How has University of California-Merced changed over time?
Multi-year trends in admissions, enrollment, test scores, and cost. Every chart is labeled with its data source and the years it covers — no smoothing, no mixing sources.
Admission rate
Admission rate held steady at 91% from 2010 to 2024.
Applicants and students admitted
Applicants rose from 20,851 (2010) to 31,928 (2024).
Enrollment
Total enrollment rose from 4,381 (2010) to 9,110 (2024).
SAT mid-50% range
SAT mid-50% range moved from 870–1070 (2016) to 960–1140 (2020).
- Score data describes enrolled freshmen, not all admitted students.
- Years before 2016 use the old 2400-point SAT and are not shown.
- Many schools became test-optional around 2020 — score changes partly reflect who chooses to submit.
Source: IPEDS (U.S. Dept. of Education) · 2016–2020
ACT mid-50% range
ACT mid-50% range moved from 18–24 (2006) to 19–24 (2020).
Cost
In-state tuition rose from $13,070 (2011) to $16,271 (2025).
See how similar schools have changed
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Data from IPEDS and the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education) and school Common Data Set filings; each chart names the source its series comes from. Most recent data year: 2025. Last updated October 19, 2026.