Admissions & selectivity
University of California-Merced Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at University of California-Merced?
University of California-Merced’s reported acceptance rate is 90.5%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 90.5%
Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
University of California-Merced admits 90.5% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
What SAT and ACT scores do University of California-Merced students report?
SAT and ACT ranges are not available for University of California-Merced in the data shown here. Missing scores do not establish whether tests are required, optional or excluded from review.
Figures cover fall 2024.
Who enrolls at University of California-Merced?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 58.9%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 10.6%
- First-year retention
- 82.1%
Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.
About these student measures
The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.
University of California-Merced enrolls 8,372 undergraduates. The student body is built around two entry points: a majority who rely on federal grant aid, and a smaller group who arrive after starting coursework elsewhere.
58.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a figure that signals broad financial access. An estimated 10.6% enter as transfers or part-time students, adding students who did not begin as first-time freshmen.
Pell-eligible applicants can use the cost calculator to estimate their own grant-adjusted price.
The first-time full-time cohort at University of California-Merced persists and completes at rates that sit above the medians for comparable institutions (same type and size). 82.1% return for a second year, against a peer median of 73.7%.
The six-year graduation rate is 68.7%, above the peer median of 49.1%. Pell recipients in that same entering cohort complete at 69.3%, which is 0.6 percentage points above the overall rate.
Enrolled students can expect persistence and completion that outpace comparable institutions, with Pell students finishing at a rate that exceeds the cohort as a whole.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.