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UC Santa Barbara acceptance rate

University of California, Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, California · Public · 23,113 undergraduates

33.0%
accepted, fall 2024
110,259
applications
36,347
offers of admission
5,008
enrolled (14% of those admitted)

The rate slipped from 36% in 2014 to 33% in 2024, while the typical four-year college moved the other way (up about 6 points). Only about 8 in 100 four-year colleges admit a smaller share of applicants. Women applying for fall 2024 had better odds than men: 36% were admitted, against 29% of men.

Acceptance rate since 2001

0%20%40%60%2001200320052007200920112013201520172019202120242001 50%2002 50%2003 51%2004 53%2005 53%2006 53%2007 53%2008 54%2009 49%2010 48%2011 45%2012 46%2013 44%2014 36%2015 33%2016 36%2017 33%2018 32%2019 30%2020 37%2021 29%2022 26%2023 28%2024 33%
Share of first-time, first-year applicants offered admission, by fall term.
Show the numbers by year
FallAppliedAdmittedRateEnrolled
2024110,25936,34733.0%5,008
2023110,87130,80427.8%5,043
2022110,99528,68825.8%4,967
2021105,64130,82429.2%4,900
202090,96133,38436.7%4,847
201993,44627,62629.6%4,935
201892,30629,72632.2%5,094
201781,82426,84632.8%4,538
201677,11227,58135.8%4,996
201570,53623,02632.6%4,473
201466,81324,28336.3%4,738
201355,25824,55644.4%4,741
201249,66422,99746.3%4,098
201146,72721,24845.5%3,720
201044,73621,53948.1%4,587
200947,07623,18449.2%4,387
200840,93722,27154.4%4,338
200739,85721,28253.4%4,099
200637,52219,82152.8%3,828
200536,88519,58553.1%3,897
200436,94019,58353.0%3,898
200334,69417,69651.0%3,842
200234,02217,01850.0%3,649
200134,02217,01850.0%3,649

Applications and offers

050k100k150k20012004200720102013201620192024AppliedAdmitted2001 Applied: 34k Admitted: 17k2002 Applied: 34k Admitted: 17k2003 Applied: 35k Admitted: 18k2004 Applied: 37k Admitted: 20k2005 Applied: 37k Admitted: 20k2006 Applied: 38k Admitted: 20k2007 Applied: 40k Admitted: 21k2008 Applied: 41k Admitted: 22k2009 Applied: 47k Admitted: 23k2010 Applied: 45k Admitted: 22k2011 Applied: 47k Admitted: 21k2012 Applied: 50k Admitted: 23k2013 Applied: 55k Admitted: 25k2014 Applied: 67k Admitted: 24k2015 Applied: 71k Admitted: 23k2016 Applied: 77k Admitted: 28k2017 Applied: 82k Admitted: 27k2018 Applied: 92k Admitted: 30k2019 Applied: 93k Admitted: 28k2020 Applied: 91k Admitted: 33k2021 Applied: 106k Admitted: 31k2022 Applied: 111k Admitted: 29k2023 Applied: 111k Admitted: 31k2024 Applied: 110k Admitted: 36k
First-year applications received and offers made, by fall term.

Acceptance rate for women and men

Fall 2024AppliedAdmittedRate
Women60,14721,62235.9%
Men50,11214,72529.4%

SAT, ACT and test policy

Test scores in admission
Not considered (test-blind)
Score ranges
Not published for this entering class

Colleges similar to UC Santa Barbara

The six public four-year colleges closest to UC Santa Barbara in acceptance rate and undergraduate enrollment.

CollegeAcceptance rateUndergraduatesAvg net priceEarnings after 10 yrs
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA		31%21,996$18,832$96,304
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA		29%30,197$13,866$83,432
San Diego State
San Diego, CA		36%35,377$13,243$73,494
Clemson
Clemson, SC		38%23,300$22,032$79,064
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA		27%34,948$14,794$96,197
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC		42%27,371$16,486$77,810

Admissions counts are first-time, first-year applicants reported by UC Santa Barbara to IPEDS for each fall term (2001 to 2024), read from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. Test score ranges and policy come from the College Scorecard. College Scorecard data updated November 2, 2026. How these figures are built · UC Santa Barbara on College Scorecard