UW-Bothell vs UC Merced

Nestled in the vibrant city of Bothell, Washington, the University of Washington-Bothell Campus offers a dynamic learning environment just a stone's throw away from Seattle. In contrast, the University of California-Merced, situated in the heart of California's Central Valley, boasts a stunning campus surrounded by rolling hills. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of California-Merced	University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Overview
Location	Merced, California	Bothell, Washington
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: Large
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	79.0%	88.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.6%	83.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $85
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	27,793	4,423
Total number of admissions given out	24,068	3,672
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,410	900
Yield rate	10.0%	24.5%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,870 Out of state: $58,624	In state: $30,877 Out of state: $58,707
Average net price	$11,586	$7,577
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	In state: $10,927 Out of state: $38,757
Room & board	$18,901	$14,154
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	92.0% Average amount $21,623	49.0% Average amount $16,408
Students receiving federal student loan	18.0% Average amount $4,470	22.0% Average amount $4,274
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $2,687	1.0% Average amount $16,836

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,321 Men 47.7% Women 52.3%	5,454 Men 52.9% Women 47.1%
Graduate students	772 Men 55.8% Women 44.2%	598 Men 49.8% Women 50.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.2%	N/A
International students	8.7%	6.7%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,634	174
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Alaska Idaho Missouri Texas	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Physical Science Social Sciences English Language and Literature Psychology	Business Engineering Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	22:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	71.6%	66.3%
Dropout rate	5.0%	31.4%
Transferred out	22.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,675 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $68,164 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,936 Year 2: $51,392 Year 3: $67,761 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,771 Year 2: $43,000 Year 3: $57,642 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,420 Year 2: $39,729 Year 3: $53,045 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,245 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $50,288 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,755 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $49,047 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,917 Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $47,958 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,685 Year 2: $31,391 Year 3: $43,274 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,397 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $42,368 Cognitive Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,909 Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: $40,928	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $116,990 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $154,987 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $137,584 Year 2: $120,252 Year 3: $152,099 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $133,070 Year 2: $127,652 Year 3: $142,606 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $106,287 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $121,695 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $101,710 Year 2: $101,221 Year 3: $118,800 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,726 Year 2: $99,072 Year 3: $115,501 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $105,813 Year 2: $95,549 Year 3: $97,725 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,196 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $85,429 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,856 Year 2: $70,961 Year 3: $82,839 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,433 Year 2: $67,164 Year 3: $81,121

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