University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
University of California-Santa Cruz is a public research university in Santa Cruz, California, a small city, with 17,940 undergraduates. Computer science is its signature field: 15% of its bachelor's degrees, about three times its share across the colleges we cover. 75% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $68,396 ten years after starting.
Part of the University of California: one application covers Berkeley · Davis · Irvine · Los Angeles · Merced · Riverside · San Diego · Santa Barbara · Santa Cruz.
University of California-Santa Cruz admitted 48,274 of 66,374 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (72.7%).
- Acceptance rate
- 72.7%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $16,005
- $50,205 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $17,890
- Average, students with aid
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of California-Santa Cruz is known for
Measured by the 4,856 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Computer science
15.4%
of its bachelor's degrees: about three times the 5.6% share across the colleges we cover.
- Computer Science65813.6% of degrees$123,422+15% vs $107,009 nationally
- Psychology49910.3% of degrees$59,948+18% vs $50,706 nationally
- Business/Managerial Economics2805.8% of degrees$82,064+5% vs $77,981 nationally
- Biology2154.4% of degrees$65,036+14% vs $57,214 nationally
- Sociology1924.0% of degrees$55,338+5% vs $52,657 nationally
- Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences1783.7% of degrees$69,849+5% vs $66,697 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Small city
Santa Cruz, CA
Undergraduates
17,940
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
22 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
3%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at University of California-Santa Cruz
Three things University of California-Santa Cruz published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
University of California-Santa Cruz reports that test scores are not considered at all.
That is the school’s own answer on the form it fills in every year. A score you send is not read as part of the decision here.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
University of California-Santa Cruz files the essay under “very important”.
That is the top of the scale the form offers, and the only other factors this school puts there are Course rigor and GPA.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
2,648 admitted from a waitlist of 9,881.
6,444 students accepted a place on that list, and 2,648 were admitted from it, 41.1% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
72.7%
48,274 admitted of 66,374 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.87
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at University of California-Santa Cruz?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What University of California-Santa Cruz costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $16,005 ($50,205 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $41,179. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $17,890 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$16,005
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$50,205
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$41,179
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$17,890
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $41,179 full cost.
- Under $30k$8,717Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$10,613Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$14,418Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$18,986Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$33,323Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
75%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
88%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$68,396
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$16,666
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Over 5 years the admit rate rose from 47% to 63%.
What University of California-Santa Cruz says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Test scores
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendations
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rank
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 9,881
- Accepted the place
- 6,444
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 2,648
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
8 essay prompts on the application: you choose 4 to write.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Regular DecisionNovember 30, 2026
Verified July 11, 2026 · Source
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in California
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Woodbury University72.9%
- Chapman University72.1%
- California College of the Arts73.4%
- California State Polytechnic University-Pomona74%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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