UC Santa Barbara vs William & Mary (W&M)

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of Santa Barbara, California, and Williamsburg, Virginia, home to the prestigious University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the esteemed College of William & Mary (W&M). While both institutions offer a world-class education, they possess distinct characteristics that cater to diverse student aspirations. UCSB boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of applicants, while W&M's rigorous admissions process ensures a highly selective student body. Explore the nuances of their popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, meticulously presented in the comparison table below, to discern which university aligns best with your academic pursuits and personal preferences.

	William & Mary	University of California-Santa Barbara
Overview
Location	Williamsburg, Virginia	Santa Barbara, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	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	93.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	36.5%	29.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1360 - 1520	N/A
ACT range	31 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%
Total number of applicants	17,475	105,641
Total number of admissions given out	6,386	30,824
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,684	4,900
Yield rate	26.4%	15.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	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: $40,624 Out of state: $63,850	In state: $35,374 Out of state: $65,128
Average net price	$18,399	$17,333
Tuition	In state: $17,434 Out of state: $40,089	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,490 Meal plan: $5,246	$16,699
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	44.0% Average amount $21,700	53.0% Average amount $18,107
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $5,132	11.0% Average amount $4,576
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $27,548	3.0% Average amount $10,788

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,543 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	23,091 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students	2,974 Men 42.7% Women 57.3%	3,033 Men 53.2% Women 46.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	35.2%	13.2%
International students	6.2%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,755	11,031
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Virginia New Jersey Maryland Pennsylvania New York	California Washington Colorado Texas New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Legal Profession Education Social Sciences Multidisciplinary Studies	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.0%	85.4%
Dropout rate	2.1%	14.0%
Transferred out	6.3%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,208 Year 2: $71,202 Year 3: $87,886 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $64,972 Year 2: $66,087 Year 3: $81,526 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $85,399 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $80,518 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,897 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $80,071 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,977 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $69,021 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,979 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $57,485 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,630 Year 2: $44,117 Year 3: $51,824 Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,566 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $50,454 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,517 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $48,118 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,414 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $47,651	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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UC Santa Barbara vs William & Mary (W&M)

William & Mary

University of California-Santa Barbara

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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