California State University, Long Beach vs University of California, Santa Barbara: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Net Price

University of California, Santa Barbara is the more selective of the two, admitting 33.0% of applicants versus 46.3% at California State University, Long Beach. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $9,705 per year at California State University, Long Beach versus $12,588 at University of California, Santa Barbara.

California State University, Long Beach vs University of California, Santa Barbara: admissions and cost statistics from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard
MetricCalifornia State University, Long BeachUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
Overall acceptance rate46.3%33.0%
Early acceptance rate46.3%33.0%
Avg unweighted GPA3.73.7
Yield rate17.0%14.0%
Class size5,7564,967
Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income$9,705$12,588
Net price, over $110,000 income$19,750$31,863

Admissions and cost data as of July 3, 2026 (CDS 2024–25 cycle), from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard. Rows appear only where both colleges report the statistic.

Frequently asked questions

Is California State University, Long Beach harder to get into than University of California, Santa Barbara?

No. University of California, Santa Barbara is more selective: it admits 33.0% of applicants, versus 46.3% at California State University, Long Beach, based on the most recent Common Data Set.

Which is cheaper for a middle-income family, California State University, Long Beach or University of California, Santa Barbara?

For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $9,705 per year at California State University, Long Beach and $12,588 at University of California, Santa Barbara, so California State University, Long Beach is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).

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