California Public Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 32 public colleges in California with the highest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. California State University Stanislaus leads the list by accepting 98% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of California Public Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate
College Acceptance Rate
98%
98%
97%
97%

San Francisco, California

96%
95%
95%
95%
95%

Bakersfield, California

94%

San Bernardino, California

94%
94%
93%
93%
93%

Rohnert Park, California

93%
91%

Los Angeles, California

91%

This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: March 15, 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.