TL;DR: UC Davis’s acceptance rate for fall 2026 was 45.8% overall – 104,850 first-year applicants and 48,015 offers – and the out-of-state acceptance rate was 71.0%, the highest nonresident admit rate of any selective UC campus and more than double the 34.7% rate for California residents. Admitted students posted a middle-50% weighted GPA of 4.00-4.25. For a full-pay out-of-state family, UC Davis is the rare campus that combines a top-tier public research reputation, genuine strength in biology, pre-health, engineering, and the nation’s leading veterinary program, with odds high enough to anchor the likely band of a UC list. The cost is the same as everywhere in the system: roughly $90,100 per year for nonresidents with effectively no need-based aid. (sources: UC Office of the President, UC Davis first-year admit data) To discuss your family’s admissions strategy, schedule a consultation.
What Is the UC Davis Acceptance Rate for Out-of-State Students?
For fall 2026, the UC Davis acceptance rate for domestic out-of-state applicants was 71.0%, computed from preliminary University of California systemwide data reflecting offers as of June 17, 2026. California residents were admitted at 34.7% and international applicants at 66.6%, against an overall rate of 45.8%. The 36.3-point gap between the out-of-state and in-state rate is the largest at any UC campus that families would consider selective.
| Applicant Group | Applications | Admits | Admit Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| California residents | 70,354 | 24,445 | 34.7% |
| Domestic out-of-state | 13,472 | 9,561 | 71.0% |
| International | 21,024 | 14,009 | 66.6% |
| All first-year applicants | 104,850 | 48,015 | 45.8% |
Sources informing this table: University of California Office of the President fall 2026 preliminary application tables and admissions fact sheet; UC Davis first-year admit data. Figures are preliminary as of June 17, 2026 and may shift as waitlist offers are finalized.
Nonresidents made up 49% of all fall 2026 admits at UC Davis (20% domestic out-of-state and 29% international), the heaviest nonresident admit share among the selective campuses. The economics behind the pattern – supplemental tuition revenue and low nonresident yield – are covered in our guide to UC admissions for out-of-state students. The practical consequence for planning: a nonresident student with a solid A-G record who files a competent application is more likely than not to hold a UC Davis offer in March.
What Academic Profile Does UC Davis Expect?
Admitted first-years for fall 2026 posted a middle-50% high school GPA of 4.00 to 4.25 on the UC calculation, which counts only A-G courses from 10th and 11th grade with capped honors weighting; our UC GPA calculator converts a standard transcript. As at every UC campus, the file is read test-blind with no recommendation letters and no interviews, so grades, rigor, activities, and the four personal insight questions decide the outcome. At a 71.0% nonresident admit rate, the honest framing is different from most posts in this series: for out-of-state applicants in the GPA band, UC Davis is not a lottery to optimize but an offer to plan around.
Where Is UC Davis Strongest, and How Should the Major Be Chosen?
UC Davis built its reputation in the life sciences, and that is where the leverage sits for ambitious students: biology, animal science, environmental science, and the pre-health pathways feed graduate and professional programs at high rates, anchored by the nation’s top-ranked school of veterinary medicine. Engineering and computer science are strong and, as everywhere in the system, more competitive than the campus-level rate suggests; students set on those fields should list them as the first-choice major rather than planning an internal switch, since popular departments publish change-of-major screens with course and GPA requirements. For pre-med and pre-vet families comparing options, UC Davis pairs naturally with our guides to the best colleges for pre-med and UC San Diego out-of-state admissions.
What Does UC Davis Cost an Out-of-State Family?
Systemwide, the University of California estimates nonresident cost of attendance at roughly $90,100 for 2027-28, with $57,300 of that in tuition including the nonresident supplement; residents pay $49,078 on the same basis. The Tuition Stability Plan freezes tuition for up to six years from the year of entry, need-based grant aid effectively serves California residents only, and residency reclassification during college is virtually impossible for dependents of nonresident parents. At full price, the value question is a comparison exercise: a family choosing between UC Davis at $90,000 and a mid-tier private at a similar sticker should weigh research access, professional-school placement, and the strength of the specific department, because at this price UC Davis competes on substance rather than discount.
What Should Out-of-State Applicants Do With These Odds?
Use UC Davis as the anchor. The single UC application opens August 1 and closes at the start of December, and adding UC Davis to a list built around UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego costs one additional campus fee while converting the whole UC strategy from speculative to structured: reaches at the top, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara in the middle, UC Davis as the near-lock. Because there is no Early Decision anywhere in the system, the UC file coexists cleanly with a binding Early Decision application at a private university, and nothing binds the family until the May 1 Statement of Intent to Register. The four personal insight questions should still be written to the standard of the most selective campus on the list, because every campus reads the same words.
Frequently Asked Questions About the UC Davis Acceptance Rate
Much easier. For fall 2026, UC Davis admitted 71.0% of domestic out-of-state applicants against 34.7% of California residents, the widest gap at any selective UC campus. For a nonresident student in the published GPA band, UC Davis functions as a likely admit rather than a reach.
It depends on the department and the goal. For pre-vet the answer is close to categorical, given the top-ranked veterinary school; for biology, pre-health, agriculture, and environmental fields the research access is genuinely elite. For a student choosing between UC Davis at full price and a stronger-fit program elsewhere at similar cost, the specific department should decide.
Admitted students for fall 2026 posted a middle-50% UC-weighted GPA of 4.00 to 4.25, calculated from 10th and 11th grade A-G courses with capped honors weighting. A nonresident applicant near or inside that band, with reasonable rigor, sits in the strongest part of a 71.0% admit pool.
No. Every UC campus is test-blind, accepts no recommendation letters in the standard process, and conducts no interviews. The transcript, the activities list, the four personal insight questions, and school context carry the entire evaluation.
Sometimes, but it should not be the plan. Popular departments publish change-of-major requirements with specific courses and minimum GPA thresholds, and space is not guaranteed. A student set on engineering or computer science should list that major first on the application and treat the alternate as a real fallback.
No. The UC system runs a single cycle: file by the start of December, decisions by the end of March, enrollment deposit May 1. The early season therefore stays free for a binding Early Decision bid at a private university without any conflict.
No. The University of California states that virtually all nonresident undergraduates with nonresident parents remain nonresidents for the entire degree. Budget four years at the nonresident rate; the Tuition Stability Plan at least fixes that rate from the year of entry.
At the base. A standard nonresident structure runs UC Berkeley and UCLA as reaches, UC San Diego as the pivot, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara as targets, and UC Davis as the anchor likely, all on one application. That construction gives a strong student a very high probability of holding at least one selective UC offer in March.
Sources: UC Davis first-year admit data, UC Office of the President fall 2026 admissions fact sheet, University of California fall 2026 admissions announcement, UC tuition and cost of attendance, Legislative Analyst’s Office report on UC nonresident tuition, NCES College Navigator, NACAC.
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy. Our team brings deep expertise across every dimension of the application, and our distinctive 360 approach develops strategy, positioning, activities, essays, and interviews as one coherent whole. To discuss your family’s admissions strategy, schedule a consultation.
