UC Santa Cruz CDS VERIFIED

California (West) · 18,000 undergrads · ~37 avg class size · 17:1 student-faculty · $15,000/yr sticker

public Tier 4

Quirky redwood campus. Strong in marine biology, astronomy, and game design. Less competitive than other UCs.

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Stats below are CDS-based estimates from recent admissions cycles. Verify on the school's official site before making application decisions.

Acceptance rate

65.8%

most recent reported cycle

GPA range

3.74–4.1

middle 50% of admitted students (unweighted)

SAT mid-50%

Test-blind

does not consider SAT/ACT

ACT mid-50%

Test-blind

does not consider SAT/ACT

Median earnings (10-yr)

$68K

Federal data — 10 yrs after college entry, all majors combined

≈ 2.4 years of post-grad earnings cover 4 yrs of attendance

Career outcomes · 10 sources

$49K

Entry

$68K

10-year

$61K

Mid-career

Median graduate earnings · 2.4 yrs to pay back 4 yrs of cost · est. lifetime ROI $172K.
Earnings cross-referenced across 10 sources (College Scorecard, Opportunity Insights, Georgetown CEW, FREOPP, PayScale, and more).

Where this leads

Real career pipelines from this school, based on alumni outcomes and recruiting patterns.

Tech in SF Bay Area and Silicon Valley: strong CS pipeline, especially startups and mid-tier firms.
Applied ML and data science: better than finance recruiting, alumni network in Bay Area labs.
Environmental science and marine biology: proximity to Monterey Bay, strong regional nonprofit and government placement.
Game development: decent pipeline to smaller studios in Bay Area, not AAA-tier talent magnet.
Biotech in San Diego: moderate network there, but limited compared to Berkeley or UCSD hometown advantage.

Quick facts

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Reference links

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