Acceptance rates are all comparable but UCSB seems to more highly value GPA than the other two.
UCSB’s admitted student GPA range is almost identical to Berkeley’s.
Middle 50%
Berkeley: 4.17-4.31
UCSB: 4.15 - 4.31
UCI: 4.08 - 4.29
UCSD: 4.12-4.30
If you select any major on this link, it displays total enrollment .
It shows 600 total for CS. And divide up by 4 years = 150
And CE is ~72. May be this includes transfer pool too.
Absolutely. It’s equally competitive as any other UC. We miss the standardized testing as comparing two students just based on gpa is not practical I think.
I believe those range are the mid 50%. It does not tell you the max and min.
Yep those are the middle 50%, not the min/max
Hey! yes I did qualify for ELC 
I also attended a very competitive bay area high school so I don’t know how much ELC was a factor.
My understanding (lots of MechE friends) is that MechE is one of the majors that’s easier to get into relatively
That means even these number are identical between UCSB and UCB. It does not tell the “whole story” because the distribution could be in many different shape and still give the same middle 50% range.
I estimated 110 because 1. that’s what we’ve been told and 2. Transfers are a decent chunk of the major.
Do you mean UCLA has 220 each for CS and CE?
UCLA CS/CSE is a larger program than UCSB CS. We only have CS and CE, UCLA has CS CE and CSE. I’m grouping CS and CSE together.
UCLA according to this link: 2021-UCEE-Report.pdf (ucla.edu) had around 220 entering freshman “seats” for CS and CSE.
Note - the number of seats is different than the number of acceptances.
The reason that UCSB CS acceptance rate is similar to the UCLA CS acceptance rate while receiving less applications is because UCSB has a very small engineering program, typically only 110 people per year in a single CS major by my estimate.
Since UCSB removed engineering major and CS from TAG, I would think the chance of admitted to CS as a transfer is as “impossible” as current SB students changing to CS major. The reasoning is that CC students may have the required classes ( e.g. CS 16) but they do not have a “good UC GPA standing” that normally is required for capped major. Could the number of transfer students admitted to CS be found somewhere?
@gauchoengineering Your posts have been so helpful and reassuring! Heartfelt Gratitude!
Thank you Edward! Your encouragement and words are true and precious!
I have an historical estimate for CS around 6-8% and but thank you for your estimate along with the other Engineering majors. Great data.
California applicants find out if they are ELC, statewide, both or neither after they file their UC application. Are you OOS or CA?
When will I find out if I’m designated ELC?
As an applicant from California, your application will be automatically screened for ELC eligibility when you apply. There’s no extra paperwork.
After submitting the application, you can log back into your application to see whether or not you’ve been designated as being in the top 9 percent of your class by selecting the “View how your application is reviewed” link.
Congrats to your son for getting into all those UCs for mech engr! Huge accomplishment and how amazing to have so many wonderful choices.
Thanks for the reply. So glad you are thriving and doing so well at UCSB!
how competitive is the chemical engineering major at SB
Here is the total enrollment for Chemical Engineering for 2022. Enrollment: 170, Fall 2022. You can do a back calculation as noted by @gauchoengineering to get an estimate of the acceptance rate. Divide the enrollment # by 4 and with a yield of 19%, you can get an estimate.
How did you “estimate” 10k applicants when there were just 2200 last year? It seems wild?