It takes more than just luck to earn admission to the University of California, Davis. In fact, it takes more than just good grades! But still, strong academic performance is the number one factor weighed by Davis admission officers when deliberating between students. So what kind of high school GPA is required to earn admission, and just how important are grades in the UC Davis holistic review process? You’ve come to the right place to find out!

What is a Good GPA to Get Into UC Davis?

Before we can have the GPA conversation, let’s quickly review the acceptance rate at Davis over the last three admission cycles. For admission to the Class of 2029, the overall acceptance rate (including both in-state and out-of-state applicants) was 44.64%. For the Class of 2028, 41.83% earned admission, and for the Class of 2027, 41.64% earned admission.

Does UC Davis Have a Minimum GPA Requirement for Admission?

Applicants should also note that California residents need a GPA of 3.00 or higher to be eligible for admission, and non-residents of California need a GPA of 3.40 or higher to be eligible.

GPA Percentage of UC Davis’ Class of 2028

The following is the GPA breakdown of the members of Davis’ Class of 2028:

GPA	Percentage of UC Davis’ Class of 2028
4.0	68.53%
3.75-3.99	21.92%
3.5-3.74	7.55%
3.25-3.49	1.55%
3.0-3.24	0.41%
2.5-2.99	0.04%
2.0-2.49	0.2%
1.0-1.99	0%

GPA Percentage of UC Davis’ Class of 2027

The following is the GPA breakdown of the members of UC Davis’ Class of 2027:

GPA	Percentage of UC Davis’ Class of 2027
4.0	73.4%
3.75-3.99	19.9%
3.5-3.74	5.0%
3.25-3.49	1.3%
3.0-3.24	0.4%
2.5-2.99	0.1%
2.0-2.49	0%
1.0-1.99	0%

Further Context on GPAs of Davis Students

While the data published above might appear to indicate that UC Davis maintains incredibly strict academic standards in which the vast majority of students who are admitted had 4.0s in high school, this is slightly misleading. Note that Davis is reporting weighted GPA here, meaning that the proportions reported above have an inflated skew towards 4.0. The reality, as per the UC Davis website, is that the middle 50% of unweighted high school GPA for UC Davis admits last year was 3.79 — 4.0. 

In other words, at least 25% of Davis admits last year applied with an unweighted GPA of 3.79 or less. Nothing to scoff at, to be sure, but not as rigorous as the weighted GPA data would lead one to believe.

Can I Get into Davis with a Low GPA?

Each year, there are indeed students who manage to squeeze into Davis with lackluster GPAs, which in the context of this school means GPAs that fall around 3.0 for domestic applicants or 3.40 for out-of-state applicants, as Davis maintains minimum GPA requirements that disqualify anyone with poorer grades than that.

But even these students with GPAs in the low 3.0 range are in the minority — and in all likelihood many of them possessed special statuses that fast-tracked their applications through the process, such as being recruited athletes. For the majority of applicants, great grades form the bedrock of a competitive application.

How Ivy Coach Can Help Your Child’s Chances at UC Davis

If your child has California on their mind and would like to wind up at UC Davis for college, we recommend setting up Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session. During this session, we will provide you with a strategy for optimizing their odds of admission to Davis and any other elite school that’s within reach. To learn more about Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session led by a member of our team of former elite college admission officers, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch.