UC San Diego vs UC Merced

Nestled in the vibrant city of San Diego and the heart of California's Central Valley, University of California-San Diego (UCSD) and University of California-Merced (UCM) offer distinct educational experiences. UCSD boasts a lower acceptance rate, a larger student body, and a wider range of popular majors, including engineering, biology, and economics. UCM, on the other hand, offers a more intimate learning environment, with a higher acceptance rate and a focus on majors like social sciences, biological sciences, and management. Both universities boast impressive graduation rates, ensuring that students are well-prepared for their future careers. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover more key differences and find the university that best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of California-Merced	University of California-San Diego
Overview
Location	Merced, California	La Jolla, California
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	95.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.6%	34.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	27,793	118,386
Total number of admissions given out	24,068	40,493
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,410	7,544
Yield rate	10.0%	18.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,870 Out of state: $58,624	In state: $35,116 Out of state: $64,870
Average net price	$11,586	$15,632
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	$18,901	$16,145
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	92.0% Average amount $21,623	48.0% Average amount $18,083
Students receiving federal student loan	18.0% Average amount $4,470	21.0% Average amount $4,545
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $2,687	7.0% Average amount $4,851

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,321 Men 47.7% Women 52.3%	33,343 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	772 Men 55.8% Women 44.2%	8,542 Men 57.6% Women 42.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.2%	16.6%
International students	8.7%	21.3%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,634	17,765
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Alaska Idaho Missouri Texas	California Washington Texas New York Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Physical Science Social Sciences English Language and Literature Psychology	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	71.6%	89.4%
Dropout rate	5.0%	9.7%
Transferred out	22.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,675 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $68,164 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,936 Year 2: $51,392 Year 3: $67,761 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,771 Year 2: $43,000 Year 3: $57,642 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,420 Year 2: $39,729 Year 3: $53,045 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,245 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $50,288 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,755 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $49,047 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,917 Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $47,958 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,685 Year 2: $31,391 Year 3: $43,274 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,397 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $42,368 Cognitive Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,909 Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: $40,928	Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $127,768 Year 2: $162,463 Year 3: $194,475 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $122,641 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $153,118 Physics (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $124,326 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,445 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $123,569 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,196 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $113,628 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,603 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $109,783 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $108,034 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $87,738 Year 2: $86,972 Year 3: $105,245 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,610 Year 2: $75,706 Year 3: $102,296 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,476 Year 2: $79,688 Year 3: $99,630

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