Community College to UCLA:Admit Rates, Prerequisites, and TAP

Transferring from a community college to UCLA is highly competitive, yet it remains one of the most common high-reach targets for community college students transferring to the UC system. According to official UC data, 30,668 students applied to transfer to UCLA for fall 2026 and 6,796 were admitted, an admit rate of 22.2%. Of those admitted, 92.4% came from California Community Colleges. UCLA does not participate in the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG), and admit rates for popular majors are noticeably lower than the overall rate. In the assessment of EDUBUS advisors, UCLA is a suitable reach or primary target for students whose GPA is close to perfect and who have completed their major preparation coursework in full.

Transfer Admission Data

This section shows how competitive UCLA is overall and how admission differs by college. The overall figures in the table below are preliminary official UC data for fall 2026; the figures by college come from the fall 2025 transfer profile published by UCLA.

Item	Data
Fall 2026 applicants / admits / admit rate	30,668 / 6,796 / 22.2%
2026 admits from California Community Colleges	92.4%
Fall 2025 applicants / admits / admit rate	28,288 / 6,466 / 23%
2025 College of Letters and Science applicants and admit rate	21,089 applicants, 27%
2025 Samueli School of Engineering applicants and admit rate	4,600 applicants, 11%

UCLA reports a median GPA of 3.91 for its 2025 transfer admits, with a middle 50% of 3.77 to 4.00. In the same year, 22,583 applicants came from California Community Colleges, with an admit rate of 26%, higher than that of applicants from other institutions. Among enrolled transfer students that year, 13% were international students. The UCLA transfer requirements page lists a transferable GPA of 3.2 or higher as a selection criterion and states that the average GPA of admitted students is above 3.5. The same page states that most admitted students have completed most or all of their major preparation coursework.

Selective Majors and Prerequisites

This section describes the additional requirements for popular majors. UCLA requires major preparation coursework to be completed by the end of the spring term before enrollment. The most competitive applicants in Economics, Business Economics, and Psychology complete all preparation coursework by the end of the fall term of the application year.

Target major	College or school	Transfer rules	2025 applicants, admit rate, and GPA range
Computer Science	Samueli School of Engineering	GPA of at least 3.4 at application; complete math, physics, and programming prerequisites before enrollment; C++ recommended	1,652 applicants, 5%, 4.00 to 4.00
Mechanical Engineering	Samueli School of Engineering	GPA of at least 3.4 at application; complete math, physics, two semesters of general chemistry, and one programming course before enrollment, with MATLAB preferred	794 applicants, 12%, 3.92 to 4.00
Business Economics	College of Letters and Science	Highly selective; must apply directly, and admitted students cannot switch into the major	3,379 applicants, 10%, 3.89 to 4.00
Economics	College of Letters and Science	Highly selective; must apply directly, and admitted students cannot switch into the major	1,517 applicants, 16%, 3.91 to 4.00
Psychology	College of Letters and Science	Highly selective; must apply directly, and admitted students cannot switch into the major	2,390 applicants, 21%, 3.79 to 4.00
Biology	College of Letters and Science	Highly selective; complete preparation coursework as listed on the UCLA major page	1,162 applicants, 17%, 3.82 to 4.00

The GPA ranges in the table are the 25th to 75th percentiles of admitted students as published by UCLA. IGETC and Cal-GETC are both general education transfer certifications for California Community Colleges; Cal-GETC is the newer pattern that replaces IGETC. The School of Engineering states that it does not require IGETC and does not accept partial IGETC. The College of Letters and Science strongly recommends that California Community College students complete IGETC or Cal-GETC.

TAG

UCLA does not participate in TAG. For the fall 2027 admission cycle, TAG is offered only by six campuses: Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. See Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) for details.

UCLA’s alternative pathway is the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP). Students must complete the honors program at a member community college and be certified by the program director. Certified students receive priority consideration for majors in the College of Letters and Science and for majors in public health, public affairs, and education and social transformation. If not admitted to their first-choice major, TAP students are also considered for an alternate major. Member colleges include Irvine Valley College, Saddleback College, Orange Coast College, and others. Beginning in May 2026, one-year transfer students are not eligible for TAP certification. See UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) for full requirements.

The 2025 data for several member colleges in Orange County are as follows: Irvine Valley College had 1,026 applicants and a 31% admit rate; Saddleback College had 516 applicants and a 28% admit rate; Orange Coast College had 592 applicants and a 22% admit rate.

Application Timeline and Materials

This section lists the key dates for fall 2027 admission. UCLA admits transfer students for the fall term only.

• October 1 to November 30, 2026Submit the UC application and complete the personal insight questions (PIQ).
• January 31, 2027Submit the Transfer Academic Update (TAU). UCLA states that applications without a TAU cannot be reviewed.
• Supplemental applicationsSome majors in the School of the Arts and Architecture, the School of Music, the School of Nursing, and the School of Theater, Film and Television may require a portfolio or other supplemental materials.

UCLA does not require or accept letters of recommendation or official transcripts during the admission review; the review is based on the self-reported information in the UC application. UCLA does not pre-evaluate whether courses will transfer before an application is submitted, so students need to verify course articulation themselves on ASSIST, the official course articulation system for California public colleges and universities. Courses taken in the final summer before transfer cannot be used to meet minimum unit requirements.

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