University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
- Public
- City
- 17,940 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 66%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $18,549per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 74%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $73,36210 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Every undergraduate student at UC Santa Cruz belongs to one of its 10 residential colleges.
UC Santa Cruz offers an expanded two-year campus housing guarantee for new incoming undergraduate cohorts entering in fall 2026 and later who indicate an on-campus preference.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 66%About 7 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-blindScores are not considered, even if you send them.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- Not reportedSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- Not reportedSource: College Scorecard
From University of California-Santa Cruz's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
72% had a 3.75 or higher. The average was 3.87. Schools count GPA differently (weighted or not), so compare ranges loosely.
- Admit rate in this report
- 73%48,274 admitted of 66,374 first-year applicants
- Off the wait list
- 41%2,648 admitted of 6,444 who stayed on the wait list (9,881 were offered a spot)
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among University of California-Santa Cruz's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: University of California-Santa Cruz Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $18,549full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $43,867sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition, in-state
- $16,585Source: College Scorecard
- Tuition, out-of-state
- $54,187Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 74%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 88%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $73,36210 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $15,000federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 17,940Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 34%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 37%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- San Jose State University San Jose, CA — admits 85%
- California State University-Chico Chico, CA — admits 93%
- California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA — admits 95%
- California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA — admits 91%
Also worth a look
- University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC — admits 64%
- Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS — admits 78%
- University at Albany Albany, NY — admits 69%
- University of Delaware Newark, DE — admits 71%
- The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX — admits 65%
- University of Vermont Burlington, VT — admits 65%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for University of California-Santa Cruz, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.