University of California, Irvine vs University of California, San Diego: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Net Price

University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Diego are about equally selective, admitting 28.8% and 26.8% of applicants respectively. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $11,642 per year at University of California, Irvine versus $9,942 at University of California, San Diego.

University of California, Irvine vs University of California, San Diego: admissions and cost statistics from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard
MetricUniversity of California, IrvineUniversity of California, San Diego
Overall acceptance rate28.8%26.8%
Avg unweighted GPA3.953.7
Yield rate22.0%21.0%
Class size6,7367,330
Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income$11,642$9,942
Net price, over $110,000 income$30,546$28,785

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 University of California, Irvine harder to get into than University of California, San Diego?

The two are about equally selective: University of California, Irvine admits 28.8% of applicants and University of California, San Diego admits 26.8%, based on the most recent Common Data Set.

Which is cheaper for a middle-income family, University of California, Irvine or University of California, San Diego?

For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $11,642 per year at University of California, Irvine and $9,942 at University of California, San Diego, so University of California, San Diego is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).

Dig deeper

More comparisons

Florida State University vs University of California, IrvineUniversity of California, Irvine vs University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Irvine vs University of Texas at AustinUniversity of California, Berkeley vs University of California, San Diego

Stats compare the schools — the simulation compares you against each school's applicant pool.

Estimate your chances at University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Diego