The University of California System

Not only does the University of California Berkeley rank at the top of this list of the UC schools, it tends to earn the #1 spot in the country for all public universities. To get in, applicants will need grades and standardized test scores that are well above average. UC Berkeley made our lists of the top public universities, top 10 engineering programs, and top 10 business schools. The university competes in the NCAA Division I Pacific 12 Conference.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 17%
• Enrollment: 40,154 (29,310 undergraduates)
• Explore the Campus: UC Berkeley photo tour
• Admissions: Berkeley GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the Berkeley profile

UCLA will nearly always be found ranked among the country's top 10 public universities, and its strengths span fields from the arts to engineering. The university's athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division I Pacific 12 Conference.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 18%
• Enrollment: 43,548 (30,873 undergraduates)
• Explore the Campus: UCLA photo tour
• Admissions: UCLA GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UCLA profile

UCSD consistently ranks among the country's best public universities, and it also tends to make lists of the best engineering programs. The university is home to the highly regarded Scripps Institute of Oceanography UCSD athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 36%
• Enrollment: 34,979 (28,127 undergraduates)
• Explore the Campus: UCSD Photo Tour
• Admissions: UCSD GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UCSD profile

UC Santa Barbara's enviable location earned it a place among the best colleges for beach lovers, but academics are also strong. UCSB has a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society for its strengths in the liberal arts and sciences, and it is a member of the Association of American Universities for its research strengths. The UCSB Gauchos compete in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 36%
• Enrollment: 24,346 (21,574 undergraduates)
• Admissions: UCSB GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UCSB profile

UC Irvine has numerous academic strengths spanning a wide range of disciplines: biology and health sciences, criminology, English, and psychology to name a few. The university's athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 41%
• Enrollment: 32,754 (27,331 undergraduates)
• Explore the Campus: UC Irvine photo tour
• Admissions: UC Irvine GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UC Irvine profile

UC Davis has a huge 5,300-acre campus, and the school tends to do well in national rankings of public universities. Like several of the schools on this list, UC Davis competes in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference, and academic strengths earned the university a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and membership in the Association of American Universities.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 42%
• Enrollment: 38,460 (29,379 undergraduates)
• Admissions: UC Davis GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UC Davis profile

An impressive number of students who attend UC Santa Cruz go on to earn their doctorates. The campus overlooks Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean, and the university is known for its progressive curriculum.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 58%
• Enrollment: 18,783 (16,962 undergraduates)
• Admissions: UC Santa Cruz GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UCSC profile

UC Riverside has the distinction of being one of the most ethnically diverse research universities in the country. The business program is extremely popular, but the school's strong programs in the liberal arts and sciences earned it a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. The school's athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 66%
• Enrollment: 22,715 (19,799 undergraduates)
• Admissions: UC Riverside GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UC Riverside profile

UC Merced is the first new research university of the 21st century, and the university's state-of-the-art construction was designed to have minimal environmental impact. Business, science, and social science fields are most popular among undergraduates.

• Acceptance Rate (2016): 74%
• Enrollment: 7,336 (8,815 undergraduates)
• Admissions: UC Merced GPA and Test Score Graph
• For more admissions data, costs and financial aid information, check out the UC Merced profile

If you're planning to apply to one of the University of California schools, be sure to read these tips for the 8 UC Personal Insight questions. Also, you can get a sense of how your measure up at the different campuses with these comparisons of UC SAT scores and UC ACT scores.