Western Colleges for a 3.6 GPA

With a 3.6 GPA, you are competitive at 229 four-year colleges in the West (87 target, 26 reach, 116 safety). A 3.6 is typically a A- (~89%) on a common grading scale.

Colleges in the West for a 3.6 GPA

Target Schools (Competitive Chance of Admission)

Target schools have average GPAs near 3.6 - your grades fit squarely in the admitted pool.

College	Avg GPA	Acceptance Rate	Your Chance
University of California Irvine Irvine, CA	3.75	29%	Medium
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	3.67	87%	Medium
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	3.68	78%	Medium
Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	3.74	63%	Medium
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA	3.7	46%	Medium
Colorado State University Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	3.68	89%	Medium
Washington State University Pullman, WA	3.5	87%	Medium
University of Oregon Eugene, OR	3.73	88%	Medium
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	3.61	77%	Medium
University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	3.57	62%	Medium
Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	3.67	48%	Medium
California State University Fullerton Fullerton, CA	3.77	91%	Medium

View all 87 target colleges

Reach Schools (Lower Admission Chance)

Reach schools typically enroll students with higher average GPAs; admission is possible but more competitive.

College	Avg GPA	Acceptance Rate	Your Chance
Stanford University Stanford, CA	3.96	4%	Low
University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	3.92	9%	Low
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	3.83	10%	Low
San Diego State University San Diego, CA	3.82	36%	Low
University of Washington Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	3.82	39%	Low
University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA	3.87	11%	Low
University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	3.82	33%	Low
University of California Davis Davis, CA	4.0	42%	Low
University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	3.82	27%	Low
United States Air Force Academy USAF Academy, Colorado	3.81	14%	Low
Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	3.92	45%	Low
University of San Diego San Diego, CA	3.95	52%	Low

View all 26 reach colleges

Safety Schools (Very High Chance of Admission)

Safety schools have average GPAs well below 3.6; you have a very high chance of acceptance.

College	Avg GPA	Acceptance Rate	Your Chance
San Jose State University San Jose, CA	3.35	85%	High
San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	3.31	96%	High
California State University Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	3.31	91%	High
Boise State University Boise, ID	3.37	87%	High
California State University East Bay Hayward, CA	3.2	97%	High
California State University Chico Chico, CA	3.37	93%	High
Portland State University Portland, OR	3.36	91%	High
California State University Fresno Fresno, CA	3.12	95%	High
Utah Valley University Orem, UT	3.52	100%	High
University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO	3.36	97%	High
California State University Northridge Northridge, CA	3.38	93%	High
California State University San Marcos San Marcos, CA	3.32	95%	High

View all 116 safety colleges

View the full list of colleges that accept a 3.6 GPA in the West

See all colleges nationally for a 3.6 GPA

Published: August 19, 2026