University of California, Los Angeles · California
UCLA scholarships and merit aid
A public research university where nearly all undergraduate aid is need-based. Only about 4% of freshmen receive non-need institutional merit, averaging $8,557. The Regents Scholarship ($2,000/year honorarium plus priority enrollment and mentorship) is awarded to approximately 75 entering freshmen. The UC Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan covers tuition for CA families under $100,000.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is UCLA worth a closer look?
UCLA may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
Merit tiers1See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards4%First-year students, CDS 2024-2025
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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Published scholarships
These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.
$2,000/year…$2,000/year ($8,000 over four years). If the scholar has additional financial need, UCLA awards university grants to cover the remainder of demonstrated need.
Regents Scholarship
Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies+
Who qualifies
Invitation-only. Approximately 75 entering freshmen per year. Top applicants identified from the admissions pool; no separate application. Candidates receive an email with a unique application code.
How to keep it
Renewable for four years (12 academic quarters). Requires 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Notes
The primary value for non-need students is prestige and priority enrollment, not the $2,000/year cash award. For students with need, Regents status qualifies them for additional UCLA grants. Benefits include guaranteed housing, faculty mentorship, and priority enrollment.
UCLA does not award automatic scholarships based on GPA or test scores. Nearly all undergraduate funding is need-based. Out-of-state families paying ~$85,000/year often assume merit will offset the $39,270 NRST. Only 4% of freshmen receive any non-need merit, averaging $8,557.
Blue and Gold covers systemwide tuition and fees for CA families with income under $100,000. It is a need-based guarantee, not a merit award. It does not cover housing, food, books, or the NRST for out-of-state students.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
California families who need to understand that UCLA is primarily a need-based aid school. The Regents Scholarship is prestigious but only $2,000/year for students without financial need. Out-of-state families should know that UCLA offers essentially no merit aid to offset the $39,270 Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. In-state families under $100,000 can attend essentially tuition-free through Blue and Gold.
Cost of attendance$45,353–$84,623 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
Out-of-state, on-campus$84,623
$56K
$20K
In-state, on-campus$45,353
$17K
$20K
Tuition & fees
Housing & food
Books
Travel
Personal
Health insurance
Public. UC SHIP health insurance ($3,687) is standard but waivable with proof of coverage. Resident scenario matches input $45,353; nonresident adds $39,270 supplemental tuition.
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at UCLA, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at UCLA, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$5,579
$30,001–$48,000
$6,682
$48,001–$75,000
$9,811
$75,001–$110,000
$14,142
$110,001+
$29,682
All income levels (average)
$12,548
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$15,203
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$49,403
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$12,548
That works out to roughly a 68% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $38,614 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
UCLA is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
93%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
97%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$14,000 (~$148/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$82,511
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
27%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
17%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
Outside scholarships first reduce need-based loans and work-study. Only as a last resort do they reduce UCLA grants and institutional scholarships.
UC system policy: when outside scholarships create an overaward, UCs follow a student-friendly displacement order. Outside awards first reduce need-based loans and work-study. Only as a last resort are grants and institutional scholarships reduced. Federal regulations require total aid from all sources not to exceed the cost of attendance.
Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From UCLA’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
4%of admitsget merit
Average award$8,557Covers ~10% of $84,623 cost of attendance
At UCLA, roughly 1 in 25 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $8,557 — about 10% of total cost.
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
Amount$4,000-$20,000 per year (multi-year possible)EligibilityAdmitted students. Requires separate application with essay and interview after admission. Application opens late March through the UCLA Scholarship Application portal.
Often overlooked because the application opens after admission decisions. Families who celebrate admission and forget to check the scholarship portal in late March miss a real opportunity.
Very limited. Only about 4% of freshmen receive non-need institutional merit, averaging $8,557. The Regents Scholarship ($2,000/year for non-need students) goes to ~75 freshmen by invitation. UCLA Alumni Scholarships ($4,000-$20,000) require a separate application. No automatic merit awards based on GPA or test scores exist.
What is the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan?
Blue and Gold is a UC-wide need-based guarantee covering systemwide tuition and fees for California residents with family income under $100,000. Not a merit award. Does not cover housing (~$19,800), food, books, or the NRST ($39,270) for OOS students. Requires FAFSA filing.
Is UCLA worth the cost for out-of-state students?
At ~$85,000/year with minimal merit available, OOS families should compare carefully. Only 4% of freshmen receive merit averaging ~$8,600. Selective privates with generous need-based aid may cost less net than UCLA OOS.
See sources and other schools+
How UCLA compares
145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
UCLA is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
UCLA is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against UCLA’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
