UCSC vs. UC Merced vs. UCSD vs. UCI

University of California Santa Cruz vs. University of California Merced vs. University of California San Diego vs. University of California Irvine comparison

	University of California Santa Cruz	University of California Merced	University of California San Diego	University of California Irvine
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Overview	UCSC	UC Merced	UCSD	UCI
Location	Santa Cruz, CA	Merced, CA	La Jolla, CA	Irvine, CA
Setting	Small City	Rural Fringe	Large City	Rural Fringe
Enrollment	19,478	9,103	42,006	35,937
Type	Public 4 Year	Public 4 Year	Public 4 Year	Public 4 Year
National Ranking	#222	#605	#89	#91
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	ucsc.edu	ucmerced.edu	ucsd.edu	uci.edu
Team Colors

Comparable Facts

• University of California Santa Cruz is larger than than UC Merced based on total student enrollment (19,478 students vs. 9,103 students)

UCSC vs. UC Merced Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, UCSC or UC Merced?

• University of California Santa Cruz and UC Merced cost the same to attend based on in-state tuition ($11,564.00 vs. $11,564.00)
• Out of state tuition is the same at UCSC as University of California Merced ($41,636.00 vs. $41,636.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at University of California Merced than UCSC ($13,549 vs. $17,975)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at University of California Santa Cruz are 6.4% lower than costs at University of California Merced ($18,185 vs. $19,340)
• More students receive financial grant aid at University of California Merced than University of California Santa Cruz (83% vs. 68%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by University of California Merced students is 22% larger than aid received University of California Santa Cruz ($25,868 vs. $21,202)

UCSC vs. UC Merced Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, UCSC or UC Merced? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between UC Merced or UCSC .

• The average SAT score at University of California Santa Cruz (1201) is 176 points higher than at UC Merced (1025)
• Incoming UCSC students have a 5 point higher average ACT score (28) than students at UC Merced (23)
• Accepted freshman UCSC students have a 0.08 point higher average high school GPA (3.63) than students at UC Merced (3.55)
• UC Merced has a higher acceptance rate (89.5%) than UCSC (46.9%)

UCSC vs. UC Merced Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, UCSC or UC Merced? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between UC Merced and UCSC.

• The graduation rate at UCSC is higher than University of California Merced (73% vs. 58%)
• University of California Merced students graduate with a $60 lower median federal student loan debt than UCSC graduates. ($19,899 vs. $19,959)
• UC Merced graduates are paying $1 less per month on federal student loans than UCSC graduates. ($205 vs. $206)
• More UCSC graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former UC Merced students, three years after graduation. (74% vs. 64%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/