University of California, Irvine vs University of California, Santa Barbara: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Net Price

University of California, Irvine is the more selective of the two, admitting 28.8% of applicants versus 33.0% at University of California, Santa Barbara. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $11,642 per year at University of California, Irvine versus $12,588 at University of California, Santa Barbara.

University of California, Irvine vs University of California, Santa Barbara: admissions and cost statistics from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard
MetricUniversity of California, IrvineUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
Overall acceptance rate28.8%33.0%
SAT middle 50%1240–14101250–1460
Avg unweighted GPA3.953.7
Yield rate22.0%14.0%
Class size6,7364,967
Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income$11,642$12,588
Net price, over $110,000 income$30,546$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 University of California, Irvine harder to get into than University of California, Santa Barbara?

Yes. University of California, Irvine admits 28.8% of applicants, compared with 33.0% at University of California, Santa Barbara, making it the harder school to get into, based on the most recent Common Data Set.

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

For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $11,642 per year at University of California, Irvine and $12,588 at University of California, Santa Barbara, so University of California, Irvine is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).

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