UW-Madison vs UC Davis

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of Madison, Wisconsin, or Davis, California, home to two esteemed universities: University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and University of California-Davis (UC-Davis). While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence, they offer distinct experiences. UW-Madison boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a more diverse student body, while UC-Davis maintains a slightly smaller student population. Explore their contrasting popular majors, from Engineering and Biological Sciences at UW-Madison to Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC-Davis. Discover the nuances in their graduation rates and uncover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences. Dive into our comprehensive comparison table to unveil further insights and make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	University of California-Davis	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Overview
Location	Davis, California	Madison, Wisconsin
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	95.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	48.8%	60.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	1320 - 1500
ACT range	N/A	26 - 32
Students submitting SAT score		15.0%
Students submitting ACT score		55.0%
Total number of applicants	87,120	53,781
Total number of admissions given out	42,475	32,459
Admitted students who chose to enroll	7,482	8,465
Yield rate	17.6%	26.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $32,584 Out of state: $62,338	In state: $27,418 Out of state: $55,306
Average net price	$16,640	$13,484
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	In state: $9,273 Out of state: $37,161
Room & board	$17,018	Room/dormitory: $7,367 Meal plan: $4,100
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	59.0% Average amount $17,628	54.0% Average amount $10,932
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,043	26.0% Average amount $5,175
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $3,360	6.0% Average amount $16,550

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	31,657 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%	34,561 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
Graduate students	8,393 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	12,455 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	7.5%	50.6%
International students	17.0%	13.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	11,142	9,226
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Illinois Texas Hawaii	Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota California New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Agriculture Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences	Health Professions Business Social Sciences Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.9%	89.2%
Dropout rate	11.8%	10.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $121,903 Year 2: $135,393 Year 3: $137,917 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $127,500 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: $135,009 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $106,299 Year 2: $116,258 Year 3: $127,335 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,488 Year 2: $81,609 Year 3: $103,694 Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $80,669 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $100,961 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $112,976 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $99,585 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $81,487 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $98,364 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $94,032 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,487 Year 2: $70,370 Year 3: $89,594 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $73,514 Year 2: $74,262 Year 3: $87,586	Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $107,256 Year 3: $131,458 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $113,083 Year 2: $111,992 Year 3: $130,357 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,390 Year 2: $113,091 Year 3: $124,360 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $96,320 Year 2: $117,042 Year 3: $123,777 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $110,338 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $111,424 Real Estate (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $115,339 Year 3: $104,219 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $115,387 Year 2: $100,213 Year 3: $103,937 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,839 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $97,306 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $85,538 Year 3: $94,093 Real Estate (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,730 Year 2: $73,949 Year 3: $91,306

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