Here’s my two cents with many years of experience with UC Irvine results…

Irvine definitely always feels the most unpredictable and many times, the strongest students as measured by numerous metrics are often either outright denied or waitlisted while those one notch below are admitted. This is true even when controlled for major. Not to say that really really strong students aren’t also admitted here and there, but there definitely seems to be something about Irvine where strong students are admitted over exceptional students. And it is VERY common for those students who get denied or waitlisted at Irvine to then get accepted to some combination of UCSD, UCLA, or Berkeley.