Quad

Head-to-head

U. California-Santa Cruz
U. Texas at Dallas

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    U. Texas at Dallas's yield is 11 pts higher than U. California-Santa Cruz's

    Yield rate
  2. 2

    U. California-Santa Cruz graduates 9 pts more of its students than U. Texas at Dallas (80% vs. 72%)

    Graduation rate
  3. 3

    U. Texas at Dallas costs about $5.4K less per year on average than U. California-Santa Cruz ($24,553 vs. $29,991, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  4. 4

    U. California-Santa Cruz has 5 pts more first-gen students than U. Texas at Dallas (37% vs. 31%)

    First-generation students
  5. 5

    U. Texas at Dallas is a bit larger (21,751 vs. 17,940)

    Undergrads
  6. 6

    U. California-Santa Cruz's grants cover 30% of its full price on average, vs. 28% at U. Texas at Dallas

    Aid generosity

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Hollow dots at the center mean that measure isn't reported.

Who's hardest to get into

U. Texas at Dallas admits 65%, U. California-Santa Cruz 66%; U. Texas at Dallas's yield is higher, at 20%.

Acceptance rate
U. California-Santa Cruz66%
U. Texas at Dallas65%
Quad's selectivity
  • U. California-Santa CruzSelective
  • U. Texas at DallasSelective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1100–1600
U. California-Santa CruzTest-blind
U. Texas at Dallas
1160–1410
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • U. California-Santa CruzGPA, school record, and prep program required
  • U. Texas at DallasGPA and school record required

Who's on each campus

U. Texas at Dallas is a bit larger than U. California-Santa Cruz (21,751 vs. 17,940 undergrads); U. California-Santa Cruz has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
U. California-Santa Cruz17.9K
U. Texas at Dallas21.8K
Pell Grant share
U. California-Santa Cruz32%
U. Texas at Dallas30%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at U. California-Santa Cruz, and Computer and Information Sciences at U. Texas at Dallas.

Students per faculty member
U. California-Santa Cruz22 to 1
U. Texas at Dallas23 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • U. California-Santa CruzComputer Science15%
  • U. Texas at DallasComputer and Information Sciences, General19%

What each costs

U. Texas at Dallas costs about $5.4K less a year than U. California-Santa Cruz on average; U. California-Santa Cruz's grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
U. California-Santa Cruz$30K
U. Texas at Dallas$24.6K
Aid generosity
U. California-Santa Cruz30%
U. Texas at Dallas28%

What each pays off

U. California-Santa Cruz's former students earn more, a median $68.4K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 70% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
U. California-Santa Cruz$68.4K
U. Texas at Dallas$68.2K
Graduation rate
U. California-Santa Cruz80%
U. Texas at Dallas72%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got less selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • U. California-Santa CruzGrowing+76%
  • U. Texas at DallasGrowing+232%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About 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