San Diego State University (SDSU) vs UC Davis

San Diego State University (SDSU) and University of California-Davis (UC Davis) are two distinct institutions with unique offerings. SDSU, located in the vibrant city of San Diego, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. UC Davis, situated in the charming college town of Davis, is renowned for its strong research focus and its highly regarded agricultural and veterinary science programs. While both universities offer excellent educational opportunities, they differ in terms of acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	San Diego State University	University of California-Davis
Overview
Location	San Diego, California	Davis, California
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	90.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	37.9%	48.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	67,660	87,120
Total number of admissions given out	25,646	42,475
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,269	7,482
Yield rate	20.5%	17.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,256 Out of state: $40,136	In state: $32,584 Out of state: $62,338
Average net price	$6,867	$16,640
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $12,824 Meal plan: $6,344	$17,018
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	47.0% Average amount $9,026	59.0% Average amount $17,628
Students receiving federal student loan	18.0% Average amount $5,015	23.0% Average amount $4,043
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $21,638	11.0% Average amount $3,360

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	31,321 Men 43.1% Women 56.9%	31,657 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%
Graduate students	5,163 Men 35.9% Women 64.1%	8,393 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	24.2%	7.5%
International students	5.5%	17.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	6,514	11,142
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Colorado Texas New Jersey	California Washington Illinois Texas Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Agriculture Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	21:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.2%	86.9%
Dropout rate	20.5%	11.8%
Transferred out	1.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,200 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $87,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,225 Year 2: $87,377 Year 3: $85,451 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,870 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $80,004 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,965 Year 2: $65,089 Year 3: $79,350 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,385 Year 2: $69,757 Year 3: $78,880 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,997 Year 2: $66,318 Year 3: $76,755 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $74,008 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $75,680 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,000 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $75,014 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,495 Year 2: $62,317 Year 3: $73,021 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,099 Year 2: $67,995 Year 3: $72,884	Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $121,903 Year 2: $135,393 Year 3: $137,917 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $127,500 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: $135,009 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $106,299 Year 2: $116,258 Year 3: $127,335 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,488 Year 2: $81,609 Year 3: $103,694 Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $80,669 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $100,961 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $112,976 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $99,585 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $81,487 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $98,364 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $94,032 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,487 Year 2: $70,370 Year 3: $89,594 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $73,514 Year 2: $74,262 Year 3: $87,586

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San Diego State University (SDSU) vs UC Davis

San Diego State University

University of California-Davis

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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