University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) Transfers: 2024 Requirements, Dates, GPAs & More

This is the complete guide for transferring to UC Santa Cruz. We suggest you read until the end - you can also use the below calculator to estimate your likelihood of being able to transfer to UC Santa Cruz.

What are your chances at UC Santa Cruz?

Your SAT Score
on a 4.0 scale

This free college chances tool calculates your acceptance chances at UC Santa Cruz or any other U.S. college

Please note all chances are estimates based on test score and GPA averages.

*or select a school above for a specific calculation

Need chances at another college?

I get it - transferring colleges can be confusing, time-consuming and overwhelming. You are not alone. In fact, more than 700,000 students transfer colleges every year.

At UC Santa Cruz, 33.0% of the entire student body are transfer students, so you won’t be alone.

To read about regular admission requirements for University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC), click here

What are the transfer requirements for UC Santa Cruz?

UC Santa Cruz requires a number of completed documents for consideration. The table below summarizes the most important pieces of information:

Admission Item Required?
High School Transcript Required of Some
College Transcript Required of All
Essay or Personal Statement Required of All
Interview Not Required
Standardized Test Scores Required of Some
Statement of Good Standing from Prior Institution Required of All

In addition to the above requirements, UC Santa Cruz also requires a minimum number of credits completed to apply to be a transfer student.

UC Santa Cruz requires a minimum of 90 credits.

What are University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC)’s Transfer Deadlines?

Many universities accept transfer applications during each semester. For this reason, we break down UC Santa Cruz transfer deadline by fall, winter, spring and summer.

Closing Date Reported Deadline
Fall Transfer Deadline November 30
Winter Transfer Deadline
Spring Transfer Deadline
Summer Transfer Deadline

Waiting until the last minute to finalize your application could result in a silly mistake.

We recommend you complete your application at least 1 week before the required deadline.

In fact, take a full 2 day break from looking at anything related to your application and then come back to look for errors. I bet you’ll find a few 😉

When are decision dates for University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) transfer applicants?

If you applied to transfer to UC Santa Cruz on or before the reported deadlines then you should have your decision date by the notification dates in the below table.

Deadline Notification Dates
Fall Transfer Deadline May 1
Winter Transfer Deadline
Spring Transfer Deadline
Summer Transfer Deadline

Note this data is current as of 2019 and to the best of our knowledge this hasn’t changed.

What is University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC)’s transfer acceptance rate?

In 2019, UC Santa Cruz received 11813 transfer applicants.

The school accepted 7987 students. Therefore, the transfer acceptance rate for UC Santa Cruz is 67.61%.

This indicates how hard it is to transfer into UC Santa Cruz. You can use the free calculator below to predict your chances of getting accepted.

What are your chances at UC Santa Cruz?

Your SAT Score
on a 4.0 scale

This free college chances tool calculates your acceptance chances at UC Santa Cruz or any other U.S. college

Please note all chances are estimates based on test score and GPA averages.

*or select a school above for a specific calculation

Need chances at another college?

Additionally, of the 7987 accepted transfer students, 1815 students enrolled - that means the yield was 22.72%.

UC Santa Cruz accepts 68 out of every 100 transfer applicants.

How can you afford UC Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz costs an average of $N/A. The below vendors all offer private student loans for UC Santa Cruz students to help cover the cost... We have partnered with Edvisors to provide these vendors and keep the offer up-to-date.

What are the University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) transfer GPA requirements?

UC Santa Cruz requires a minimum college GPA of 2.4 - this is on a 4.33 point scale.

In addition, UC Santa Cruz requires a minimum high school GPA of 2.8.

Will you enjoy transferring to UC Santa Cruz?

There are a lot of reasons to transfer to UC Santa Cruz. Maybe your plan has always been to attend community college, and then move to a four year college to save money while completing your degree.

Maybe you had a bad experience at your first school - don’t worry this is more common than you think.

Or perhaps you’re drawn to Santa Cruz...

Regardless of your reason for transferring, you’re already enrolled at another college or university so you know that the most important element in your college experience is the people and community

Finding success at UC Santa Cruz is dependent on feeling comfortable - will you be able to find a place to find home and grow?

These are the questions that numbers and data cannot answer, but CampusReel can.

If you’re considering transferring to UC Santa Cruz then I highly recommend that you watch the school’s videos on CampusReel. These are real students with real stories.

Final Verdict: How to transfer into UC Santa Cruz

Let’s wrap up everything we’ve learned. If you still have questions about transferring, check out the UC Santa Cruz website for more info.
UC Santa Cruz accepts 67.61% transfer applicants, which is competitive.

To have a shot at transferring into UC Santa Cruz, you should have a current GPA of at least 3.6 - ideally you’re GPA will be around 3.74. In addition, you will need to submit standardized test scores.

The below tables show the SAT and ACT breakdown of UC Santa Cruz students.

25th Percentile 75th Percentile Average
SAT Math 540 660 600
SAT Reading 520 630 575
2018 Total SAT Score 1060 1290 1175
25th Percentile 75th Percentile Average
ACT Math 25 30 27
ACT Reading 24 31 27
2018 Total ACT Score 49 61 55

University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC)’s average SAT score is 1175. To be a competitive applicant for University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) your SAT score should come close to the average - for the ACT you should be aiming for the equivalent.

What are your chances at UC Santa Cruz?

Your SAT Score
on a 4.0 scale

This free college chances tool calculates your acceptance chances at UC Santa Cruz or any other U.S. college

Please note all chances are estimates based on test score and GPA averages.

*or select a school above for a specific calculation

Need chances at another college?

If you’re considering transferring to UC Santa Cruz, you may also want to consider the schools:

Transferring to California State University-San Bernardino
Transferring to California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Transferring to California State University-Chico
Transferring to California State University-Fresno
Transferring to California State University-Northridge

Will you get accepted?

Predict now!