How should I compare the total cost of attending UC San Diego versus the University of Washington?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that both charge substantial nonresident tuition, but your real difference will often come from housing, travel, and each university’s aid package rather than the published tuition line alone. UC San Diego’s on-campus housing and meal-plan choices can make first-year costs relatively easy to predict, while the University of Washington’s Seattle location can make off-campus rent and everyday spending more variable. For both schools, compare the official nonresident cost-of-attendance budget with the actual charges and grants in your own financial-aid offer.

Start with the billed costs: nonresident tuition and mandatory campus fees, university housing or your realistic off-campus rent, and the required or selected meal plan. At UC San Diego, note whether your housing offer includes a meal plan and whether you would need to remain on campus during academic breaks. At UW, distinguish between a residence hall package and an off-campus plan; Seattle-area housing can require deposits, utilities, and renter’s insurance that are not always obvious in a headline estimate.

Then add the costs that will come from your own budget: round-trip flights or other trips home, local transit or car expenses, books and course materials, health insurance, personal expenses, and move-in purchases. UC San Diego may involve more frequent or more expensive flights depending on where you live, while UW’s public transit access can reduce the need for a car. Do not count work-study as a guaranteed discount unless you are prepared to work the hours needed to earn it.

Use each school’s net cost after grants and scholarships, not the total scholarship amount. Subtract only gift aid that does not need repayment, then compare the remaining amount over four years, allowing for likely annual tuition, housing, and rent increases. Also ask whether each award is renewable and what GPA, enrollment, or residency conditions apply.

Choose UC San Diego only if its four-year net price is close enough to UW’s to justify the difference after housing and travel are included; choose UW if its verified net cost is meaningfully lower or its Seattle living arrangement is more sustainable for your budget. For two out-of-state public universities, avoiding a large annual gap is usually more important than small differences in estimated personal-expense budgets.