Quad

Key differences on Getting in

  1. 1

    U. California-Santa Barbara admits 33% vs. 42% at U. California-Davis

    Acceptance rate
  2. 2

    U. California-Davis's yield is 3 pts higher than U. California-Santa Barbara's

    Yield rate

Admissions

Getting in, fall 2024

Acceptance and yield, test score ranges, test policy, and what each college weighs.

The funnel

Acceptance rate
U. California-Davis42%
U. California-Santa Barbara33%
Applicants
U. California-Davis98.9K
U. California-Santa Barbara110.3K
Admitted
U. California-Davis41.4K
U. California-Santa Barbara36.3K
Yield rate
U. California-Davis16%
U. California-Santa Barbara14%

Quad's selectivity

  • U. California-DavisVery selective
  • U. California-Santa BarbaraVery selective

Men and women

Acceptance rate for men and women who applied, where a college reports admissions by sex.

Women admitted
U. California-Davis46%
U. California-Santa Barbara36%
Men admitted
U. California-Davis40%
U. California-Santa Barbara29%

Test scores

None of these colleges report SAT total ranges.
None of these colleges report ACT composite ranges.
Submitted SAT
U. California-DavisNot reported
U. California-Santa BarbaraNot reported
Submitted ACT
U. California-DavisNot reported
U. California-Santa BarbaraNot reported

Test policy

  • U. California-DavisTest-blind
  • U. California-Santa BarbaraTest-blind

How they read a record

  • U. California-Davis

    GPA, the high school record, and a college-prep program are required.

  • U. California-Santa Barbara

    GPA, the high school record, and a college-prep program are required.

What they look at

FactorU. California-DavisU. California-Santa Barbara
High school GPA RequiredRequired
High school record RequiredRequired
Class rank Not consideredNot considered
College-prep program RequiredRequired
Recommendations Not consideredNot considered
Essay RequiredRequired
Legacy status Not consideredNot considered
Work experience ConsideredNot considered
Demonstration of competencies Not consideredNot considered
English proficiency test RequiredRequired
Other tests Not consideredNot considered
All admissions numbers in the table

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;College Scorecard, most recent releaseAbout the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why