California State University-San Marcos

Overview

Rankings

• #21 Best Education Colleges in California
• #41 Best Communications Colleges in California
• #42 Best MBA Programs in California
• #43 Best Nursing Colleges in California

Academics & Admissions

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

As a public institution in San Marcos, California, California State University-San Marcos admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 95%. The graduation rate is roughly 54%.

Acceptance Rate

95%

Retention Rate

79%

Full-Time Faculty

46%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$12,046

Student–Faculty Ratio

23:1

Diversity Index

0.66

First-Gen Students

48%

Applicants

14,774

Admitted

14,064

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2025-26

The acceptance rate tells you how hard California State University-San Marcos 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. 14% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

14%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

2%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

0%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

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

Published tuition at California State University-San Marcos is $20,682, 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 $10,229. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $6,230 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $17,350 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$8,082

Out-of-State

$20,682

Avg Net Price

$10,229

Median Debt

$17,350

Pell Grant Rate

43%

Federal Loan Rate

28%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at California State University-San Marcos — 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 State University-San Marcos Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of California State University-San Marcos earn a median of $62,908, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$48,673

8 Years

$57,040

10 Years

$62,908

Debt-to-Earnings

0.28x

Earning > $25K

69%

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is California State University-San Marcos? 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 State University-San Marcos. Its economic connectedness score is 1.58, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (0.03), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 4% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.58

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

0.03

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

4.4%

Support Ratio

0.96

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$-5,540,097

Top Programs

The fields California State University-San Marcos 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.

• Business & Marketing 18% $65,690 early-career
• Social Sciences 17% $51,471 early-career
• Health Professions 10% $104,649 early-career
• Psychology 9% $33,335 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 6% $49,829 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 5% $84,379 early-career
• Humanities 5% $35,640 early-career
• Communications 4% $42,222 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.