Is it harder for out-of-state students to get into University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign or UCLA?

Question

I’m trying to decide where to focus my college list, and both UIUC and UCLA seem really competitive as out-of-state options. I know they’re both public schools with strong programs, but I keep hearing that out-of-state admission can be different at each one.

I’m mostly trying to understand which school is generally more selective for non-residents.

I’m mostly trying to understand which school is generally more selective for non-residents.

Accepted Answer

For an out-of-state applicant, UCLA is usually harder to get into than UIUC overall. UIUC is also selective, but its admissions picture is more program-dependent, so the difficulty can vary a lot by major.

A student applying broadly to UCLA should expect a very high bar across the board, with little margin for weaknesses in grades, course rigor, or activities. UCLA uses a comprehensive review process, so being out of state does not make it an easier lane. For most nonresidents, it is best thought of as a reach.

UIUC can feel different because some colleges and majors are far more competitive than others. If you are applying to highly sought-after programs like computer science, engineering, or business-related areas, UIUC can be extremely difficult. But outside those most selective programs, UIUC is often more accessible to strong out-of-state students than UCLA is.

So the cleanest way to think about it is this: if you mean overall university-level selectivity for nonresidents, UCLA is tougher. If you are comparing specific high-demand majors, especially in STEM, UIUC can narrow the gap a lot and sometimes become just as intimidating. The major you plan to apply to matters much more at UIUC than it does for this comparison in the broad sense.

Is it harder for out-of-state students to get into University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign or UCLA?

Comments & Questions (0)

Start the conversation

Related Questions