Location
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Champaign, IL
- University of California-Santa Barbara
- Santa Barbara, CA
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign vs University of California-Santa Barbara
Champaign, IL · Santa Barbara, CA · largest Scorecard gap: out-of-state tuition
Scorecard match plate
Pair IL:CA
PUBLIC-PAIR · CROSS-STATE · ACCEPT-PAR · NET-SPLIT · EARN-PAR · DEBT-SPLIT · COMPLETE-HIGH · GAP-TUITION
- PUBLIC-PAIR Public pair
- CROSS-STATE IL × CA
- ACCEPT-PAR Admission near-par
- NET-SPLIT Net-price split
- EARN-PAR Earnings near-par
- DEBT-SPLIT Debt split
- COMPLETE-HIGH High completion
- GAP-TUITION Largest gap · Out-of-State Tuition
Instrument codes from this pair's College Scorecard ownership, geography, acceptance, net price, earnings, debt, and completion, plus the ENROLL-RACE · single · 2013–2023 decade-path stamp below, not a ranking or recommendation.
Decade path · College Scorecard
Both enrollments grew, different paces
ENROLL-RACE · single · 2013–2023
Undergraduate headcount rose at both University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of California-Santa Barbara 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-Santa Barbara: enrollment grew +19.8% over 2013–2023; fitted +397 students/yr fitted, r² 0.83.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: enrollment grew +9.3% over 2013–2023; fitted +266 students/yr fitted, r² 0.94.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: acceptance rate tightened -30.0% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.47).
- University of California-Santa Barbara: acceptance rate tightened -37.5% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.63).
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
Undergraduate Enrollment
Out-of-State Tuition
Median Debt at Graduation
Acceptance Rate
Median Earnings (6 yr)
Avg Net Price
Median Earnings (10 yr)
Loan Repayment Rate (Completers)
In-State Tuition
Cards ordered by relative gap on this pair. Teal = better side.
| Metric | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Champaign, IL | Santa Barbara, CA |
| Undergraduate Enrollment | 36,258 | 23,113 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $35,124 | $50,614 |
| Median Debt at Graduation | $19,500 | $13,993 |
| Acceptance Rate | 42.4% | 33.0% |
| Median Earnings (6 yr) | $64,802 | $56,852 |
| Avg Net Price | $14,355 | $16,109 |
| Median Earnings (10 yr) | $81,054 | $74,915 |
| Loan Repayment Rate (Completers) | 82.7% | 79.3% |
| In-State Tuition | $16,004 | $16,414 |
Largest gaps: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign vs University of California-Santa Barbara
- OUT-OF-STATE-TUITI University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign leads on out-of-state tuition ($35,124 vs $50,614 at University of California-Santa Barbara)
- MEDIAN-DEBT-AT-GRA University of California-Santa Barbara leads on median debt at graduation ($13,993 vs $19,500 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
- ACCEPTANCE-RATE University of California-Santa Barbara leads on acceptance rate (33.0% vs 42.4% at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign profile · University of California-Santa Barbara profile · Compare other colleges
Out-of-State Tuition and other Scorecard questions
On out-of-state tuition, who leads between University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of California-Santa Barbara?▼
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign leads on out-of-state tuition at $35,124 versus $50,614 at University of California-Santa Barbara. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median debt at graduation, who leads between University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of California-Santa Barbara?▼
University of California-Santa Barbara leads on median debt at graduation at $13,993 versus $19,500 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On acceptance rate, who leads between University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of California-Santa Barbara?▼
University of California-Santa Barbara leads on acceptance rate at 33.0% versus 42.4% 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); out-of-state tuition focus for this pair · 2025