Santa Cruz, CA · public · 17,940 undergraduates
University of California, Santa Cruz acceptance rate, SAT range and net price
UC Santa Cruz offered places to 82.3% of its fall 2026 first-year applicants on preliminary counts, after 72.7% for fall 2025.
Net price per year at UC Santa Cruz
$18,986
Likely · admit rate 82.3%
| Admit rate, Fall 2026 first-year (preliminary) | 82.3% (1 in 1) |
| Test scores | Not considered (test-free) |
| This site’s label | Likely |
| Sticker price 2026-27, in-state | $48,537 |
| Paid by families with $75,001-$110,000 (2023-24) | $18,986 |
| Share of the sticker price | 39% |
Net price: average paid after grants by students on federal aid in that income band (2023-24), not a quote. The label is a fixed rule of this site (admit rate under 15% is a reach for everyone), not a prediction. Your exact price: UC Santa Cruz net price calculator. How this is calculated.
Admissions: UCOP Fall 2026 preliminary applications Table 1a (as of January 21, 2026) and admissions Table 1a (offers as of June 17, 2026) · net price: College Scorecard, 2023-24 · figures checked · Built by Radif Partners · Method and data
- Admit rate, newest cycle
- 82.3%
- SAT middle 50%
- test-free
- Sticker price 2026-27
- $48,537
- Net price, income $48k to $75k
- $14,418
UC Santa Cruz is one of the more open doors in the University of California: preliminary counts from the UC Office of the President show 64,867 first-year offers for fall 2026 against 78,832 applications, a rate of 82.3%. For the class that entered in fall 2025 the campus Common Data Set 2025-2026 reports 48,274 admitted out of 66,374, a rate of 72.7%, and only 4,596 enrolled. There is no SAT or ACT range to aim for, since UC admission is test-free; enrolled students averaged a 3.87 high school GPA. The 2026-27 on-campus budget for an entering student is $48,537 for a California resident and $87,807 for a non-resident. In 2023-24, aided students from families under $30,000 paid $8,717 on average, and those between $75,001 and $110,000 paid $18,986.
An easy offer, a low yield
The striking number at Santa Cruz is not the admit rate but what happens after it. Of 48,274 students admitted for fall 2025, 4,596 enrolled, fewer than one in ten. Most applicants list several UC campuses on one application and pick another when the offers arrive. For a student who would happily attend, that means the odds are generous: the campus admits far more students than it needs because it knows most will decline. The preliminary fall 2026 tables point the same way, with 54,157 offers to 65,600 California applicants, 5,879 to 6,742 applicants from other states and 4,831 to 6,490 international applicants. These are offers as of June 17, 2026, and the enrolled count will only be known in December.
UC Santa Cruz: net price for your family income
Average net price, 2023-24
$14,418
| Income band | $48,001-$75,000 |
| Share of the 2023-24 cost | 35% |
In-state students; federal figure for students on federal aid.
Tuition frozen by entry year
Santa Cruz publishes a separate 2026-27 budget for each cohort, which makes the UC Tuition Stability Plan visible. An entering student is charged $17,439 in tuition and fees: $15,588 of UC tuition and Student Services Fee and $1,851 of campus fees. A student who started a year earlier pays less, and the gap widens for each older cohort, because each class keeps the rate it entered with for up to six years. Housing and food on campus come to $21,957, and $4,209 of UC student health insurance is charged to everyone who does not file a waiver, so it sits inside the $48,537 total.
The budget is a ceiling for aid, not a bill. It counts $1,212 of books and supplies, $993 of transportation and $2,727 of personal expenses, all averages drawn from surveys of Santa Cruz students. A student who brings a laptop from home or rarely travels will spend less on those lines; the tuition, fees and insurance are fixed charges. Off-campus and commuter budgets are also published, and the commuter version is far lower because housing drops to a small allowance.
UC Santa Cruz: what your grants leave to pay
Left to pay for the year
$24,537
| Cost of attendance 2026-27 | $48,537 |
| Grants entered | $24,000 |
| Share covered by grants | 49% |
Loans and work-study are not grants: they are ways of paying what is left.
The non-resident question
A student from outside California adds $39,270 of Non-Resident Tuition, for a budget of $87,807. Blue and Gold grants are for California residents, so an out-of-state family should compare this figure with its own state university before applying. Within California, UC Santa Barbara is more selective for residents and UC Riverside costs slightly less on campus; the net price calculator applies each one to your income.
From University of California, Santa Cruz’s own documents
- UC Santa Cruz admitted 48,274 of 66,374 first-year applicants for fall 2025, and 4,596 enrolled. source
- Preliminary fall 2026 figures from UCOP: 78,832 first-year applicants and 64,867 admits, including 54,157 of 65,600 California applicants. source
- Tuition is locked by cohort: in 2026-27 an entering student pays 17,439 in tuition and fees, a student who started in 2025-26 pays 16,587 and one who started before 2022-23 pays 14,223. source
- A non-resident entering in 2026-27 on campus has a budget of 87,807 against 48,537 for a Californian, the gap being the 39,270 Non-Resident Tuition. source
- Every student is charged UC SHIP health insurance (4,209 in the 2026-27 budget) unless they file a waiver showing comparable coverage. source
- All UC campuses are test-free: SAT and ACT scores are not used for admission or for scholarships, so the odds depend on the A-G GPA, course rigor and the personal insight questions. source
Net price at University of California, Santa Cruz by family income
| Family income | Average net price 2023-24 | Share of the 2023-24 cost |
|---|---|---|
| $0-$30,000 | $8,717 | 21% |
| $30,001-$48,000 | $10,613 | 26% |
| $48,001-$75,000 | $14,418 | 35% |
| $75,001-$110,000 | $18,986 | 46% |
| $110,001 and up | $33,323 | 81% |
| All aided students | $17,890 | 43% |
Cost of attendance at University of California, Santa Cruz, 2026-27
| Item | In-state | Out-of-state |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $15,588 | $54,858 |
| Fees | $1,851 | $1,851 |
| Housing and food | $21,957 | $21,957 |
| Books and supplies | $1,212 | $1,212 |
| Personal | $2,727 | $2,727 |
| Travel | $993 | $993 |
| Total | $48,537 | $87,807 |
University of California, Santa Cruz admissions by cycle
| Entering class | Applicants | Admitted | Enrolled | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 first-year (preliminary) | 78,832 | 64,867 | n/a | 82.3% |
| Fall 2025 entering class | 66,374 | 48,274 | 4,596 | 72.7% |
| Fall 2024 (federal IPEDS figure) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 65.8% |
Outcomes at University of California, Santa Cruz
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Graduated within 6 years | 75% | fall 2018 entering cohort |
| Returned for a second year | 88% | fall 2023 entering cohort |
| Median earnings 10 years after entry | $68,396 | measured 2020-2021, 10 years after entry, 2022 dollars |
| Median federal debt of graduates | $16,666 | students who finished in 2019-20 and 2020-21 |
| Undergraduates | 17,940 | fall 2024 |
| Students with a Pell Grant | 32% | 2023-24 |