About UCLATuition.com

Almost 100,000 students apply to UCLA every year, but the biggest factor in their final decisions is almost always a financial one. The UC system's controversial and rapid adjustments in pricing — and the complex structure of fees — make it hard to get one square answer to an easy question: how much does it cost?

You shouldn't need a slide rule to figure out how much you'll pay to go to college.

Our Story

When I was in college, I realized how confusing this can be, so I started UCLA Tuition as a place to post up the actual number, for the record. It started as a simple, single-serving, flat HTML page that I hand-coded to make sure the number was easy to find.

But now, UCLA Tuition is much more. UCLA is the most-applied-to university in the world and the largest public school in California. And it's a public university in a UC system that's becoming more and more “private” as the tuition bubble explodes. These numbers tell a big story about education in America.

I want to hear opinions — I want to start a conversation around these numbers — because they reflect a bigger issue than an impact on one family's budget. It's an economic issue that's forming the future of our country.

What We Do Now

Today, UCLATuition.com is a free resource that helps prospective UCLA students and their families understand the real cost of attending UCLA. We cut through the confusion with clear, accurate, up-to-date information about tuition, housing, meal plans, and total cost of attendance — plus an interactive calculator that lets you build your own estimate.

Our Data Sources

All tuition and fee figures come directly from the UCLA Financial Aid Office. Housing costs come from UCLA Housing, and meal plan pricing from UCLA Dining. Historical tuition data is sourced from the UCLA Registrar's Fee Archive.

We update all figures annually when UCLA publishes new rates, typically in spring. The current data reflects the 2025-2026 academic year.

Disclaimer

UCLATuition.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of California, Los Angeles. All data is sourced from official UCLA publications and is provided for informational purposes only.