UC Santa Cruz vs Iowa State

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant coastal town of Santa Cruz or the bustling college town of Ames, Iowa. University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) and Iowa State University (ISU) offer distinct experiences, each with its own charm and academic strengths. UCSC boasts a lower acceptance rate, a more diverse student body, and a focus on environmental studies and the arts, while ISU is known for its strong engineering, agriculture, and veterinary medicine programs. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into the details of these two universities, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates. Discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences, setting the stage for your transformative college journey.

	Iowa State University	University of California-Santa Cruz
Overview
Location	Ames, Iowa	Santa Cruz, California
Campus setting	City: Small	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	88.0%	89.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.1%	58.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1083 - 1330	N/A
ACT range	21 - 28	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	13.0%
Students submitting ACT score	63.0%
Total number of applicants	20,357	61,695
Total number of admissions given out	18,550	36,177
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,387	4,187
Yield rate	29.0%	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: $22,152 Out of state: $37,964	In state: $36,107 Out of state: $65,861
Average net price	$15,422	$19,615
Tuition	In state: $8,324 Out of state: $24,136	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,590 Meal plan: $4,498	$17,429
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	87.0% Average amount $8,833	57.0% Average amount $19,199
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $5,202	20.0% Average amount $4,717
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $11,630	9.0% Average amount $3,115

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	25,808 Men 56.1% Women 43.9%	17,864 Men 52.2% Women 47.8%
Graduate students	4,900 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	1,977 Men 53.4% Women 46.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	5.7%
International students	8.2%	8.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	9,400	9,300
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Washington Colorado Oregon Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Agriculture Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Social Sciences Physical Science Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	24:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.0%	78.1%
Dropout rate	6.1%	15.6%
Transferred out	16.7%	5.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,739 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $101,292 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,956 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $95,081 Industrial Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,120 Year 2: $89,059 Year 3: $92,521 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,573 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $85,108 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,299 Year 2: $73,321 Year 3: $83,452 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,598 Year 2: $73,839 Year 3: $83,292 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,184 Year 2: $71,734 Year 3: $81,196 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,223 Year 2: $70,680 Year 3: $79,916 Construction Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,580 Year 2: $70,083 Year 3: $77,479 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,534 Year 2: $67,156 Year 3: $76,113	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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