University of
California-San Diego
Public Research University in La Jolla, CA. Six-year graduation rate 86%. Median 10-year earnings $84,943.
Students who entered University of California-San Diego reach a median of $84,943 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 86% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $15,500, a light load against those earnings. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 4.8% of students move 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 0.18 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 86% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
At 27%, the acceptance rate makes University of California-San Diego a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. The applicant pool is large — 134,450 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield sits at 20% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all.
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-San Diego →Academics
A 86% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention is strong at 94%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The part-time picture is harder: 84% return, against 94% full-time. A 19:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. 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 33,787 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $14,047 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The income table below is the number that matters — $7,525 at $0–30k versus $28,785 at $110k+. About 59% get grants averaging $23,807, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 21% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 6,986 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 | $7,525 |
| $30–48k | $8,155 |
| $48–75k | $9,942 |
| $75–110k | $15,199 |
| $110k+ | $28,785 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,228 of these 33,787 students, totalling $32,712,037 — an average of $4,526 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Diego 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)