La Jolla, CA · public · 34,948 undergraduates
University of California, San Diego acceptance rate, SAT range and net price
UC San Diego admitted 27.2% of its fall 2026 first-year applicants, and out-of-state applicants were admitted at a higher rate than Californians the year before.
Net price per year at UC San Diego
$15,199
Target · admit rate 27.2%
| Admit rate, Fall 2026 entering class, preliminary admits (snapshot) | 27.2% (1 in 4) |
| Test scores | Not considered (test-free) |
| This site’s label | Target |
| Sticker price 2026-27, in-state | $43,318 |
| Paid by families with $75,001-$110,000 (2023-24) | $15,199 |
| Share of the sticker price | 35% |
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 San Diego net price calculator. How this is calculated.
Admissions: UC Admissions, UC San Diego first-year admit data (fall 2026 snapshot); residency split from UCOP Fact Sheet Fall 2026 First-Year and Transfer 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
- 27.2%
- SAT middle 50%
- test-free
- Sticker price 2026-27
- $43,318
- Net price, income $48k to $75k
- $9,942
UC San Diego admitted 38,571 of 141,767 first-year applicants for fall 2026, an acceptance rate of 27.2%, in the University of California's preliminary snapshot. Its Common Data Set 2025-2026 covers the class before: 39,054 admits from 136,750 applications and 7,801 enrolled first-years. No test scores are read; the enrolled class averaged a 3.88 high school GPA among the 94% who reported one. The 2026-27 figures in the same document come to $43,318 for a Californian living on campus and $82,588 for a nonresident, before health insurance. In 2023-24 the federal average net price was $7,525 for families under $30,000 and $15,199 between $75,001 and $110,000, and Blue and Gold covers tuition for most California families earning up to $100,000. Residency matters a great deal in San Diego, because the campus admitted out-of-state applicants at a clearly higher rate than Californians in fall 2025.
Residency changes the odds at UC San Diego
UC San Diego publishes its admission counts by residency, and the split runs against the home state. For fall 2025, California residents filed 87,584 applications and received 21,677 admissions, about 24.7%, while out-of-state U.S. applicants received 9,881 of 24,912, about 39.7%. International applicants received 7,496 offers from 24,254 applications, and 1,409 of them enrolled. A Californian therefore faces a lower admit rate than the overall figure, and a nonresident a higher one, at a price that is nearly double.
The waiting list was a real second round: 36,709 students were offered a place for fall 2025, 25,411 accepted and 5,284 were eventually admitted.
UC San Diego: the out-of-state premium
Extra tuition for a non-CA student
$136,800
| In-state tuition and fees 2024-25 | $16,758 |
| Out-of-state tuition and fees 2024-25 | $50,958 |
| Gap per year | $34,200 |
Published tuition and fees, before any nonresident scholarship; future increases not included.
A tuition frozen for six years
The Common Data Set lists 2026-27 costs for a first-year student: tuition of $14,202 for a Californian or $53,472 for a nonresident, $3,789 of required fees and $20,443 for food and housing on campus, plus $1,203 for books, $921 for transportation and $2,760 of other expenses. The campus notes that the UC Tuition Stability Plan freezes an incoming cohort's tuition for six years, so the figure a student pays as a freshman is the figure for the whole degree. Health insurance is not in these totals and is billed unless waived.
UC San Diego: net price for your family income
Average net price, 2023-24
$9,942
| Income band | $48,001-$75,000 |
| Share of the 2023-24 cost | 26% |
In-state students; federal figure for students on federal aid.
Applying to San Diego without scores or an early round
The UC system does not use SAT or ACT results for admission. The UC snapshot puts the middle half of fall 2026 admits at a 4.12 to 4.28 high school GPA, slightly below UCLA and UC Berkeley, and the admit rate is more than twice theirs. There is no Early Decision or Early Action: one UC application, filed between October 1 and November 30, reaches San Diego and any other campus chosen. California students in the top 9 percent of their school or the state are guaranteed a UC seat, not necessarily this one. Compare San Diego with UC Irvine and UC Davis in the comparison tool.
From University of California, San Diego’s own documents
- For fall 2025, California residents filed 87,584 applications and received 21,677 admissions (24.7%), while out-of-state U.S. applicants received 9,881 of 24,912 (39.7%). source
- International applicants received 7,496 admissions out of 24,254 applications for fall 2025, and 1,409 enrolled. source
- UC San Diego offered 36,709 applicants a waiting-list place for fall 2025; 25,411 accepted and 5,284 were admitted from it. source
- For fall 2026 UC San Diego admitted 38,571 of 141,767 first-year applicants (preliminary), a 27.2% rate. source
- UC San Diego's CDS notes that the UC Tuition Stability Plan freezes an incoming cohort's tuition for six years. source
- UC guarantees first-year admission to a UC campus, though not necessarily the campus of choice, to California students in the top 9 percent of their high school or of the state. source
Net price at University of California, San Diego by family income
| Family income | Average net price 2023-24 | Share of the 2023-24 cost |
|---|---|---|
| $0-$30,000 | $7,525 | 19% |
| $30,001-$48,000 | $8,155 | 21% |
| $48,001-$75,000 | $9,942 | 26% |
| $75,001-$110,000 | $15,199 | 39% |
| $110,001 and up | $28,785 | 74% |
| All aided students | $12,470 | 32% |
Cost of attendance at University of California, San Diego, 2026-27
| Item | In-state | Out-of-state |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $14,202 | $53,472 |
| Fees | $3,789 | $3,789 |
| Housing and food | $20,443 | $20,443 |
| Books and supplies | $1,203 | $1,203 |
| Personal | $2,760 | $2,760 |
| Travel | $921 | $921 |
| Total | $43,318 | $82,588 |
University of California, San Diego admissions by cycle
| Entering class | Applicants | Admitted | Enrolled | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 entering class, preliminary admits (snapshot) | 141,767 | 38,571 | n/a | 27.2% |
| Fall 2025 entering class | 136,750 | 39,054 | 7,801 | 28.6% |
| Fall 2024 (federal IPEDS figure) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 26.7% |
Outcomes at University of California, San Diego
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Graduated within 6 years | 86% | fall 2018 entering cohort |
| Returned for a second year | 94% | fall 2023 entering cohort |
| Median earnings 10 years after entry | $84,943 | measured 2020-2021, 10 years after entry, 2022 dollars |
| Median federal debt of graduates | $15,500 | students who finished in 2019-20 and 2020-21 |
| Undergraduates | 34,948 | fall 2024 |
| Students with a Pell Grant | 34% | 2023-24 |