UC San Diego vs Harvard

Envision yourself pursuing higher education at two of the nation's most prestigious institutions: University of California-San Diego (UCSD) and Harvard University. While both universities share a reputation for academic excellence, they offer distinct experiences. UCSD, a public research university, boasts a sprawling campus in sunny San Diego, California, while Harvard, a private Ivy League institution, resides in historic Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dive into our comprehensive comparison table to explore the nuances that set these universities apart. Discover the differences in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Whether you seek a vibrant, diverse community or a long-standing legacy of academic achievement, this side-by-side analysis will guide you towards the university that best aligns with your aspirations and goals.

	Harvard University	University of California-San Diego
Overview
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts	La Jolla, California
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.0%	34.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $105	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1480 - 1580	N/A
ACT range	33 - 36	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	54.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%
Total number of applicants	57,786	118,386
Total number of admissions given out	2,318	40,493
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,951	7,544
Yield rate	84.2%	18.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,028	In state: $35,116 Out of state: $64,870
Average net price	$13,910	$15,632
Tuition	$51,143	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,705 Meal plan: $7,236	$16,145
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	56.0% Average amount $59,840	48.0% Average amount $18,083
Students receiving federal student loan	3.0% Average amount $5,180	21.0% Average amount $4,545
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $8,080	7.0% Average amount $4,851

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,579 Men 49.0% Women 51.0%	33,343 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	21,766 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%	8,542 Men 57.6% Women 42.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	16.6%
International students	23.9%	21.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	12,874	17,765
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Texas Illinois New Jersey	California Washington Texas New York Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Social Sciences Education Legal Profession	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	96.7%	89.4%
Dropout rate	2.0%	9.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,193 Year 2: $128,716 Year 3: $240,408 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $184,307 Year 2: $165,340 Year 3: $199,043 Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $171,333 Year 2: $171,907 Year 3: $187,553 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $140,072 Year 2: $128,737 Year 3: $163,896 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $151,371 Year 2: $174,023 Year 3: $163,512 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $123,508 Year 2: $117,916 Year 3: $129,281 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $121,832 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $102,707 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $121,771 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $97,905 Year 2: $98,670 Year 3: $107,389 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $68,745 Year 2: $71,486 Year 3: $106,375	Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $127,768 Year 2: $162,463 Year 3: $194,475 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $122,641 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $153,118 Physics (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $124,326 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,445 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $123,569 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,196 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $113,628 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,603 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $109,783 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $108,034 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $87,738 Year 2: $86,972 Year 3: $105,245 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,610 Year 2: $75,706 Year 3: $102,296 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,476 Year 2: $79,688 Year 3: $99,630

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Harvard

California Institute of Technology