We are going to walk through this university together: what it is, whom it admits, what it really costs, and what happens to students once they are inside. By the end, you will not have all your research completed. You will have one solid piece to put into the larger plan you are building with your child.
What kind of university UC Davis is
Let us start with the basics: UC Davis is a public four-year university located in Davis, California, in Yolo County. It is within the Sacramento metropolitan area, although that does not mean the campus is in the center of that city. The census code classifies it as a suburb: within the urbanized area, but outside the principal city’s core. If your child is considering living at home and commuting every day, do not trust the map. Drive the route yourself, on a weekday, at the exact time they would have class. The real travel time is almost never what Google Maps promises.
A system called Carnegie, which classifies United States universities according to what they do, places UC Davis among doctoral institutions with the highest research activity there is. It is a large, four-year, primarily residential school: during the period Carnegie used for this classification, between 25 and 49 out of every 100 undergraduate students lived in institution-provided housing, and at least half attended full time.
It also classifies it among universities that receive many transfer students, and among those with more selective admissions. It is worth saying this clearly: being more selective does not mean it teaches better. It describes whom it lets in, not the quality of what happens once students are inside.
In the most recent official file, UC Davis is marked as a Land Grant Institution — a historical designation shared by only 80 of the 3,012 institutions in this census —. Do not read that label as a verdict on quality. It does not measure how much actual support your child will receive. You ask that with specific names: what student center exists, what scholarship applies, who answers the phone in April.
And one practical note that is often overlooked: if your child ends up considering transferring to or from here, ask in writing which courses will count and which will not. The label “receives many transfer students” does not say how many credits they arrive with or how many are lost along the way.
A huge university: understanding its real size
UC Davis reported 39,707 students enrolled in the official fall count. That figure falls into the highest band used by the government — 20,000 students or more —, and compared with 519 selective public four-year schools in this census, it is among the largest: at most one out of every ten has more students than it does.
Of that total, 31,797 are undergraduate students and 7,910 are graduate students. It is, above all, a bachelor’s-degree institution.
Now for the human side of that size. Out of every 100 undergraduate students, at least 25 reported being Hispanic or Latino — one out of four, or more —, which places UC Davis in the highest quarter among 519 comparable schools. Being Latino on this campus would not be the exception. But here is a hard truth I do not want to soften for you: a high percentage of Latino students is not the same as support for Latino students. The figure counts how many there are. It does not say whether there is counseling in Spanish, tutoring, or whether those students finish their degrees. And it is the number for the entire school, not for the specific major that interests your child.
Other facts about this community: there are almost no adult students — only 4 out of every 100 are between 25 and 64 years old —; there are more women than men, 59 out of every 100; and 79 out of every 100 newly admitted students had a permanent address in California. It is mostly a school of young people from within the state.
The fact that the school is large does not mean its classes are large. Ask that directly: how many students are in first-year classrooms, and how many are in the major that interests your child.
How it works academically
UC Davis operates on a quarter system: the year is divided into three terms of about 12 weeks each, instead of the traditional semester. This matters a great deal if your child ever considers transferring to or from another university with a different calendar: verify in writing how credits will be recognized between the two calendars.
The university accepts credit for AP exams, but not for life experience, and it does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit. Saying that it accepts AP does not guarantee that it will give your child credit for every exam they take. This information does not tell us how many points are required or how many credits are awarded. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
As for academic offerings: in a single year, UC Davis awarded 8,283 bachelor’s degrees, spread across 23 academic program families. No field accounts for an enormous share — the largest, biology and biomedical sciences, represented only 18 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year —. It is a broad offering, not concentrated in one or two disciplines. Compared with 514 comparable schools, it falls in the quarter that awards the most degrees each year. But 23 program families are not 23 exact majors: each family groups several programs, and some may report zero degrees. Verify the specific program that interests your child directly with the university.
There is something else worth knowing: the ratio of students to instructional staff here is 21 to 1, which places it in the highest quarter among comparable schools. It is an aggregate figure, not the size of a classroom. It does not tell you how a professor’s time is divided among research, advising, and teaching. If actual class size matters to you, you need to request that number separately.
In addition, the university reports structured academic pathways: study abroad, undergraduate research, developmental education (with and without credit), and pathways for teacher-certification preparation. The existence of these options does not automatically mean they fit what your child wants to study; they are starting points for questions.
Getting into UC Davis: what it requires and who makes it
There is no open admission here. UC Davis reviews specific components before saying yes. Of the nine possible considerations measured in this report, five are required: the high school transcript, high school grade-point average, completion of the course plan required by the university, the personal essay, and an English-proficiency exam for those to whom it applies. Beyond the required items, only one more factor is considered if it is submitted: work experience.
Put simply: collecting documents is not enough here. The essay is required, so your child has to write, and write well. Have them start in the summer, not the week of the deadline. The first draft is never the one that gets sent. The published application fee is $80.
Now for the numbers showing how selective it is in practice. In the 2023 cycle, UC Davis received 94,637 first-time applications and offered admission to 39,400. That is 42 out of every 100 applicants. Compared with 519 selective public schools, it is among those that admit the fewest: nine out of every ten in that group, or more, admitted a larger percentage. On the other side were 55,237 applicants without an offer that year.
It is fine for UC Davis to be on your child’s list. It should not be the only one. And that 42% is the average for the whole school: IPEDS does not report how many students are admitted by specific major, so if your child is pursuing a particular program, you need to ask admissions for that number directly.
Here is a fact that surprises many families: out of every 100 admitted students, only 17 ultimately enrolled at UC Davis that fall. The other 83 had a place and did not take it. Do not read that as a stain — receiving an admission letter is not the same as deciding to attend, and the federal record does not explain why each person chose what they chose —. What does matter is this: what other people decided does not tell you what your family will be offered. Wait for your own letter with the net price — what the year would actually cost — before deciding whether this school stays on the list.
One fact that may ease the pressure: UC Davis reported that it does not consider SAT or ACT scores in the admissions decision, even if they are sent. That box does not address whether it uses them for scholarships or placement; ask that separately.
And regarding transfers: in fall 2023, 2,637 undergraduate students entered UC Davis for the first time after studying at another institution. It is one of the highest figures among comparable schools. How many credits were recognized is another question — and one to ask the school directly.
The published price, and why there are actually two prices
Here we come to one of the numbers that carries the most weight. For the 2023–24 academic year, UC Davis reported a total cost of attendance of $41,055 for a first-time, full-time student who lives on campus and pays the California resident rate. If your child would pay the out-of-state rate, that same budget rises to $71,832.
Broken down: $15,247 in tuition and fees for residents ($46,024 for nonresidents), $19,068 for on-campus housing and food, and $1,381 for books and supplies, plus an estimate of other personal expenses.
Compared with 483 comparable schools, this cost of attendance for California residents is among the highest in the group. And the gap between residency categories is enormous: $30,777 per year difference between paying as a resident and paying as a nonresident. Ask the institution what requirements it uses to define residency and when they apply — it is not the same everywhere, and it can change the entire family budget.
This total is a reference budget used to calculate financial aid. It is not the bill that will arrive for you.
Net price: what families actually pay
At University of California-Davis, among 644 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and paid the in-state or district tuition rate, whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $8,594. Among 424 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $12,304; among 466 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $31,258. For dependent students, the band adds together their parents’ income and their own.
There is a difference of $22,664 between the average for the lowest-income band (644 students) and that for the highest band (466 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant aid, the average was $17,315.
The price they advertise is not the same as the price paid. Here, for low income, the average net price was $8,594 in academic year 2022-23.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours comes first. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions they use the in-state or district tuition rate. The overall average with grant aid, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The letter that matters is the aid letter you receive.
Scholarships, Pell, and loans: separating the three piles
At UC Davis, 59 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some type of aid that does not have to be repaid — more than half, though not all —. Compared with similar schools, it falls in the quarter where grant aid reaches fewer students. Among those who did receive it, the average for the year was $19,884.
The federal Pell Grant — aimed at low-income families — reached 31 out of every 100 students. That is a smaller number than the overall 59%, and that difference may include state, institutional, or other aid sources that this report does not separate. Ask directly which programs make up that difference.
When your financial-aid letter arrives, separate it by hand into three piles: what does not have to be repaid, what must be repaid with interest, and what has to be earned through work. Many letters mix them together in a single column, and that is where families become confused.
On loans: only 23 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal loan in academic year 2022-23. The majority were not awarded one. Among those who did receive one, the average amount was $5,263 for the year — compared with similar schools, that is a low amount —. But be careful: a student having received a loan does not mean it was enough to cover the full year, and that average does not distinguish between someone who borrowed little and someone who borrowed a lot. It also does not include Parent PLUS loans, credit cards, or debt accumulated over several years. To know the debt with which a student graduates, all years would need to be added together — and that number is not in this report.
UC Davis also offers an installment tuition-payment plan as an additional mechanism for managing the cost.
Housing, sports, the library, and other campus supports
UC Davis has its own housing, with reported capacity for 16,548 students on or off campus. Not all first-time students are required to live there. It also offers meal plans, although the number of meals per week varies according to the plan selected. The existence of housing does not guarantee a bed will be available for your child: ask in writing for that year’s rate, the application deadline, and whether a space is guaranteed or you are placed on a waiting list.
There is an opportunity for ROTC, with the Army branch confirmed in writing in the official report; Navy and Air Force are not marked. If your child is interested in another branch, it is not confirmed by this source — ask directly.
The university competes in intercollegiate sports and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported participation in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This does not say which division each sport plays in or whether it awards athletic scholarships — ask the coach for the specific sport directly, in writing.
Regarding distance education: UC Davis offers online courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and reports at least one complete program that can be taken entirely at a distance. But in the fall count, virtually no undergraduate students (0 out of every 100) took their entire course load at a distance. If your family is interested in that option, confirm it in writing for the exact major that interests your child.
The library has employed staff, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary loan. Annual spending exceeded the government-recorded threshold of $100,000 — but that is only a minimum floor, not a guarantee of specialized databases for every major. Ask by program name.
Finally, the university reports services such as combined academic and career counseling, employment support, on-campus child care, programs for students with intellectual disabilities, and dedicated support for veterans and military families, including participation in Yellow Ribbon. The fact that these services are reported does not say how many people use them or how effective they are. Ask using specific names.
What happens to students once they are inside
For many families, this is the part that matters most: do they stay? Do they graduate?
Of the cohort that entered full-time bachelor’s-degree study in fall 2022, 93 out of every 100 were still enrolled there or had already completed their degree one year later. It is a high figure compared with similar schools — among those that retain the most students. But that figure combines two different groups: those who are still studying and those who have already graduated. The source does not separate one group from the other.
On graduation: out of every 100 students who entered bachelor’s-degree study in 2017, full time and without having previously studied at another university, 85 graduated within six years or less. At four years, the figure was 69 out of every 100 — 16 points fewer. Four years is, for most families, the timeline that fits the budget. Before signing anything, ask in writing how long the program that interests your child usually actually takes, how its required courses are scheduled, and how the total cost changes if a fifth year becomes necessary.
Compared with 518 similar schools, UC Davis is among those that graduate the most students: nine out of every ten in that group, or more, fall below that 85%. It is a genuinely strong figure. But it does not mean the same will specifically happen to your child — it only says that, for that cohort at that school, the time was enough.
Looking farther out, at eight years: from a cohort that entered between 2015 and 2016 — including full-time and part-time students, first-time students or those with prior experience —, 89 out of every 100 had a UC Davis degree or certificate as of August 2023. Among those who received a Pell Grant, the figure was 88 out of every 100 — only 2 points different from those who did not receive one. The fact that the figures are close does not mean the path was equally easy for both groups.
A high percentage, in any of these figures, describes what happened to an earlier cohort. It is not a promise about what will happen to your child. It is worth asking about the current supports in the program that interests them and about outcomes for more recent cohorts.
Putting the pieces together
You now know quite a bit about UC Davis: a large public university with a quarter calendar, demanding in its admissions process, with a high list price but a real price that can drop substantially depending on family income, and with graduation figures that are among the strongest in its comparison group.
But this is only one piece of the map. You still need to combine it with what your child truly wants to study and with what they have built so far — their transcript, their essay, their course plan. And you still need to combine it with what your family can and is willing to pay, once you have the actual financial-aid letter in hand, not the average from this article.
Your child needs to write their essay, decide what they want to study, and take responsibility for their part of the journey. You need to understand the money, ask the right questions in writing, and support them without carrying an entire system you are only beginning to learn by yourself. It is not about doing it for them. It is about reaching the door of the decision together, with your eyes open.
Source note: The data in this article come from the United States Department of Education’s IPEDS system, in the cycles and periods indicated in each section (primarily 2022-23 and 2023-24). Best College Aid does not represent University of California-Davis or any government agency; this piece organizes public information to help families understand it.