UC Santa Barbara vs California State University-Northridge (CSUN)

Envision yourself pursuing higher education in the vibrant state of California. Two esteemed institutions, University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) and California State University-Northridge (CSUN), await your exploration. While both offer exceptional academic opportunities, they possess distinct characteristics that may influence your decision. UCSB boasts a lower acceptance rate, indicating a highly selective admissions process, while CSUN welcomes a more diverse student body, reflecting its commitment to inclusivity. Discover the nuances of their popular majors, graduation rates, and student demographics by delving into the comprehensive comparison table provided. This side-by-side analysis empowers you to make an informed choice, aligning your aspirations with the institution that best resonates with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	California State University-Northridge	University of California-Santa Barbara
Overview
Location	Northridge, California	Santa Barbara, California
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Midsize
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	82.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.1%	29.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	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	23,656	105,641
Total number of admissions given out	20,842	30,824
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,716	4,900
Yield rate	22.6%	15.9%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $31,857 Out of state: $43,737	In state: $35,374 Out of state: $65,128
Average net price	$8,708	$17,333
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,316 Meal plan: $4,506	$16,699
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $10,882	53.0% Average amount $18,107
Students receiving federal student loan	14.0% Average amount $4,779	11.0% Average amount $4,576
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,360	3.0% Average amount $10,788

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	34,496 Men 45.0% Women 55.0%	23,091 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students	5,612 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%	3,033 Men 53.2% Women 46.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	1.7%	13.2%
International students	6.0%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,029	11,031
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Hawaii Nevada Texas	California Washington Colorado Texas New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	17:1
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	54.2%	85.4%
Dropout rate	33.7%	14.0%
Transferred out	5.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $108,158 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,831 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $98,535 Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,745 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $97,852 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,455 Year 2: $88,907 Year 3: $96,626 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,863 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,559 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,493 Year 3: $92,252 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,281 Year 2: $83,669 Year 3: $89,964 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,782 Year 2: $75,047 Year 3: $84,221 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,859 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $82,977 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,180 Year 2: $76,863 Year 3: $82,194	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $86,276 Year 2: $81,554 Year 3: $96,623 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,726 Year 2: $76,773 Year 3: $94,355 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,445 Year 2: $72,134 Year 3: $88,523 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,540 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $73,916 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,678 Year 2: $60,452 Year 3: $73,907 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,465 Year 2: $60,790 Year 3: $73,844 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,765 Year 2: $59,536 Year 3: $71,984 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,194 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $71,014 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,972 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $70,694 Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,652 Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $66,826

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