Is UC Davis or UC Irvine generally easier to get into?

UC Irvine is usually considered a bit more selective than UC Davis, so UC Davis is often the slightly easier admit in a general, campus-wide sense. That said, the gap is not huge, and for some majors the difference can narrow or even flip depending on demand. At both schools, major choice matters a lot, especially in areas like engineering, computer science, business-related paths, and biological sciences.

UC Davis tends to make sense for students who are looking at a large, traditional college-town environment and want a campus that is strong across many fields, especially life sciences, agriculture, environmental areas, and pre-health. In broad terms, applicants often view Davis as a little more accessible overall than Irvine, though still very competitive.

UC Irvine tends to draw students who want a more suburban Orange County setting, a campus with strong interest in STEM and health-related fields, and access to Southern California internships and research. Because of its location, demand, and applicant volume, Irvine is commonly seen as the tougher of the two in an overall admissions comparison.

For a realistic application strategy, it makes sense to treat both as competitive UCs rather than assuming either is close to a safety. If you are applying to an especially impacted major, your odds may depend more on that major than on the campus-wide selectivity difference between Davis and Irvine.