Quad

Key differences on Students & campus

  1. 1

    U. California-Santa Cruz has 9 pts more first-gen students than University at Buffalo (37% vs. 28%)

    First-generation students
  2. 2

    University at Buffalo has 2 pts more Pell recipients than U. California-Santa Cruz (33% vs. 32%)

    Pell Grant recipients
  3. 3

    University at Buffalo is a bit larger (20,112 vs. 17,940)

    Undergrads

Students

Students & campus

Who's on each campus, how many get Pell Grants or are the first in their family, and campus life.

Who's on campus

Undergrads
University at Buffalo20.1K
U. California-Santa Cruz17.9K
Pell Grant share
University at Buffalo33%
U. California-Santa Cruz32%
First-gen share
University at Buffalo28%
U. California-Santa Cruz37%
Diversity index
University at Buffalo0.74
U. California-Santa Cruz0.76

Who they are

Men
University at Buffalo54%
U. California-Santa Cruz47%
Part-time students
University at Buffalo7%
U. California-Santa Cruz3%
Students 25 and older
University at Buffalo5%
U. California-Santa Cruz4%

Race & ethnicity

University at Buffalo
U. California-Santa Cruz
  • White
  • Asian
  • Hispanic/Latino
  • Black
  • Two or more
  • International
  • Other/unknown

Where they're from

First-years from in state
University at Buffalo88%
U. California-Santa Cruz92%
First-years from other states
University at Buffalo3%
U. California-Santa Cruz5%
First-years from abroad
University at Buffalo8%
U. California-Santa Cruz3%
New transfer students this fall
University at Buffalo1,420
U. California-Santa Cruz1,277
Transfers, share of new undergraduates
University at Buffalo25%
U. California-Santa Cruz23%

Campus

University at Buffalo
Large suburbNCAA D-I FBS · Mid-American ConferenceROTCStudy abroadUndergrad research
U. California-Santa Cruz
Small cityNCAA D-III · Division III IndependentsStudy abroadUndergrad research

LGBTQ+ policies

Each item is dated: either the college's own page, checked on that date, or a national list's claim, read on that date — never a plain “yes” or “no.” A key missing for a college isn't shown as “no”: nothing was found for it.

All student numbers in the table

Sources:College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part C, residence of first-time students), Fall 2024;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part A, enrollment by level), Fall 2024;IPEDS directory (Institutional Characteristics: HD), 2025–26;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About 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