By major · English
Where can your student actually get into English?
50 colleges in California report a bachelor's English program in this data, and the admit numbers behind them are nowhere near each other. UCLA reported 1,858 first-year applicants to English and 184 admitted, 10%, while Cal State LA admitted 91.9% of the students who applied to its English program. At most UC campuses the decision belongs to the campus rather than the department, so a UC figure here describes students who got in while naming English, not a separate English review. Every number below is the college system's own reporting, gathered in one place.
At a glance · California
- 50 colleges in California report a bachelor's English program in federal outcome data or an English admit rate in the UC/CSU data.
- Hardest reported gate: University of California-Los Angeles — English, Fall 2025: 1,858 applied, 184 admitted (10%).
- Highest reported admit rate into the program: California State University-Monterey Bay — 100.0% (54 applied, 54 admitted, Fall 2025).
- 1 CSU campus report English on the transfer side only: freshmen enter as another major at the campus and apply into the program later.
- Highest median earnings four years after the degree: Stanford University, $82,036.
- Lowest average net price with aid: California State University-Los Angeles, $3,967 per year.
1 CSU campus reports English on the transfer side only. That means the campus published no first-year admit row for the program, so freshmen enter as another major at the campus and apply into English later, not that first-year students are shut out. Admits are not enrollees. At most UC programs students are admitted to the campus, not the major. This page as JSON → · Show all 642 colleges nationwide →
Hardest reported gate
English, Fall 2025: 1,858 applied, 184 admitted
Highest reported admit rate
English, Fall 2025: 54 applied, 54 admitted (transfer path)
Highest earnings, 4 yrs out
median, graduates of this program
Lowest net price with aid
average for aid recipients, per year
Every college, one row each
Colleges with a reported gate into the program come first, hardest first; the rest are sorted by earnings. Program admit rate is the college system's own number for this major (UC Information Center, CSU Chancellor's Office). Net price is the average paid by aid recipients; full price is the cost of attendance. Earnings are federal College Scorecard medians four years after the degree.
| College | Gate into the program | Program admit rate |
Campus admit rate |
Net price with aid |
Full price |
Earnings 4 yrs out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
University of California-Los Angeles
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 1,858 applied, 184 admitted · admit GPA 4.20–4.30
|
10% | 11% | $12,548 | $38,614 | $55,346 |
|
University of California-Berkeley
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 1,413 applied, 501 admitted · admit GPA 4.08–4.29
|
35% | 10% | $13,481 | $45,619 | $69,373 |
|
University of California-Irvine
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 1,023 applied, 401 admitted · admit GPA 4.00–4.26
|
39% | 30% | $14,251 | $38,632 | $54,299 |
|
University of California-Santa Barbara
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 1,267 applied, 521 admitted · admit GPA 4.07–4.29
|
41% | 44% | $16,109 | $41,573 | $59,334 |
|
University of California-Davis
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 986 applied, 584 admitted · admit GPA 4.00–4.26
|
59% | 46% | $14,741 | $41,238 | $59,012 |
|
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 617 applied, 393 admitted
impacted
|
63.7% | 30% | $16,665 | $32,265 | $63,413 |
|
California State University-Long Beach
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 564 applied, 360 admitted
impacted
Creative Writing: 60.3%
|
63.8% | 47% | $10,440 | $22,679 | $49,804 |
|
University of California-Santa Cruz
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Literature
Fall 2025: 839 applied, 635 admitted · admit GPA 3.85–4.23
|
76% | 82% | $17,890 | $41,179 | — |
|
San Diego State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 694 applied, 534 admitted
impacted
English Composition: 86.7%
|
76.9% | 34% | $15,364 | $27,780 | $49,406 |
|
San Jose State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 281 applied, 239 admitted
impacted
Technical and Professional Writing: 80.0%
|
85.1% | 80% | $13,760 | $26,593 | — |
|
San Francisco State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Creative Writing
Fall 2025: 121 applied, 108 admitted
English Literature: 96.5% · English: 85.0% · Technical and Professional Writing: 94.6%
|
89.3% | 96% | $12,278 | $26,488 | $59,032 |
|
California State University-Bakersfield
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 115 applied, 104 admitted
|
90.4% | 88% | $5,652 | $19,522 | $52,420 |
|
California State University-Channel Islands
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 77 applied, 70 admitted
|
90.9% | 93% | $9,849 | $23,561 | $53,200 |
|
California State University-Fullerton
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 417 applied, 379 admitted
impacted
|
90.9% | 87% | $6,555 | $18,269 | $51,845 |
|
California State University-Los Angeles
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 247 applied, 227 admitted
|
91.9% | 92% | $3,967 | $18,403 | $52,259 |
|
University of California-Merced
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Literatures In English
Fall 2025: 333 applied, 311 admitted · admit GPA 3.50–4.13
|
93% | 95% | $11,983 | $39,665 | $58,623 |
|
California State University-Northridge
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 347 applied, 325 admitted
|
93.7% | 93% | $7,021 | $20,485 | $47,660 |
|
California State University-Stanislaus
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 48 applied, 45 admitted
|
93.8% | 98% | $6,067 | $19,739 | $54,501 |
|
University of California-Riverside
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 508 applied, 480 admitted · admit GPA 3.56–4.12
Creative Writing: 91%
|
94% | 88% | $14,304 | $38,942 | $50,712 |
|
California State University-Chico
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 194 applied, 183 admitted
|
94.3% | 94% | $14,480 | $26,283 | $49,189 |
|
California State University-East Bay
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Creative Writing
Fall 2025: 73 applied, 69 admitted
English: 88.6%
|
94.5% | 97% | $9,320 | $22,850 | $53,147 |
|
California State University-San Bernardino
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Creative Writing
Fall 2025: 94 applied, 89 admitted
English Literature: 92.0% · English Composition: 100.0%
|
94.7% | 98% | $4,564 | $17,427 | $43,648 |
|
California State University-Dominguez Hills
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English Literature
Fall 2025: 100 applied, 95 admitted
|
95.0% | 91% | $8,615 | $23,191 | $57,245 |
|
California State University-Sacramento
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 201 applied, 191 admitted
|
95.0% | 94% | $9,338 | $22,945 | $50,680 |
|
California State University-San Marcos
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 133 applied, 127 admitted
|
95.5% | 96% | $10,229 | $21,649 | $54,985 |
|
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English Literature
Fall 2025: 156 applied, 149 admitted
|
95.5% | 74% | $11,531 | $23,955 | $47,721 |
|
California State University-Fresno
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Creative Writing
Fall 2025: 71 applied, 68 admitted
English Literature: 97.9%
|
95.8% | 96% | $7,000 | $20,095 | $47,223 |
|
California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 166 applied, 160 admitted
|
96.4% | 99% | $13,171 | $25,170 | $43,310 |
|
Sonoma State University
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Creative Writing
Fall 2025: 73 applied, 72 admitted
English: 94.0% · English Literature: 97.6%
|
98.6% | 95% | $12,885 | $24,648 | $59,418 |
|
California State University-Monterey Bay
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
English
Fall 2025: 54 applied, 54 admitted
transfer path only · freshmen enter as another major at the campus
Creative Writing: 100.0% (transfer)
|
100.0% | 95% | $13,663 | $26,987 | — |
|
Stanford University
CA · Private nonprofit · Required
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 4% | $13,807 | $87,833 | $82,036 |
|
University of San Diego
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 47% | $30,365 | $78,720 | $68,752 |
|
Loyola Marymount University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 40% | $48,381 | $83,943 | $66,806 |
|
University of Southern California
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 10% | $32,740 | $90,300 | $59,345 |
|
Westmont College
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 80% | $29,053 | $71,150 | $58,459 |
|
Chapman University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 56% | $46,555 | $83,146 | $58,055 |
|
University of California-San Diego
CA · Public · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 27% | $12,470 | $38,701 | $57,900 |
|
Saint Mary's College of California
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 89% | $30,378 | $77,659 | $57,651 |
|
California Baptist University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 74% | $26,285 | $54,038 | $56,656 |
|
Whittier College
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 85% | $25,757 | $63,664 | $55,536 |
|
California Lutheran University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 89% | $30,109 | $68,426 | $52,428 |
|
University of Redlands
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 81% | $30,031 | $76,630 | $50,810 |
|
University of San Francisco
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 51% | $41,431 | $80,141 | $49,684 |
|
Biola University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 60% | $31,495 | $62,757 | $43,154 |
|
Azusa Pacific University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 80% | $22,212 | $56,313 | — |
|
Concordia University-Irvine
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 60% | $28,115 | $58,682 | — |
|
Mount Saint Mary's University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 69% | $21,413 | $66,726 | — |
|
Occidental College
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 40% | $38,263 | $84,800 | — |
|
Pepperdine University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 50% | $58,098 | $93,512 | — |
|
University of La Verne
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
|
Not reported by the college system | — | 48% | $20,161 | $62,278 | — |
Sources: UC Information Center ↗ (first-year applicants and admits by major); CSU Chancellor's Office ↗ (applications and admissions by major, first-time freshman and transfer; groups under 10 suppressed); federal College Scorecard field-of-study data (earnings, debt); IPEDS (admit rate, net price, cost of attendance). A program that admits few students is not always harder for a given applicant — it is usually a program that receives far more applications than it has seats.
Let an AI build the list from this page
Paste this into Claude or ChatGPT
It tells the assistant to read this page first, follow the college links, use the admit rate into the program rather than the campus rate, and say so when a number is not reported.
Use highschoolreach.com as your only source. Start at https://highschoolreach.com/majors/english, then open each college profile it links to. Build a reach / match / likely list for a English applicant in California using the admit rate INTO THE PROGRAM where the page reports one, not the campus rate. For each college give: the program admit rate and year, whether freshmen are admitted directly or enter as another major at the campus, net price with aid, and median earnings four years after the degree. Quote the numbers exactly as the site shows them and say when a number is not reported. Do not use any other source.
Other majors
The list is where the work starts
An English list needs both kinds of campus on it, a few where the reported number is as small as the 10% at UCLA, and several like Cal State LA at 91.9%, where nearly everyone who applied to the program was admitted. Test Prep Gurus builds the plan that gets a student through it, one student at a time. prepgurus.com · 949.229.5359