Quad

Head-to-head

U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
U. California-Santa Cruz

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    U. California-Santa Cruz graduates 29 pts more of its students than U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (80% vs. 51%)

    Graduation rate
  2. 2

    U. California-Santa Cruz's grants cover 30% of its full price on average, vs. 23% at U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    U. California-Santa Cruz has 1.7× as many undergrads as U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus

    Undergrads
  4. 4

    U. California-Santa Cruz has 5 pts more Pell recipients than U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (32% vs. 26%)

    Pell Grant recipients
  5. 5

    U. California-Santa Cruz grads earn $4.1K more ten years out than U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus's ($68,396 vs. $64,270)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  6. 6

    U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus's yield is 4 pts higher than U. California-Santa Cruz's

    Yield rate

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. California-Santa Cruz admits 66%, U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus 75%; U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus's yield is higher, at 13%.

Acceptance rate
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus75%
U. California-Santa Cruz66%
Quad's selectivity
  • U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical CampusAccessible
  • U. California-Santa CruzSelective
SAT middle 50%Axis 900–1600
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
980–1220
U. California-Santa CruzTest-blind
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical CampusRigor and GPA very important40%
  • U. California-Santa CruzGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

U. California-Santa Cruz has 1.7× as many undergrads as U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus10.5K
U. California-Santa Cruz17.9K
Pell Grant share
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus26%
U. California-Santa Cruz32%

Majors and faculty

Business Administration and Management leads at U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, and Computer Science at U. California-Santa Cruz.

Students per faculty member
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus17 to 1
U. California-Santa Cruz22 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical CampusBusiness Administration and Management, General18%
  • U. California-Santa CruzComputer Science15%

What each costs

U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus costs about $2.6K less a year than U. California-Santa Cruz on average.

Average cost, all students
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus$27.4K
U. California-Santa Cruz$30K
Aid generosity
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus23%
U. California-Santa Cruz30%

What each pays off

U. California-Santa Cruz's former students earn more, a median $68.4K ten years after enrolling.

Median earnings, 10 years
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus$64.3K
U. California-Santa Cruz$68.4K
Graduation rate
U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus51%
U. California-Santa Cruz80%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; U. California-Santa Cruz got less selective while U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus held steady.

Applications, 10-year change
  • U. Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical CampusGrowing+107%
  • U. California-Santa CruzGrowing+76%
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;University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2026 applicants;University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2024;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