University of California, Davis is the more selective of the two, admitting 44.6% of applicants versus 65.6% at University of California, Santa Cruz. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $11,951 per year at University of California, Davis versus $14,418 at University of California, Santa Cruz.
| Metric | University of California, Davis | University of California, Santa Cruz |
|---|---|---|
| Overall acceptance rate | 44.6% | 65.6% |
| Avg unweighted GPA | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Yield rate | 18.0% | 9.0% |
| Class size | 6,804 | 4,381 |
| Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income | $11,951 | $14,418 |
| Net price, over $110,000 income | $31,272 | $33,323 |
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.
Yes. University of California, Davis admits 44.6% of applicants, compared with 65.6% at University of California, Santa Cruz, making it the harder school to get into, based on the most recent Common Data Set.
For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $11,951 per year at University of California, Davis and $14,418 at University of California, Santa Cruz, so University of California, Davis is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).
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