UC Riverside Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores, GPA

Located 50 miles east of Los Angeles, the University of California, Riverside is a public university with an acceptance rate of 51%. Students will generally need a strong application and good test scores to be admitted. As part of the application, students are required to write four short  personal insight essays. Since UC Riverside is a part of the  University of California system, students can easily apply to multiple schools in that system with one application. Business, social sciences, biological sciences, and engineering are the most popular undergraduate majors, and the universitys strengths in the liberal arts and sciences that have earned it a chapter of the prestigious  Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. In athletics, the UCR Highlanders compete in the NCAA Division I  Big West Conference. Considering applying to UC Riverside? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, UC Riverside had an acceptance rate of 51%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 51 students were admitted, making UC Riversides admissions process competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 49,079 Percent Admitted 51% Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) 18% SAT Scores and Requirements University of California, Riverside requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 92% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 560 650 Math 550 680 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that most of UC Riversides admitted students fall within the top 35% nationally on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to Riverside scored between 560 and 650, while 25% score below 560 and 25% scored above 650. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 550 and 680, while 25% scored below 550 and 25% scored above 680. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1330 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at UC Riverside. Requirements UC Riverside requires the SAT writing section. Note that UC Riverside considers the highest SAT with essay score from a single test date. Subject tests are not required, but are recommended for students with an interest in math or science. ACT Scores and Requirements University of California, Riverside requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 42% of admitted students submitted ACT scores. ACT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile English 22 30 Math 22 28 Composite 23 29 This admissions data tells us that most of UC Riversides admitted students fall within the  top 31% nationally  on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to UC Riverside received a composite ACT score between 23 and 29, while 25% scored above 29 and 25% scored below 23. Requirements UC Riverside requires the ACT writing section. Note that UC Riverside does not superscore ACT results; your highest combined score from a single test administration will be considered. GPA In 2018, the middle 50% of University of California, Riversides incoming class had high school GPAs between 3.66 and 4.09. 25% had a GPA above 4.09 and 25% had a GPA below 3.66. These results suggest that most successful applicants to UC Riverside have primarily A and B grades. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph UC Riverside Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to University of California, Riverside. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in  with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances University of California, Riverside, which accepts approximately half of applicants, has a selective admissions process. If your SAT/ACT scores and GPA fall within the schools average ranges, you have a strong chance of being accepted. Keep in mind that California residents who apply must have a GPA of 3.0 or better with no grade lower than a C in 15 college preparatory  a-g courses. For non-residents, your GPA must be 3.4 or better. Local students from participating high schools may also qualify if they are in the top 9 percent of their class. See how to calculate your  UC Admissions Index. UC Riverside, like all of the University of California schools, has  holistic admissions, so the admissions officers are evaluating students based on more than numerical data. Students who show special talent or have a compelling story to tell will often get a close look even if their grades and test scores are a bit below the norm. Impressive  extracurricular activities  and  strong essays  are all important parts of a successful application to UCR. In the scattergram above, the green and blue dots represent accepted students. The majority of students who got into UC Riverside had GPAs of 3.0 or higher, SAT scores (ERWM) of 950 or higher, and ACT scores of 18 or higher. Note that there is some red hidden behind the blue and green, Having grades and test scores that are on target for UC Riverside is not a guarantee of admission, especially if some application components dont compare favorably to the rest of the applicant pool. If You Like UC Riverside, You Might Consider These Other UC Schools Berkeley  |  Davis  |  Irvine  |  Los Angeles  |  Merced  |  San Diego  |  Santa Barbara  |  Santa Cruz All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and UC Riverside Undergraduate Admissions Office.