Stanford University vs. University of California, Berkeley

Stanford is far harder, admitting about 3.8% of applicants against roughly 11% at UC Berkeley, nearly three times the share. Berkeley draws the bigger pool, about 124,000 first-year applications to Stanford's 60,000-plus, and enrolls a much larger class, around 6,272 first-years to Stanford's 1,839. Its headline rate also understates the odds for non-residents, since only about 13% of Berkeley undergraduates come from outside California.

They land at opposite ends. Stanford reinstated its testing requirement starting with Fall 2026 applicants, so the SAT or ACT is mandatory; its enrolled first-years posted a middle-50% SAT of 1520–1570 and ACT of 34–36. UC Berkeley, like every University of California campus, runs test-free and ignores SAT or ACT scores even if you send them. There, the rigor of your coursework and your GPA carry the weight that scores would elsewhere.

Both rank top-tier here, and the split is concentration and scale. Computer science is Stanford's single most popular field at about 20% of degrees, with engineering another 17%, taught to a small undergraduate body at a 5-to-1 student-faculty ratio. Berkeley's computing leads at about 17% of degrees and engineering adds 12%, but inside a far larger university taught at roughly 18 to 1, with the sciences tied at the top. Stanford gives you a small-class, CS-forward environment; Berkeley delivers the same fields at the scale and price of a public flagship.

For a California resident, Berkeley costs dramatically less: in-state tuition and fees run about $17,721, against Stanford's $68,574 for everyone. Out of state the gap narrows, with Berkeley charging non-residents about $55,323, but Stanford answers its higher sticker with deeper aid, meeting 100% of demonstrated need at an average package near $77,279 while Berkeley meets about 90% of need at an average around $37,119. A high-need applicant can land below Stanford's sticker; an in-state, full-pay family pays far less at Berkeley.

Berkeley dwarfs Stanford, enrolling about 33,469 undergraduates to Stanford's 7,346, more than four times the size. That scale reaches the classroom: Berkeley teaches at roughly an 18-to-1 student-faculty ratio against Stanford's 5-to-1. Both house nearly all undergraduates on or near campus and retain 97% of first-years, so the contrast sits in a small private campus versus a large public flagship rather than how likely students are to stay.

Both peak in computing, then split apart. Stanford confers computer science most, at about 20% of degrees, ahead of its interdisciplinary programs (18%) and engineering (17%), a technical and cross-disciplinary core. Berkeley leads with computing and the sciences tied near 17% each, with the social sciences (16%) and liberal arts (15%) close behind across a broader public-university spread. Stanford concentrates in CS and engineering, while Berkeley balances those against the sciences and social sciences.