UC Santa Barbara vs Rutgers NB

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of Isla Vista and New Brunswick, home to the prestigious University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Rutgers University-New Brunswick (RU-NB), respectively. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they offer distinct experiences shaped by their unique locations, student demographics, and academic strengths. UCSB boasts a lower acceptance rate, a higher proportion of international students, and a focus on environmental studies and engineering. RU-NB, on the other hand, has a larger student body, a more diverse range of majors, and is renowned for its strong programs in business, engineering, and the sciences. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into the details and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	University of California-Santa Barbara
Overview
Location	New Brunswick, New Jersey	Santa Barbara, California
Campus setting	City: 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	94.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.2%	29.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1240 - 1470	N/A
ACT range	27 - 33	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	45.0%
Students submitting ACT score	7.0%
Total number of applicants	43,161	105,641
Total number of admissions given out	29,419	30,824
Admitted students who chose to enroll	7,105	4,900
Yield rate	24.2%	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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $40,665 Out of state: $57,866	In state: $35,374 Out of state: $65,128
Average net price	$11,803	$17,333
Tuition	In state: $12,536 Out of state: $29,737	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,170 Meal plan: $5,232	$16,699
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	60.0% Average amount $10,835	53.0% Average amount $18,107
Students receiving federal student loan	35.0% Average amount $4,983	11.0% Average amount $4,576
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,429	3.0% Average amount $10,788

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	36,152 Men 49.9% Women 50.1%	23,091 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students	14,652 Men 36.3% Women 63.7%	3,033 Men 53.2% Women 46.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	6.7%	13.2%
International students	10.9%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	16,088	11,031
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania California Mississippi	California Washington Colorado Texas New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	83.7%	85.4%
Dropout rate	6.8%	14.0%
Transferred out	8.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $248,696 Year 2: $248,619 Year 3: $190,541 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $105,618 Year 2: $109,327 Year 3: $125,566 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $125,431 Year 2: $110,432 Year 3: $124,617 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $107,491 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $118,713 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $73,836 Year 2: $82,931 Year 3: $117,987 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $107,887 Year 2: $112,970 Year 3: $115,126 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $88,760 Year 2: $103,237 Year 3: $114,164 Biological and Physical Sciences (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,298 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $102,688 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,205 Year 2: $74,063 Year 3: $95,327 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,934 Year 2: $71,778 Year 3: $90,572	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 Rutgers NB

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

University of California-Santa Barbara

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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