UC Santa Cruz vs Florida State

Nestled in the vibrant city of Santa Cruz, California, and the historic capital of Florida, Tallahassee, University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) and Florida State University (FSU) stand as two distinct beacons of higher education. While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence and student success, they offer unique experiences shaped by their diverse locations, academic strengths, and student demographics. With UCSC boasting a lower acceptance rate and a higher graduation rate, and FSU offering a wider range of undergraduate programs and a larger student body, the choice between these two esteemed universities hinges on individual preferences and academic aspirations. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into the specifics and discover which university aligns best with your educational goals and personal preferences.

	Florida State University	University of California-Santa Cruz
Overview
Location	Tallahassee, Florida	Santa Cruz, California
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
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%	89.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	37.1%	58.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1180 - 1340	N/A
ACT range	26 - 30	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	65.0%
Students submitting ACT score	36.0%
Total number of applicants	65,235	61,695
Total number of admissions given out	24,183	36,177
Admitted students who chose to enroll	7,619	4,187
Yield rate	31.5%	11.6%
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: $23,476 Out of state: $36,606	In state: $36,107 Out of state: $65,861
Average net price	$12,684	$19,615
Tuition	In state: $4,022 Out of state: $16,540	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,020 Meal plan: $4,856	$17,429
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $10,620	57.0% Average amount $19,199
Students receiving federal student loan	19.0% Average amount $4,996	20.0% Average amount $4,717
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $13,430	9.0% Average amount $3,115

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	33,593 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%	17,864 Men 52.2% Women 47.8%
Graduate students	11,537 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	1,977 Men 53.4% Women 46.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	15.7%	5.7%
International students	4.2%	8.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	6,709	9,300
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Florida Georgia New Jersey New York Illinois	California Washington Colorado Oregon Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Visual & Performing Arts Legal Profession	Social Sciences Physical Science Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	24:1
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	83.2%	78.1%
Dropout rate	10.9%	15.6%
Transferred out	5.3%	5.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $86,926 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $102,429 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,442 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $89,448 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,610 Year 2: $68,305 Year 3: $78,263 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,971 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $78,057 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,179 Year 2: $83,177 Year 3: $77,718 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $78,794 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $77,527 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,567 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $75,845 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,881 Year 2: $68,918 Year 3: $74,476 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $74,364 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,216 Year 2: $60,325 Year 3: $72,686	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $75,207 Year 2: $79,150 Year 3: $93,848 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,040 Year 2: $63,530 Year 3: $85,557 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,378 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $82,012 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,725 Year 2: $60,185 Year 3: $70,114 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,515 Year 2: $48,823 Year 3: $68,276 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,252 Year 2: $31,941 Year 3: $65,929 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $62,051 Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,826 Year 2: $51,607 Year 3: $61,441 Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,511 Year 2: $54,894 Year 3: $57,162 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,243 Year 2: $36,938 Year 3: $54,748

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