5 campuses profiled, with admission requirements, published costs, test policies and deadlines. Reviewed 2026-09-20.
Stanford, California
A research university at the centre of Silicon Valley, known for entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary majors and generous no-loan financial aid.
Berkeley, California
The flagship of the University of California system, which reviews applications without SAT or ACT scores and closes its application on 30 November.
Los Angeles, California
One of the most-applied-to universities in the world, with holistic review built around the UC Personal Insight Questions.
La Jolla, California
A residential-college system on the Pacific coast with unusual strength in biological sciences, oceanography and engineering.
Los Angeles, California
A private research university with early December deadlines for arts and music programmes that require portfolios or auditions.
This page lists the 5 universities in California currently profiled in the directory: 3 public and 2 private nonprofit. Each profile carries the same fields — acceptance rate, published tuition for residents and non-residents, standardized test policy, deadlines and accreditation — so the campuses can be compared directly.
The lowest published in-state tuition in this group is at University of California, Los Angeles, at about $14,000 per year before housing and fees.
The most selective is Stanford University, reporting an acceptance rate near 3.9%.
The largest undergraduate population belongs to University of California, Berkeley with roughly 33,000 undergraduates.
If you are a resident of California, the public campuses above are almost always the lowest-cost route to a bachelor's degree, and the state's community colleges add a cheaper first two years through transfer agreements. If you are applying from outside the state, compare the non-resident rate against private universities after aid before assuming the public option is cheaper — it frequently is not.
Related reading: in-state vs out-of-state tuition, financial aid and the FAFSA, and the community college transfer pathway.
5 institutions in California are profiled here: 3 public and 2 private nonprofit. The state has more institutions than this; the directory covers the campuses students most often compare.
University of California, Los Angeles has the lowest published in-state tuition in this list at about $14,000 per year, before housing, food and fees. Aid can lower the net price further.
Usually not. California, like almost every state, excludes time spent in the state primarily for education from the residency clock, so students who move to study normally remain non-residents for the whole degree.
Among the campuses profiled here, Stanford University reports the lowest acceptance rate at about 3.9%. Selectivity also varies sharply by major within any single university.
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