UC Santa Barbara vs University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (Pitt)

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of Santa Barbara, California, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home to two esteemed institutions of higher learning: University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) and University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (Pitt). While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they offer distinct experiences shaped by their unique locations, student demographics, and academic strengths. UCSB boasts a higher acceptance rate, attracting a diverse student body from across the globe, while Pitt's acceptance rate is more selective, resulting in a predominantly local student population. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your college decision. Discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences, setting the stage for a transformative educational journey.

	University of California-Santa Barbara	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
Overview
Location	Santa Barbara, California	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	93.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	29.2%	66.7%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $55 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	1250 - 1470
ACT range	N/A	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		49.0%
Students submitting ACT score		16.0%
Total number of applicants	105,641	34,656
Total number of admissions given out	30,824	23,109
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,900	4,875
Yield rate	15.9%	21.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $35,374 Out of state: $65,128	In state: $36,394 Out of state: $51,426
Average net price	$17,333	$22,996
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	In state: $19,092 Out of state: $34,124
Room & board	$16,699	Room/dormitory: $6,880 Meal plan: $4,940
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $18,107	74.0% Average amount $12,822
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,576	51.0% Average amount $5,334
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $10,788	12.0% Average amount $19,190

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	23,091 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	23,885 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	3,033 Men 53.2% Women 46.8%	9,345 Men 40.5% Women 59.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	13.2%	39.6%
International students	13.4%	8.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	11,031	8,760
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 York	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Physical Science	Health Professions Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.4%	84.3%
Dropout rate	14.0%	3.0%
Transferred out	N/A	12.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $86,276 Year 2: $81,554 Year 3: $96,623 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,726 Year 2: $76,773 Year 3: $94,355 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,445 Year 2: $72,134 Year 3: $88,523 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,540 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $73,916 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,678 Year 2: $60,452 Year 3: $73,907 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,465 Year 2: $60,790 Year 3: $73,844 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,765 Year 2: $59,536 Year 3: $71,984 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,194 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $71,014 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,972 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $70,694 Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,652 Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $66,826	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Post-Baccalaureate Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $220,906 Year 3: $231,651 Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $191,732 Year 2: $172,991 Year 3: $167,114 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $123,211 Year 2: $136,434 Year 3: $139,418 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $73,006 Year 2: $83,177 Year 3: $119,626 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $91,548 Year 2: $108,012 Year 3: $119,626 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,381 Year 2: $99,174 Year 3: $104,969 Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $88,815 Year 2: $90,572 Year 3: $98,136 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,499 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $92,231 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,120 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $89,317 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $79,727 Year 3: $79,626

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.