U. California-Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA

Key differences on Getting in

1
UT Austin's yield is 35 pts higher than U. California-Santa Barbara's
Yield rate
2
UT Austin admits 22% vs. 33% at U. California-Santa Barbara
Acceptance rate

Admissions

Getting in, fall 2024

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

The funnel

Acceptance rate

UT Austin22%Most selective

U. California-Santa Barbara33%

Applicants

UT Austin90.7K

U. California-Santa Barbara110.3KMost

Admitted

UT Austin20.2K

U. California-Santa Barbara36.3KMost

Yield rate

UT Austin49%Highest

U. California-Santa Barbara14%

Quad's selectivity

UT AustinHighly selectivefrom TexasUltra selectivefrom other states
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

UT Austin31%

U. California-Santa Barbara36%

Men admitted

UT Austin23%

U. California-Santa Barbara29%

Test scores

SAT total,

UT Austin

1250–1510

U. California-Santa BarbaraTest-blind–

Axis runs 1100–1600. The dark tick marks the national median midpoint.

ACT composite,

UT Austin

27–33

U. California-Santa BarbaraTest-blind–

Axis runs 23–36. The dark tick marks the national median midpoint.

Submitted SAT

UT Austin56%

U. California-Santa BarbaraNot reported

Submitted ACT

UT Austin18%

U. California-Santa BarbaraNot reported

Test policy

UT AustinTest-optional
U. California-Santa BarbaraTest-blind

How they read a record

UT Austin
The high school record and a college-prep program are required; GPA and class rank are considered.
U. California-Santa Barbara
GPA, the high school record, and a college-prep program are required.

What they look at

Factor	UT Austin	U. California-Santa Barbara
High school GPA	Considered	Required
High school record	Required	Required
Class rank	Considered	Not considered
College-prep program	Required	Required
Recommendations	Considered	Not considered
Essay	Considered	Required
Legacy status	Not considered	Not considered
Work experience	Considered	Not considered
Demonstration of competencies	Considered	Not considered
English proficiency test	Required	Required
Other tests	Not considered	Not considered

All admissions numbers in the table

Sources:The University of Texas at Austin (Fall 2025), Fall 2025;IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;The University of Texas at Austin Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023About 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