University of California, Davis vs. University of California, San Diego

UC San Diego is the harder admit. It accepts about 28.6% of first-year applicants against roughly 44.3% at UC Davis, and it drew about 136,750 applications to UC Davis's roughly 103,000, so it runs both more applied-to and more selective. Both campuses review holistically without test scores, which puts the most weight on the rigor of your high school record and your academic GPA at either one.

For engineering and computing, UC San Diego leans harder in. That field accounts for about 19% of its bachelor's degrees versus roughly 14% at UC Davis. Both run serious research programs where engineering draws plenty of applicants, though UC Davis tends to pair its engineering offerings with deep strengths in agriculture and the environmental sciences. For a focus on core CS and engineering, UC San Diego's program mix sits closer to the center of that target.

Call it a tie at the top line, with UC San Diego ahead on sheer volume. The biological and life sciences rank as the single most popular field at both, claiming about 20% of degrees at UC San Diego and roughly 17% at UC Davis. UC Davis brings distinctive depth through its land-grant programs in agriculture, the environment, and veterinary medicine, while UC San Diego ties its biology to oceanography at the Scripps Institution. Strong pre-med and life-science applicants do well at either.

Out-of-state cost lands close, with UC San Diego nudging slightly higher on sticker. Non-resident tuition and required fees run about $57,270 at UC Davis and about $58,494 at UC San Diego; on-campus food and housing add roughly $22,000 at Davis and $20,300 at San Diego. Both meet about 82% of demonstrated need on average. UC Davis reports an average aid package near $32,557 with 54% of first-years getting need-based grant aid, and UC San Diego reports about $30,932 with 52% receiving aid. Keep in mind that most UC aid flows to California residents, so out-of-state families should plan to pay closer to full price at either campus.

Enrolling about 35,442 undergraduates to UC Davis's roughly 31,695, UC San Diego runs larger. It houses students within a system of residential colleges in coastal La Jolla, whereas UC Davis spreads across the UC system's largest campus in a quieter college town near Sacramento. Both house most undergraduates on or near campus, about 86% at UC San Diego and 90% at UC Davis.

Neither requires them. UC Davis and UC San Diego both go test-blind, so they will not accept or consider SAT or ACT scores even if you send them. Each formally lists standardized test scores as 'not considered' among its admission factors, which means your application gets reviewed entirely on coursework rigor, GPA, essays, and the rest of the holistic file.