University of California, Los Angeles vs. University of California, San Diego

UCLA is the tougher admit by a wide margin, taking about 9% of applicants against roughly 28.6% at UC San Diego (more than three times the share). It also draws more applications than any other university in the country, about 146,276 first-year applications to UCSD's 136,750. Out-of-state odds run tighter than those headline rates at both, since each enrolls only a thin slice of its class from outside California: about 13% of UCLA undergraduates and 12% of UC San Diego's.

UC San Diego goes deeper into these fields by degree mix. Engineering and computing together form its second-largest area at about 19% of degrees, behind only the sciences at roughly 25%. UCLA puts engineering and math at about 15% of degrees and leads instead with the social sciences (25%) and psychology (12%). A student who wants an undergraduate experience built around engineering and computing finds the heavier concentration at UC San Diego, while UCLA fits one who wants those fields inside a more social-sciences-led university.

They peak in different places. UCLA confers the most degrees in the social sciences at about 25%, then the life and physical sciences (18%), the liberal arts (16%), and psychology (12%). UC San Diego leads with the sciences at roughly 25%, where the biological and life sciences alone make up its single most popular field at about 20%, then engineering and computing (19%), the social sciences (18%), and a large interdisciplinary block (17%). UCLA tilts toward the social sciences and humanities, UC San Diego toward the sciences and applied fields.

UCLA charges the lower sticker on tuition and fees both ways, about $15,701 in-state and $53,303 out-of-state against $20,892 and $58,494 at UC San Diego. After aid the gap narrows: UC San Diego puts a larger share of first-years on need-based aid (about 52% to UCLA's 44%) and posts a slightly larger average package (roughly $30,932 versus $30,522), while UCLA meets a bit more demonstrated need on average (85% to UC San Diego's 82%). High-need families land close at the two, and full-pay families pay less at UCLA at either residency.

No, neither one does. Both run test-blind as University of California campuses, so they will not accept or consider SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions even if you send them. Each weighs the rigor of your high school coursework and your academic GPA as the most important factors instead, which is why admitted students show strong transcripts rather than scores, with average high school GPAs near 3.93 at UCLA and 3.88 at UC San Diego.

Setting splits them most clearly. UCLA's Westwood campus drops students inside Los Angeles with a spirited, athletics-and-clubs student culture, while UC San Diego sits on the La Jolla coast and sorts undergraduates into a system of residential colleges that gives the large campus a smaller-community feel. The two enroll almost the same number of undergraduates (about 33,471 at UCLA and 35,442 at UC San Diego), so scale isn't the contrast. UCLA houses a higher share on campus (about 96% versus 86%), and both keep and graduate students at a high clip, with UCLA at 97% first-year retention and a 93% six-year graduation rate against UC San Diego's 95% and 86%.