University of California-Santa Cruz
PublicSanta Cruz, CA
University of California-Santa Cruz, in Santa Cruz, CA, is a public very large school, enrolling around 17,940 students. University of California-Santa Cruz is not highly selective, admitting a majority of applicants, with an acceptance rate near 66%. Engineering graduates, especially in Computer Engineering, report the strongest earnings here: a median of $124,641/year. Most students arrange their own housing since on-campus living isn't required.
Admissions
Cost & outcomes
Out-of-state students pay $39,270 more per year in tuition and fees (3.3x the in-state rate).
Rate for students starting in 2026-27. The UC system holds each entering class's tuition steady for up to six years. The student health insurance fee, which can be waived, isn't included.
Tuition & fees are University of California-Santa Cruz's own published 2026-27 rates (source); other figures are from the US Dept of Education College Scorecard, most recent year reported. Tuition & fees are the sticker price for a full-time first-year undergrad, before financial aid, and don't include room and board.
Where do you stand against University of California-Santa Cruz's numbers?
Check your chances hereHow University of California-Santa Cruz weighs your application
From University of California-Santa Cruz's own Common Data Set, 2025-26, Section C7 -- not a generic admissions checklist. What is a Common Data Set?
What admitted applicants who posted their results listed
46 admitted applicants who posted their profiles publicly, 2024–25 and 2025–26 admissions cycles. Too few rejected or waitlisted applicants have posted to compare, so every figure here describes admits only. It shows what admitted posters looked like, not what made the difference.
No SAT/ACT figures: University of California-Santa Cruz doesn't consider test scores, so none of these applicants' scores were in front of it.
Most common activities among admits
Most common awards among admits
Who the admitted posters were
How this compares across big public universities: Big Public University Accepted vs. Rejected Applicants →
These are people who chose to post their results publicly, mostly on Reddit -- a group that skews toward high scores and STEM. They describe posters, not University of California-Santa Cruz's admitted class, and recruited athletes are left out. Expect these medians to run above the school's real admitted class. For official numbers, use the admissions figures above.
See full profile -- financial aid, campus life, and what University of California-Santa Cruz weighs in your application
Paying it back
"Still growing" means a borrower's payments aren't yet covering interest 3 years into repayment -- not a default rate. A high number here can mean real repayment difficulty, or just a lot of grads who deferred for graduate school, so read it alongside the school's typical outcomes above.
Majors & earnings
Median earnings 4 years after graduation, by major, from the US Dept of Education. Only shown where the school reports a real figure for that major -- most schools don't report every major they offer, especially smaller programs.
Campus life
Room and board are shown separately from the cost of attendance above -- that total already includes them alongside tuition and fees, this just breaks out the living-cost portion.
What matters in your application
From this school's own reporting to the US Dept of Education on what it formally requires, considers, or doesn't use when reviewing applications.
Frequently asked questions
What does University of California-Santa Cruz look for in applicants?
Per University of California-Santa Cruz's own Common Data Set (Section C7), it rates state residency, rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, application essay as "very important" in admissions decisions -- its own stated top factors, not a generic guess.
What is University of California-Santa Cruz's acceptance rate?
University of California-Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, CA admits approximately 66% of applicants, based on the US Dept of Education's most recently reported figures.
How much does University of California-Santa Cruz cost?
University of California-Santa Cruz's total cost of attendance is reported at $41,179 per year, including tuition, fees, and room and board.
What is out-of-state tuition at University of California-Santa Cruz?
For 2026-27, University of California-Santa Cruz's tuition and required fees are $56,502 for out-of-state students and $17,232 for in-state students -- $39,270 more per year for out-of-state students. That's before financial aid, and room and board are extra.
Does University of California-Santa Cruz require students to live on campus?
No -- University of California-Santa Cruz doesn't require students to live in on-campus housing.
Related reading
Similar colleges in CA
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