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University of California-San Diego vs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

La Jolla, CA · Champaign, IL · largest Scorecard gap: acceptance rate

Scorecard match plate

Pair CA:IL

PUBLIC-PAIR · CROSS-STATE · ACCEPT-GAP · NET-SPLIT · EARN-PAR · DEBT-SPLIT · COMPLETE-HIGH · GAP-ACCEPT

  • PUBLIC-PAIR Public pair
  • CROSS-STATE CA × IL
  • ACCEPT-GAP Admission gap
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-PAR Earnings near-par
  • DEBT-SPLIT Debt split
  • COMPLETE-HIGH High completion
  • GAP-ACCEPT Largest gap · Acceptance Rate

Instrument codes from this pair's College Scorecard ownership, geography, acceptance, net price, earnings, debt, and completion, plus the ENROLL-RACE · wide · 2013–2023 decade-path stamp below, not a ranking or recommendation.

Decade path · College Scorecard

Both grew, one campus expanded much faster

ENROLL-RACE · wide · 2013–2023

Undergraduate headcount rose at both University of California-San Diego and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign across 2013–2023, with a wide pace gap, while acceptance rates tightened on both sides. Growth plus a shared selectivity squeeze is the board's distinctive shape.

  • University of California-San Diego: enrollment grew +42.0% over 2013–2023; fitted +1,028 students/yr fitted, r² 0.97.
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: enrollment grew +9.3% over 2013–2023; fitted +266 students/yr fitted, r² 0.94.
  • University of California-San Diego: acceptance rate tightened -34.6% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.46).
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: acceptance rate tightened -30.0% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.47).

College Scorecard institution series; dollars are nominal. Direction claims require r² ≥ 0.40 on the fitted annual slope, otherwise the page reports the observed range. Descriptive history, not a recommendation.

Scorecard metrics

Cards ordered by relative gap on this pair. Teal = better side.

Largest gaps: University of California-San Diego vs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  1. ACCEPTANCE-RATE University of California-San Diego leads on acceptance rate (26.7% vs 42.4% at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
  2. OUT-OF-STATE-TUITI University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign leads on out-of-state tuition ($35,124 vs $50,958 at University of California-San Diego)
  3. MEDIAN-DEBT-AT-GRA University of California-San Diego leads on median debt at graduation ($15,500 vs $19,500 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

University of California-San Diego profile · University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign profile · Compare other colleges

Acceptance Rate and other Scorecard questions

On acceptance rate, who leads between University of California-San Diego and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign?▼
University of California-San Diego leads on acceptance rate at 26.7% versus 42.4% at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On out-of-state tuition, who leads between University of California-San Diego and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign?▼
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign leads on out-of-state tuition at $35,124 versus $50,958 at University of California-San Diego. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median debt at graduation, who leads between University of California-San Diego and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign?▼
University of California-San Diego leads on median debt at graduation at $15,500 versus $19,500 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard College Scorecard institution outcomes (earnings, completion, debt); acceptance rate focus for this pair · 2025