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Public Research University

University of
California-Los Angeles

Public Research University in Los Angeles, CA. Six-year graduation rate 93%. Median 10-year earnings $82,511.

Verdict High-return
University of California-Los Angeles · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$82,511
Median debt at grad
$14,000
Mobility score
5.6
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
92.6%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered University of California-Los Angeles reach a median of $82,511 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 93% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $14,000. On economic mobility, 5.6% 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.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.17 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • Graduation rate 93% — well above the national average
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags
  • ! Admit rate 9% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots

Admissions

Acceptance rate
9%
Applicants
146,272
Yield rate
50.4%

University of California-Los Angeles admits just 9% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. 146,272 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield is high — 50% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate.

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-Los Angeles →

Academics

Full-time retention
97%
Transfer-out rate
3%
Student:faculty
20:1

Six-year completion runs to 93% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 97%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 20:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. With 33,040 undergraduates, this is a large institution — expect the administrative scale and the range of offerings that come with it.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$14,512
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
55%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
19%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 33,040 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Average net price is $14,512 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The income table below is the number that matters — $5,579 at $0–30k versus $29,682 at $110k+. 55% of students receive grant aid, averaging $23,418 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 19% of students.

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.

% receiving grants
49%
Average grant
$25,627

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 6,579 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 $5,579
$30–48k $6,682
$48–75k $9,811
$75–110k $14,142
$110k+ $29,682

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 6,202 of these 33,040 students, totalling $35,442,446 — an average of $5,715 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,863/mo
1 bedroom
$2,085/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$2,601/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
858
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
No

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare University of California-Los Angeles with peer institutions

How we evaluate University of California-Los Angeles

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →