Quad

Key differences on Getting in

  1. 1

    UCLA is 2.5× more selective than UT Austin

    Acceptance rate
  2. 2

    UT Austin's yield is 1 pts higher than UCLA's

    Yield rate

Admissions

Getting in, fall 2024

Acceptance and yield, test score ranges, test policy, and what each college weighs.

The funnel

Acceptance rate
UT Austin22%
UCLA9.0%
Applicants
UT Austin90.7K
UCLA145.1K
Admitted
UT Austin20.2K
UCLA13.7K
Yield rate
UT Austin49%
UCLA48%

Quad's selectivity

  • UT AustinHighly selectivefrom TexasUltra selectivefrom other states
  • UCLAUltra selective

Men and women

Acceptance rate for men and women who applied, where a college reports admissions by sex.

Women admitted
UT Austin31%
UCLA9.7%
Men admitted
UT Austin23%
UCLA8.1%

Test scores

SAT total,

UT Austin
1250–1510
UCLATest-blind–

Axis runs 1100–1600. The dark tick marks the national median midpoint.

ACT composite,

UT Austin
27–33
UCLATest-blind–

Axis runs 23–36. The dark tick marks the national median midpoint.

Submitted SAT
UT Austin56%
UCLANot reported
Submitted ACT
UT Austin18%
UCLANot reported

Test policy

  • UT AustinTest-optional
  • UCLATest-blind

How they read a record

  • UT Austin

    The high school record and a college-prep program are required; GPA and class rank are considered.

  • UCLA

    and GPA are both very important. 93% of first-years who sent test scores had a 3.75 or higher, so and rarely sets an applicant apart; the courses behind it carry more of the weight.

What they look at

FactorUT AustinUCLA
High school GPA ConsideredVery important
High school record RequiredRequired
Class rank ConsideredNot considered
College-prep program RequiredRequired
Recommendations ConsideredNot considered
Essay ConsideredVery important
Legacy status Not consideredNot considered
Work experience ConsideredImportant
Demonstration of competencies ConsideredNot considered
English proficiency test RequiredRequired
Other tests Not consideredNot considered
All admissions numbers in the table

Sources:The University of Texas at Austin (Fall 2025), Fall 2025;IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;The University of Texas at Austin Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;University of California-Los Angeles (Fall 2026), Fall 2026;University of California-Los Angeles Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2027 applicants;University of California-Los Angeles Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why