MiraCosta College holds the highest transfer acceptance rate to University of California campuses among community colleges in Southern California, based on recent data from the UC system.

According to the data, 84% of MiraCosta College students who applied for transfer were accepted into UC campuses, a figure that stands as the highest across the 56 community colleges in the Southern California region. Notably, this acceptance rate surpasses the regional averages for community colleges and the rates for students applying directly from high school.

In the Fall of 2023, the University of California, San Diego admitted 74.3% of MiraCosta College transfer applicants—remarkably higher than the 24.7% acceptance rate for incoming freshmen and the 62.4% acceptance rate for all transfer students.

"Our exceptional transfer success rate is a testament to the robust partnership MiraCosta College has developed with the University of California," said Sunita “Sunny” Cooke, president/superintendent of MiraCosta College. "This partnership, along with the comprehensive support and resources we provide, prepares our students effectively for their transfer journey."

The acceptance rates for MiraCosta College transfer students were high at numerous UC schools, according to data from the Office of the President of the University of California. The highest rate for MiraCosta transfers was 79.7% at UC Santa Cruz, with a 62.7% acceptance rate for freshman applicants and an overall 62.5% transfer admission acceptance rate.

At UC Los Angeles, 37.7% of MiraCosta College transfers were accepted, compared to 8.8% of students applying as freshmen and 25.8% of transfer applicants. UC Berkeley accepted 39.4% of MiraCosta College transfers compared to 11.6% of freshmen who applied and 28.9% of all transfer applicants.

MiraCosta College offers transfer students support, including transfer counselors, presentations on transfer options, and application support. It has a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) with six UC schools (Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz) as well as transfer initiatives for UC San Diego, Los Angeles, and Berkeley.

Transfer counselor Lise Flocken said MiraCosta’s transfer center has a team of dedicated counselors who are experts in helping students who want to transfer to a university.

“MiraCosta has instructional faculty who are discipline experts and foster student success,” she said. “The Transfer Center counseling faculty specializes in preparing students for UC admission using facts, admission trends, and years of experience.”

Tina Taleb is one of the MiraCosta College students who transferred to UC Berkeley. Taleb, who had a 4.0 grade point average, said she got lots of support from her MiraCosta College professors.

“It’s actually not that hard to go to a school like Cal when you go to MiraCosta,” Taleb said. “You have to study, you have to try hard, but if you dedicate yourself and put in the time, you could do it.