🎓 College profile
University of California-San Diego
CA · Public · Large city · 130,771 applicants 2023
🧭 A parent's read
- Built for the AI economy. Top 13 in the country. About 1 in 11 degrees here is already in AI, computer science, or data fields; its AI research output ranks #13 among US universities. This campus is leaning into the shift, not waiting for it.
- The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Computer Science grads from here earn about $159,487 four years out; drama grads about $41,389 — a 3.9× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
- The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$38,701/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$84,943/yr) still runs about 5× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
- Kids finish — on time. 86% graduate in four years. Nationally, barely half do — and a fifth year elsewhere quietly adds $30–70k to the real price. On-time completion is the most underrated ROI number in this decision.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
🎯 Parent/student verdict
Strong targetSelective but achievable for strong students. Affordable for in-state families — net price averages ~$12,470/yr.
✅ Best for
- Strong overall academic profile (avg admit unweighted GPA 3.90 per CDS — school is test-blind, so scores aren't part of the decision at all — the transcript carries the weight)
- Students drawn to Biological & Biomedical Sciences or Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies (the two biggest majors)
- Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)
- Students who thrive in a large, programmatic environment
🎯 The reality
- Bottom-quartile academic profile if: unweighted GPA below 3.70 (admitted-class quartiles per the school's own data)
- Test-blind — scores aren't considered at all, so transcript GPA, course rigor, and essays do all the work
- With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ
- Out-of-state tuition is 3.0× the in-state rate
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
🏛️ Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.
🎓 High-school GPA
3.90 avg unweightedGPA on the plain 4.0 scale, no honors/AP bonus. When a college publishes an "average admitted GPA of 3.9," it's often this scale — don't compare it to a weighted 4.3. GPA, enrolled first-years
Enrolled first-years by GPA band: 4.00+ 27.3% · 3.75-3.99 52.5% · 3.50-3.74 17.2% · 3.25-3.49 3.0%
unweighted 4.0 scale. Fall 2024 entering class. 134k apps — among largest applicant pools in country. 26.8% admit rate, modest yield (UC system competition). Common Data Set 2024-25 ↗
As published by the college in its Common Data Set / admissions data (2024-25) — independently verified 2026-07-23 (source linked above). GPA basis (weighted vs. unweighted vs. 4.0-scale) varies by college and is labeled above.
📊 Outcomes & cost
What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.
Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).
💰 The real cost
What families at your income actually pay
Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $28,785/yr at University of California-San Diego; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$38,701/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.
🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.
Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.
Start your Family Decision Report →Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with University of California-San Diego's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).
📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways
5.5× at full price 17.0× with aidSource: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.
📚 What students study here
Most popular majors at University of California-San Diego
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what University of California-San Diego actually graduates — not just what it markets.
💼 What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — University of California-San Diego's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Computer Science. | $159,487 |
| Computer Engineering. | $149,139 |
| Mathematics and Computer Science. | $137,218 |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology. | $123,320 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | $118,150 |
| Biological/Biosystems Engineering. | $111,677 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | $104,229 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | $100,173 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | $98,687 |
| Chemical Engineering. | $96,798 |
Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →
📈 Student body & economic mobility
Who attends here — and what the campus adds.
Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.
Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →
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