Santa Cruz, CA · Public · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for University of California, Santa Cruz
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$66,148
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $5,000.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
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A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at University of California, Santa Cruz
| Full price, in state | $41,826 |
| Full price, out of state | $82,274 |
| After grants, at your income | $14,617 |
At this income, 9 of California's other 64 colleges cost less after grants, and 55 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. Regents Scholarships of $5,000 a year, for up to four years. Every admitted first-year student is considered automatically, from any state, by a review of academic achievement (and 1 more below).
University of California, Santa Cruz's promise. Blue and Gold: most California families with income up to $100,000 receive enough grants and scholarships to cover UC tuition. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At University of California, Santa Cruz, our scenarios for California households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,800 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →Merit scholarships
What University of California, Santa Cruz says it awards for grades and test scores.
Regents Scholarships of $5,000 a year, for up to four years. Every admitted first-year student is considered automatically, from any state, by a review of academic achievement.
Out of state: Undergraduate Deans' Awards of $3,000 to $25,000 a year for out-of-state and international first-year students, considered automatically in admissions. The Caldwell Access Scholarship pays $5,000 to $50,000 a year to out-of-state students with financial need.
Programs worth asking about
University of California, Santa Cruz describes this in words that stop short of a promise, so we show it in its own words. Ask the aid office whether you qualify.
Blue and Gold: most California families with income up to $100,000 receive enough grants and scholarships to cover UC tuition
Household income up to $100,000. Covers tuition.
- The University of California says most families at this income get enough aid to cover tuition, not every family. Apply by filing the FAFSA or the California Dream Act application by March 2, with the Cal Grant GPA Verification Form.
“Tuition Coverage: Most California families that earn up to $100,000 receive enough grant and scholarship funds to cover their UC tuition. How to apply: FAFSA/California Dream Act Application + Cal Grant GPA Verification Form (you will be automatically considered when you submit these forms by March 2.”
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what University of California, Santa Cruz reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price. Out of state, there are no grants: the price is before any scholarship from the college.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit.
The $6,800 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in University of California, Santa Cruz's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in California, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price University of California, Santa Cruz at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: University of California, Santa Cruz's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 3.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The out-of-state figure uses the published out-of-state tuition instead. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
University of California, Santa Cruz's own budget for 2026-27 is $48,537. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by University of California, Santa Cruz. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- University of California, Riverside$13,981 a year
- University of California, Merced$14,013 a year
- University of California, Santa Cruz$14,617 a year
- California State University-Northridge$14,982 a year
- California State University-San Marcos$15,164 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every California college →