UC Santa Barbara vs SUNY Albany

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of Santa Barbara, California, and Albany, New York, home to the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany), respectively. While both institutions offer a wealth of opportunities, they possess distinct characteristics that may influence your academic journey. UCSB boasts a lower acceptance rate, indicating a more selective admissions process, while SUNY Albany welcomes a larger and more diverse student body. Explore their contrasting popular majors, ranging from environmental studies and marine science at UCSB to criminal justice and public administration at SUNY Albany. Discover the nuances in their graduation rates, reflecting the institutions' unique approaches to student support and academic rigor. Delve into the comparison table to uncover further insights into these esteemed universities and make an informed decision that aligns with your aspirations and goals.

	SUNY at Albany	University of California-Santa Barbara
Overview
Location	Albany, New York	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	82.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.0%	29.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1090 - 1280	N/A
ACT range	22 - 29	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	15.0%
Students submitting ACT score	2.0%
Total number of applicants	21,265	105,641
Total number of admissions given out	14,458	30,824
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,030	4,900
Yield rate	21.0%	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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,578 Out of state: $44,418	In state: $35,374 Out of state: $65,128
Average net price	$17,350	$17,333
Tuition	In state: $7,070 Out of state: $24,910	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,558 Meal plan: $5,495	$16,699
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	84.0% Average amount $10,460	53.0% Average amount $18,107
Students receiving federal student loan	54.0% Average amount $5,299	11.0% Average amount $4,576
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $13,629	3.0% Average amount $10,788

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	12,654 Men 46.4% Women 53.6%	23,091 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students	4,421 Men 35.0% Women 65.0%	3,033 Men 53.2% Women 46.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	4.4%	13.2%
International students	6.6%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	6,867	11,031
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Connecticut Maryland	California Washington Colorado Texas New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Health Professions Social Sciences	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.3%	85.4%
Dropout rate	8.5%	14.0%
Transferred out	24.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,203 Year 2: $74,307 Year 3: $95,473 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,947 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $92,782 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,191 Year 2: $60,256 Year 3: $75,996 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,841 Year 2: $49,962 Year 3: $69,785 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,012 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $63,462 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,175 Year 2: $49,270 Year 3: $61,387 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,902 Year 2: $40,510 Year 3: $58,543 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,701 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $55,488 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $52,904 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,404 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $52,601	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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