University of California Santa Cruz campus

UCSC Comparisons

7/10 Overall Rating
4 Year
Santa Cruz, CA
4.3 6 reviews

#8 Best Public Universities in California

Overview Admission Cost Majors Diversity Outcomes Salaries Location Compare Reviews Admission Calculator

Curious how University of California Santa Cruz stacks up against other colleges? Compare UCSC to any three other US colleges using the College Simply compare tool, or compare with some of the pre-selected schools below.

Frequently Compared

These similar colleges are most often compared with University of California Santa Cruz by students and parents using CollegeSimply.

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Compare California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo and University of California Santa Cruz

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and University of California Merced

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and University of San Francisco

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and Purdue University Main Campus

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Compare University of California San Diego and University of California Santa Cruz

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and University of Colorado Boulder

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and University of Washington Seattle Campus

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and University of Southern California

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and California State University Monterey Bay

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and University of San Diego

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and California State Polytechnic University Humboldt

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Compare University of California Los Angeles and University of California Santa Cruz

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Compare University of California Santa Cruz and Chapman University

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Compare with California Public Colleges

Compare with California Public Colleges for University of California Santa Cruz
College	In-state tuition	Acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$802 lower in-state tuition	57% lower acceptance rate	Compare
San Diego State University San Diego, CA	$7,277 lower in-state tuition	30% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Irvine Irvine, CA	$283 lower in-state tuition	37% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$342 higher in-state tuition	55% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$409 higher in-state tuition	33% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Davis Davis, CA	$769 higher in-state tuition	24% lower acceptance rate	Compare
San Jose State University San Jose, CA	$7,595 lower in-state tuition	19% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$8,655 lower in-state tuition	20% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	$753 higher in-state tuition	39% lower acceptance rate	Compare
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	$2,409 lower in-state tuition	35% lower acceptance rate	Compare
California State University Fullerton Fullerton, CA	$8,535 lower in-state tuition	25% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Riverside Riverside, CA	$399 lower in-state tuition	10% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California State University Chico Chico, CA	$7,533 lower in-state tuition	27% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California State Polytechnic University Humboldt Arcata, CA	$7,755 lower in-state tuition	32% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California State Polytechnic University Pomona Pomona, CA	$8,225 lower in-state tuition	9% higher acceptance rate	Compare

Compare with California Private Colleges

Compare with California Private Colleges for University of California Santa Cruz
College	In-state tuition	Acceptance rate	Compare
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	$56,092 higher in-state tuition	56% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	$53,913 higher in-state tuition	3% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$44,487 higher in-state tuition	4% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	$46,352 higher in-state tuition	21% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$45,288 higher in-state tuition	18% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Chapman University Orange, CA	$48,979 higher in-state tuition	1% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Pomona College Claremont, CA	$49,415 higher in-state tuition	59% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	$50,269 higher in-state tuition	22% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of the Pacific Stockton, CA	$41,075 higher in-state tuition	5% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA	$30,245 higher in-state tuition	18% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Redlands Redlands, CA	$44,873 higher in-state tuition	17% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	$51,975 higher in-state tuition	56% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Scripps College Claremont, CA	$49,945 higher in-state tuition	28% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Whittier College Whittier, CA	$35,345 higher in-state tuition	15% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA	$37,579 higher in-state tuition	11% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Biola University La Mirada, CA	$32,979 higher in-state tuition	8% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, CA	$36,555 higher in-state tuition	10% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Soka University of America Aliso Viejo, CA	$22,723 higher in-state tuition	23% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA	$40,483 higher in-state tuition	16% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Dominican University of California San Rafael, CA	$36,156 higher in-state tuition	17% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Northeastern University Oakland Oakland, CA	$51,773 higher in-state tuition	49% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Thomas Aquinas College Santa Paula, CA	$14,195 higher in-state tuition	17% higher acceptance rate	Compare

Compare with Regional Public Colleges

Compare with Regional Public Colleges for University of California Santa Cruz
College	In-state tuition	Acceptance rate	Compare
University of Nevada Reno Reno, NV	$6,427 lower in-state tuition	8% higher acceptance rate	Compare

Compare with National Colleges

Compare with National Colleges for University of California Santa Cruz
College	In-state tuition	Acceptance rate	Compare
Miami University Oxford Oxford, OH	$2,156 higher in-state tuition	9% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	$8,728 lower in-state tuition	2% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN	$1,395 lower in-state tuition	23% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	$6,423 lower in-state tuition	27% higher acceptance rate	Compare
The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	$3,627 higher in-state tuition	4% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	$8,344 lower in-state tuition	23% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA	$1,365 lower in-state tuition	14% higher acceptance rate	Compare
SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY	$7,052 lower in-state tuition	8% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC	$8,504 lower in-state tuition	26% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA	$961 higher in-state tuition	17% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI	$3,118 higher in-state tuition	26% higher acceptance rate	Compare
SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY	$7,006 lower in-state tuition	0% higher acceptance rate	Compare
CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	$8,553 lower in-state tuition	8% lower acceptance rate	Compare
State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY	$7,433 lower in-state tuition	4% lower acceptance rate	Compare
William Paterson University of New Jersey Wayne, NJ	$301 lower in-state tuition	24% higher acceptance rate	Compare
SUNY at Fredonia Fredonia, NY	$7,174 lower in-state tuition	12% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO	$4,687 lower in-state tuition	34% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Truman State University Kirksville, MO	$6,167 lower in-state tuition	18% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Louisiana at Monroe Monroe, LA	$6,815 lower in-state tuition	19% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK	$7,269 lower in-state tuition	34% higher acceptance rate	Compare

Data source: NCES / IPEDS https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110714.

Last updated: August 2026