PlainCollege

University of California-Santa Barbara vs University of California-Berkeley

Santa Barbara, CA · Berkeley, CA · largest Scorecard gap: acceptance rate

Scorecard match plate

Pair CA:CA

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

  • PUBLIC-PAIR Public pair
  • SAME-STATE Same state · CA
  • ACCEPT-GAP Admission gap
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-SPLIT Earnings split
  • DEBT-PAR Debt near-par
  • 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 · narrow · 2013–2023 decade-path stamp below, not a ranking or recommendation.

Decade path · College Scorecard

Nearly parallel enrollment growth

ENROLL-RACE · narrow · 2013–2023

Undergraduate headcount rose at both University of California-Santa Barbara and University of California-Berkeley across 2013–2023 on similar paces, while acceptance rates tightened on both sides, a growth-under-squeeze pattern rather than a pure size race.

  • University of California-Berkeley: enrollment grew +27.4% over 2013–2023; fitted +670 students/yr fitted, r² 0.92.
  • University of California-Santa Barbara: enrollment grew +19.8% over 2013–2023; fitted +397 students/yr fitted, r² 0.83.
  • University of California-Santa Barbara: acceptance rate tightened -37.5% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.63).
  • University of California-Berkeley: acceptance rate tightened -35.2% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.59).

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-Santa Barbara vs University of California-Berkeley

  1. ACCEPTANCE-RATE University of California-Berkeley leads on acceptance rate (11.0% vs 33.0% at University of California-Santa Barbara)
  2. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(6 University of California-Berkeley leads on median earnings (6 yr) ($74,919 vs $56,852 at University of California-Santa Barbara)
  3. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(1 University of California-Berkeley leads on median earnings (10 yr) ($92,446 vs $74,915 at University of California-Santa Barbara)

University of California-Santa Barbara profile · University of California-Berkeley profile · Compare other colleges

Also on the Scorecard board

Acceptance Rate and other Scorecard questions

On acceptance rate, who leads between University of California-Santa Barbara and University of California-Berkeley?▼
University of California-Berkeley leads on acceptance rate at 11.0% versus 33.0% at University of California-Santa Barbara. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median earnings (6 yr), who leads between University of California-Santa Barbara and University of California-Berkeley?▼
University of California-Berkeley leads on median earnings (6 yr) at $74,919 versus $56,852 at University of California-Santa Barbara. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median earnings (10 yr), who leads between University of California-Santa Barbara and University of California-Berkeley?▼
University of California-Berkeley leads on median earnings (10 yr) at $92,446 versus $74,915 at University of California-Santa Barbara. 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