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Bay Area high\u00a0schools, as a group, had a lower acceptance rate to UC Berkeley than schools outside the Bay Area, according to Chronicle analysis of the latest admissions data available.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jessica Christian\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Sather Gate, the\u00a0main entrance to UC Berkeley, is shown in March.<\/p>\n
Yalonda M. James\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Among California high schools with top acceptance rates to UCLA, one in particular stands out: Geffen Academy at UCLA, a private school on campus that\u2019s affiliated with the university<\/a>. In the latest available data (for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle), its acceptance rate was 26% compared to the average acceptance rate for in-state applicants of 10%.<\/p>\n Beyond Geffen, many of the high schools that score top marks at getting students into the University of California\u2019s most competitive campus are also located in Los Angeles or surrounding areas, according to an analysis of the data in the Chronicle\u2019s tool on UC acceptance rates by high school<\/a>.<\/p>\n And when looking at UC\u2019s other highly competitive campus, UC Berkeley, a high school with potential \u201chometown advantage\u201d also stands out: Mission High School in San Francisco, across the bay, had an acceptance rate of 45% \u2014 a whopping three times that of the in-state average of 14%.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But do these schools\u2019 high admissions rates indicate a wider trend at the top UCs?<\/p>\n A local advantage for high schools closer to a particular campus could make some sense, even if simply resulting from circumstantial factors: admissions officers may be more familiar with high schools in their region, particularly as they tend to see more applicants from these schools, and there may be more schools with longstanding connections to the UC, if not outright affiliation as in the case of Geffen.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Officially, UC prioritizes in-state applicants, but beyond that only says on its website that all nine campuses use the same 13 comprehensive-review factors<\/a>, that campuses can weigh those factors differently, and one of those factors is the \u201clocation of a student\u2019s secondary school and residence.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Janet Gilmore, a UC Berkeley spokesperson, said, \u201cWe evaluate applicants fairly in the context of what’s offered<\/a> at their high school, and the size and selectivity of our pool is not constant from year to year. Each class of applicants is unique, so we expect rates to vary annually.\u201d<\/p>\n A UCLA spokesperson said that \u201cproximity to campus does not play a role in the review or selection process\u201d at the university.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Chronicle analyzed admissions rates for high schools near Berkeley and UCLA to see how local applicants fared versus others across the state.<\/p>\n (To see the individual acceptance rates for a specific high school, go to our tool<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Do elite\u00a0UCs show preference for local applicants?<\/p>\n For UC Berkeley, the Chronicle grouped high schools with at least 50 applicants in the nine-county Bay Area as local and compared them with schools elsewhere in California. Schools that were missing data because of a very small number of admissions were omitted from the analysis.<\/p>\n Bay Area high schools posted a combined UC Berkeley admit rate of about 12.3%; outside the Bay Area, the rate was higher: about 14.1%. The median UC Berkeley admit rate was also lower for Bay Area schools than for schools elsewhere, 12.3% versus 13.7%. In other words, Bay Area schools did not get a measurable edge in the aggregate.<\/p>\n Narrowing the analysis to schools in Alameda County, home to UC Berkeley, still followed the broader Bay Area pattern: Its schools\u2019 admit rate was about 12.3%, below the 14.1% rate for schools outside the Bay Area.<\/p>\n Here are some of the high schools with notable UC Berkeley admit rates across the state:<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Berkeley High, which was No. 2 in the Chronicle\u2019s recent ranking of public high schools for UC admissions<\/a> and is located just a few blocks from the UC Berkeley campus, stood out as a strong local performer, with a 22.9% acceptance rate.<\/p>\n Bishop\u00a0O\u2019Dowd in Oakland was another top Bay Area example at 26.6%. Dougherty Valley in San Ramon sent a huge number of applications to UC Berkeley (542) but received only 44 admits, for a rate of 8.1%.<\/p>\n Mira Loma in Sacramento posted 28 admits on 101 applications, or 27.7%.<\/p>\n
\nThe academically elite\u00a0Lowell in San Francisco was at 11.6%, much closer to the statewide average.<\/p>\n