Quad

Head-to-head

U. California-Merced
U. Houston-Downtown

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    U. California-Merced graduates 16 pts more of its students than U. Houston-Downtown (72% vs. 55%)

    Graduation rate
  2. 2

    U. Houston-Downtown's yield is 13 pts higher than U. California-Merced's

    Yield rate
  3. 3

    U. California-Merced grads earn $10.8K more ten years out than U. Houston-Downtown's ($64,368 vs. $53,551)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  4. 4

    U. Houston-Downtown is a bit larger (12,555 vs. 8,372)

    Undergrads
  5. 5

    U. California-Merced has 5 pts more first-gen students than U. Houston-Downtown (57% vs. 53%)

    First-generation students
  6. 6

    U. California-Merced has 4 pts more Pell recipients than U. Houston-Downtown (59% vs. 55%)

    Pell Grant recipients

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. Houston-Downtown admits 90%, U. California-Merced 91%; U. Houston-Downtown's yield is higher, at 20%.

Acceptance rate
U. California-Merced91%
U. Houston-Downtown90%
Quad's selectivity
  • U. California-MercedAccessible
  • U. Houston-DowntownOpen
SAT middle 50%Axis 800–1600
U. California-MercedTest-blind
U. Houston-Downtown
940–1110
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • U. California-MercedGPA, school record, and prep program required
  • U. Houston-DowntownRigor, GPA, and tests very important20%

Who's on each campus

U. Houston-Downtown is a bit larger than U. California-Merced (12,555 vs. 8,372 undergrads); U. California-Merced has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
U. California-Merced8.4K
U. Houston-Downtown12.6K
Pell Grant share
U. California-Merced59%
U. Houston-Downtown55%

Majors and faculty

Research and Experimental Psychology leads at U. California-Merced, and Psychology at U. Houston-Downtown.

Students per faculty member
U. California-Merced20 to 1
U. Houston-Downtown18 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • U. California-MercedResearch and Experimental Psychology, Other19%
  • U. Houston-DowntownPsychology, General10%

What each costs

Only U. California-Merced reports an average cost ($16.8K).

Average cost, all students
U. California-Merced$16.8K
U. Houston-DowntownNot reported
Aid generosity
U. California-Merced59%
U. Houston-DowntownNot reported

What each pays off

U. California-Merced's former students earn more, a median $64.4K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 50% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
U. California-Merced$64.4K
U. Houston-Downtown$53.6K
Graduation rate
U. California-Merced72%
U. Houston-Downtown55%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got less selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • U. California-MercedGrowing+96%
  • U. Houston-DowntownGrowing+102%
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 2018;University of Houston-Downtown Common Data Set 2023–24, 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