University of California-Riverside
Public Research University in Riverside, CA. Six-year graduation rate 76%. Median 10-year earnings $67,699.
A decade after enrolling, the median University of California-Riverside student earns $67,699 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. Completion is a strength: 76% of students finish within six years. Graduates carry a median of $17,500 in debt — in line with the national norm. On economic mobility, 6.0% 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 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Mobility score 6.0 — top quartile among US colleges
- ✓ Graduation rate 76% — well above the national average
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 76% puts University of California-Riverside on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool is large — 58,048 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is low at 12%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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-Riverside →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 76% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 88% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 54% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The student-faculty ratio is 22:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 22,644 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $14,562 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $8,852 at the $0–30k band to $30,393 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 74% of students at an average of $21,726. 31% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 5,486 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 | $8,852 |
| $30–48k | $9,840 |
| $48–75k | $13,111 |
| $75–110k | $16,571 |
| $110k+ | $30,393 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,027 of these 22,644 students, totalling $38,149,091 — an average of $5,429 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Riverside 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)