else 4, calc BC in jr)
Major Awards:
National Merit Finalist w/ Corporate Scholarship
Wrestling Individual: 2X CA CIF Regional Medalist & Master Qualifier
Wrestling Team: 2X League Champion, 1X Division Final (Runner-up)
State Legislature Certificate of Outstanding Achievement
Congressional Award Bronze Medal (Volunteering)
Job/Internship:
Paid Summer Research - Simulation/Modeling in biology
Summer Internship - AI Project at major corporation
EC:
CyberPatriot: Platinum tier, team lead, ranked #1 in district
CPU Club, English tutoring, Piano, and Kiteboarding
State/location of HS: S. Cal. public
Applied for need-based financial aid? Yes
First Generation? No
Accepted:
UCSB, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, UCD, UCSC, UCR, CP SLO, CP Pomona, UAriz, SCU
Pending:
Rice, USC, UPenn, Cornell, UCB, Stanford, GT, UMich
Rejected: None .. yet and expect some next week
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Hi again Aafat, wanted to share with you my daughter got into UCLA today, despite the lower GPA!! School of the Arts & Architecture, which had a supplemental application for the specific major. She can’t believe it. It is definitely possible, so stay hopeful 
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I was admitted to UCSD as undeclared and wanted to know if it’s possible to switch to structural engineering. I believe structural engineering is now an uncapped major, but I don’t see the option to choose it in the major change form.
Maybe contact UCSD to see how easy or difficult it is.
According to the website you should be to change using the Major/Minor tool to switch to SE, and should NOT use the Capped Major tool.
Definitely contact the department for more information.
D25 is deciding between UCI and UCSD at this point… planning to attend the Triton Day in a couple weeks to help decide. Are many of you planning to visit UCSD on 4/12?
Any tips for first time visitors to the campus?
She’s admitted to 8th College so we’re especially interested to see that
we are likely attending Triton days as well. I graduated UCSD, so my advice after doing all the campus stuff is to walk down the road to Black’s Beach from campus, and spend some time in the surrounding areas. If she likes the coast/beach, that will be a key differentiator from UCI. Within 8th, focus on the dorms and dining, but keep in mind classes are not confined to the sub-college and may be scattered throughout the university (depending on major), so you’ll definitely want to tour more broadly.
Would love to hear about what you learn. My D25 is in the same situation and would be open to anything in the CoE if it’s an option
Well, there is the question of what’s better for the major, but for our daughter UCI doesn’t stand a chance against UCSD, due to the stark difference in what immediately surrounds the campus. We toured it Sunday with another friend that got in and then caught lunch at the beach right after watching some paragliders take off from the cliffs next to her dorm. Tidepools, seals, sea lions, snorkeling etc.
UCI is a suburban setting with a bridge over to a nice open air mall. It’s very safe but a little sterile. She still hasn’t made a decision but considering they are both excellent universities and cost the same for in state kids the intangibles really make UCSD a more attractive place to spend four years.
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and she can join the surf team/club if so inclined 