University of California-San Diego: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
La Jolla, California · Public · Highly selective · CDS 2024-2025
University of California-San Diego is a public university in La Jolla, California that admits about 25% of applicants, making it a highly selective school. The average family pays about $11,750 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Cognitive Science and Computer Science, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 86% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 16.5 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
University of California-San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California and one of the highly selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, University of California-San Diego admits roughly one in four applicants, with an overall admission rate of 25%. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $11,750 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether University of California-San Diego is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What parents should know about University of California-San Diego right now
UC San Diego, founded November 18, 1960, is the southernmost UC and one of the largest, with 35,442 undergraduates and 10,736 graduate students enrolled in fall 2025 across a 2,178-acre campus in La Jolla. Selectivity has risen sharply: the freshman acceptance rate fell from 32.3 percent in 2019 to 22.7 percent in 2022, and the campus drew 131,229 freshman applications in that cycle. UCSD is consistently among the top public research universities, with biological sciences ranked 7th nationally, microbiology 5th, and oceanography ranked 1st worldwide via the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The campus reported $1.42 billion in research expenditures, placing it 7th nationally. Distinctive for parents is the eight-college residential system, where each undergraduate is assigned to a college (the newest, Seventh and Eighth, were founded in 2020 and 2021 around environmental and community themes) with its own general education sequence and advising team, giving a smaller-college feel inside a large research university. On the financial aid front, the state and institutional priority deadline for 2025-2026 was extended to April 2, 2025, and 44 percent of undergraduates have historically received Pell Grants. Families should also be aware that the federal H.R. 1 law signed July 4, 2025 caps new Parent PLUS borrowing at $20,000 per year and $65,000 total per dependent student starting July 1, 2026, which will affect financing decisions for many UC families.
What GPA does my child need for University of California-San Diego?
Most admitted students at University of California-San Diego present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does University of California-San Diego weight in admissions?
University of California-San Diego reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Academic GPA
- • Application essay
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • State residency
- • Volunteer work
- • Class rank
- • First generation status
- • Geographical residence
- • Work experience
- • Standardized test scores
- • Recommendations
- • Interview
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Level of applicant's interest
SAT and ACT scores University of California-San Diego typically admits
Many applicants to schools in this tier submit test scores, though the policy varies by year — check the latest test-optional status before deciding.
- • Test-blind: University of California-San Diego does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions, even if submitted.
- • Policy detail: Not considered
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 100% |
| Top 25% of class | 100% |
| Top 50% of class | 100% |
| % submitting class rank | 96% |
How much does University of California-San Diego actually cost?
Published tuition is $15,265 for in-state students and $46,042 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $17,198 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $11,750 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 33% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $14,934 |
| Out-of-state tuition | $52,536 |
| Room and board | $19,629 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $11,750 |
| Application fee | $80 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for University of California-San Diego
| Regular deadline | 11/30 |
| Notification date | 3/15 |
| Reply deadline | 5/1 |
Will my child graduate from University of California-San Diego?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at University of California-San Diego
The most popular undergraduate programs at University of California-San Diego, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Cognitive Science and Computer Science. Across all programs, University of California-San Diego confers roughly 4,143 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Cognitive Science program report a median income of about $85,159 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | 769 | — |
| Cognitive Science | 759 | $85,159 |
| Computer Science | 591 | $160,463 |
| International/Globalization Studies | 537 | $73,765 |
| Economics | 430 | $84,118 |
| Political Science and Government | 366 | $69,947 |
| Chemistry | 346 | $83,272 |
| Public Health | 345 | $67,103 |
Is University of California-San Diego safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), University of California-San Diego disclosed 576 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 16.5 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 28 violent offenses and 60 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at University of California-San Diego?
About 48% of undergraduates at University of California-San Diego live in campus housing, so a meaningful share of students commute or live off campus. In Greek life, 10% of men join a fraternity and 10% of women join a sorority. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in California parents ask about
- Stanford University4% acceptance
- University of California-Berkeley12% acceptance
- University of California-Los Angeles9% acceptance
- University of Southern California10% acceptance
- University of California-Davis42% acceptance
- University of California-Irvine26% acceptance
- University of California-Santa Barbara63% acceptance
- University of California-Santa Cruz28% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like University of California-San Diego
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like University of California-San Diego recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about University of California-San Diego
What GPA do I need for University of California-San Diego?
Most admitted students at University of California-San Diego present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school.
What SAT or ACT score does University of California-San Diego typically admit?
University of California-San Diego does not publish standardized test ranges in the most recent reporting cycle. Test-optional policies have made scores less universally required, but submitting strong scores still helps when available.
How much does University of California-San Diego actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at University of California-San Diego after grants and scholarships is $11,750 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is University of California-San Diego realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, University of California-San Diego is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at University of California-San Diego?
University of California-San Diego accepts about 25% of applicants out of roughly 134,455 who apply each year. That makes it a highly selective school.
Is University of California-San Diego test-optional?
University of California-San Diego is test-blind: it does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions, even if you submit them.
What is the graduation rate at University of California-San Diego?
About 86% of students at University of California-San Diego graduate within six years, and 74% finish in four years. 94% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
What does University of California-San Diego look for in applicants?
University of California-San Diego rates course rigor, GPA and the application essay as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is University of California-San Diego a public or private school, and where is it located?
University of California-San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California.
What are the most popular majors at University of California-San Diego?
The largest undergraduate majors at University of California-San Diego by annual graduates are Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Cognitive Science and Computer Science. The school awards about 4,143 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is University of California-San Diego safe? What is its campus crime rate?
University of California-San Diego reported 576 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 16.5 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at University of California-San Diego?
At University of California-San Diego, 48% of undergraduates live on campus, 10% of men are in fraternities, 10% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by University of California-San Diego, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.