What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Alternatives to University of California-San Diego

University of California-San Diego posts an average net price of $12,470 after grants and scholarships, the IPEDS-derived figure used to anchor this alternatives search. We screened institutions in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System for colleges that report a lower net price and share structural similarity with University of California-San Diego across six dimensions – ownership sector, Carnegie classification, undergraduate enrollment, admission rate, former-student earnings, and completion rate. 9 institutions cleared a 40-percent similarity threshold.

The maximum possible savings across this list is $6,296, achieved by United States Merchant Marine Academy at $6,174. Of greater interest to ROI-focused applicants: 2 of the 9 alternatives also report median 10-year earnings at or above University of California-San Diego’s $84,943, meaning lower cost is not paired with lower earnings. The mean median-earnings figure across alternatives is $72,268.

The similarity scoring gives enrollment size, Carnegie classification, and ownership sector the highest weights as transparent structural matching choices. Admission and completion rates are secondary features, while net price determines which lower-cost matches appear. Net price is the average cost of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients; it describes that source cohort, not the aid a typical admitted student or any individual family will receive. It is more informative than sticker tuition for that cohort but is not a personalized quote.