California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Overview

Rankings

• #7 Best Engineering Colleges in California
• #14 Highest-Paying Colleges for Communications
• #19 Best MBA Programs in California
• #22 Best Online Colleges in California
• #23 Most Test-Optional-Friendly Colleges
• #23 Best Bachelor's Programs in California
• #23 Best Master's Programs in California
• #25 Best Computer Science Colleges in California

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a public institution in San Luis Obispo, California, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo reviews applications selectively. The acceptance rate runs near 31%. The graduation rate is roughly 86%.

Acceptance Rate

31%

Retention Rate

96%

Full-Time Faculty

69%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$12,673

Student–Faculty Ratio

20:1

Diversity Index

0.68

First-Gen Students

25%

Applicants

58,774

Admitted

17,885

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2025-26

The acceptance rate tells you how hard California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 26% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school many admits weigh against other offers.

Yield Rate

26%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

18%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

5%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo is $34,665, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $16,665. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $7,529 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $18,500 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$13,596

Out-of-State

$34,665

Avg Net Price

$16,665

Median Debt

$18,500

Pell Grant Rate

19%

Federal Loan Rate

25%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo earn a median of $90,768, well above the national average for bachelor's degree holders.

6 Years After Entry

$72,358

8 Years

$82,835

10 Years

$90,768

Debt-to-Earnings

0.2x

Earning > $25K

79%

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. Its economic connectedness score is 1.85, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.01), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 7% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.85

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.01

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

7.0%

Support Ratio

0.99

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$-19,536,935

Top Programs

The fields California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Engineering 23% $111,647 early-career
• Business & Marketing 17% $99,352 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 5% $143,132 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 5% $45,709 early-career
• Social Sciences 4% $70,251 early-career
• Communications 4% $45,922 early-career
• Psychology 3% $37,634 early-career
• Mathematics & Statistics 2% $65,959 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.