University of Wisconsin-Madison vs University of California-Los Angeles

Madison, WI · Los Angeles, CA · largest Scorecard gap: acceptance rate

Scorecard match plate

Pair WI:CA

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

  • PUBLIC-PAIR Public pair
  • CROSS-STATE WI × CA
  • ACCEPT-GAP Admission gap
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-SPLIT Earnings split
  • 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 · 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 Wisconsin-Madison and University of California-Los Angeles 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 Wisconsin-Madison: enrollment grew +20.9% over 2013–2023; fitted +651 students/yr fitted, r² 0.85.
  • University of California-Los Angeles: enrollment grew +15.3% over 2013–2023; fitted +389 students/yr fitted, r² 0.94.
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison: acceptance rate tightened -36.2% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.42).
  • University of California-Los Angeles: acceptance rate tightened -60.3% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.93).

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 Wisconsin-Madison vs University of California-Los Angeles

  1. ACCEPTANCE-RATE University of California-Los Angeles leads on acceptance rate (9.0% vs 45.2% at University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  2. MEDIAN-DEBT-AT-GRA University of California-Los Angeles leads on median debt at graduation ($14,000 vs $20,484 at University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  3. AVG-NET-PRICE University of California-Los Angeles leads on avg net price ($12,548 vs $17,354 at University of Wisconsin-Madison)

University of Wisconsin-Madison profile · University of California-Los Angeles profile · Compare other colleges

Also on the Scorecard board

Acceptance Rate and other Scorecard questions

On acceptance rate, who leads between University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of California-Los Angeles?
University of California-Los Angeles leads on acceptance rate at 9.0% versus 45.2% at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median debt at graduation, who leads between University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of California-Los Angeles?
University of California-Los Angeles leads on median debt at graduation at $14,000 versus $20,484 at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On avg net price, who leads between University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of California-Los Angeles?
University of California-Los Angeles leads on avg net price at $12,548 versus $17,354 at University of Wisconsin-Madison. 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