University of California-Berkeley
Public Research University in Berkeley, CA. Six-year graduation rate 93%. Median 10-year earnings $92,446.
Students who entered University of California-Berkeley reach a median of $92,446 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. Completion is a strength: 93% of students finish within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $13,000. On economic mobility, 4.9% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.14 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 93% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 11% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
This is a highly selective admit: 11% of applicants receive an offer. With 124,242 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 46% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of California-Berkeley →Academics
A 93% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 97% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The part-time picture is harder: 81% return, against 97% full-time. At 18:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. As a public four-year university, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 33,073 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,538 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $5,311 at the $0–30k band to $34,529 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 60% of students at an average of $25,091. 17% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 6,604 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $5,311 |
| $30–48k | $6,501 |
| $48–75k | $9,693 |
| $75–110k | $15,074 |
| $110k+ | $34,529 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,566 of these 33,073 students, totalling $29,942,572 — an average of $5,380 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Alameda County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)