UW-Madison vs UC Merced

Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, University of Wisconsin-Madison, with its rich history and sprawling campus, stands in stark contrast to the relatively young University of California-Merced, situated in the vibrant Central Valley. While both institutions offer a wealth of opportunities, they differ significantly in terms of acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Delve into our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of California-Merced	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Overview
Location	Merced, California	Madison, Wisconsin
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	95.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.6%	60.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	1320 - 1500
ACT range	N/A	26 - 32
Students submitting SAT score		15.0%
Students submitting ACT score		55.0%
Total number of applicants	27,793	53,781
Total number of admissions given out	24,068	32,459
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,410	8,465
Yield rate	10.0%	26.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	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: $27,418 Out of state: $55,306
Average net price	$11,586	$13,484
Tuition	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196	In state: $9,273 Out of state: $37,161
Room & board	$18,901	Room/dormitory: $7,367 Meal plan: $4,100
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	92.0% Average amount $21,623	54.0% Average amount $10,932
Students receiving federal student loan	18.0% Average amount $4,470	26.0% Average amount $5,175
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $2,687	6.0% Average amount $16,550

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,321 Men 47.7% Women 52.3%	34,561 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
Graduate students	772 Men 55.8% Women 44.2%	12,455 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	0.2%	50.6%
International students	8.7%	13.8%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,634	9,226
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	Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota California New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Physical Science Social Sciences English Language and Literature Psychology	Health Professions Business Social Sciences Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	71.6%	89.2%
Dropout rate	5.0%	10.0%
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	Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $107,256 Year 3: $131,458 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $113,083 Year 2: $111,992 Year 3: $130,357 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,390 Year 2: $113,091 Year 3: $124,360 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $96,320 Year 2: $117,042 Year 3: $123,777 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $110,338 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $111,424 Real Estate (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $115,339 Year 3: $104,219 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $115,387 Year 2: $100,213 Year 3: $103,937 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,839 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $97,306 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $85,538 Year 3: $94,093 Real Estate (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,730 Year 2: $73,949 Year 3: $91,306

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