How has University of California-San Diego 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 fell from 36% (2010) to 27% (2024).

Applicants and students admitted

Applicants rose from 47,060 (2010) to 134,450 (2024).

Enrollment

Total enrollment rose from 29,176 (2010) to 44,256 (2024).

SAT mid-50% range

SAT mid-50% range moved from 1170–1450 (2016) to 1270–1480 (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.

ACT mid-50% range

ACT mid-50% range moved from 23–29 (2006) to 28–34 (2020).

Cost

In-state tuition rose from $13,200 (2011) to $17,337 (2025).

See how similar schools have changed

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, CA31% admitted

Citadel Military College of South Carolina, SC23% admitted

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, FL21% admitted

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.