College profile
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Listed in federal data as “California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo”.
CA · Public · Small suburb · 63,736 applicants 2023
A parent's read
- Top feeder high schools: Mira Costa High School (18), Tamalpais High School (18), Leigh High School (14), Cardinal Newman High School (13), Dublin High School (13). Graduates per class year, from each high school's own published list. 95 high schools' lists name Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; every one is ranked below.
- The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Computer Science grads from here earn about $154,784 four years out; animal sciences grads about $54,805 — a 2.8× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
- The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 7× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$32,265/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$90,768/yr) still runs about 7× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
- Almost everyone who starts here finishes. 86% graduate within six years — the standard federal measure. Nationally about a third of students who start a bachelor's never finish one, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision: the debt stays, the credential doesn't.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
Feeder high schools
Which high schools send graduates to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo?
The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, from each school's own published list: Mira Costa High School (18), Tamalpais High School (18), Leigh High School (14), Cardinal Newman High School (13), Dublin High School (13). 95 high schools' lists name Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Enrolled — from the schools' matriculation lists
All 95 schools, with the class years each list covers
Published, but not ranked — these schools name Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on a list of where their graduates enrolled whose class years we cannot read ("Since 2023", or no class year printed), so their totals are shown rather than divided: Yorba Linda High School (2, not stated); Garrison Forest School (1, Three-Year Survey).
How this is counted
95 high schools publish a numbered matriculation list — where their graduates actually enrolled, counted, in the school's own School Profile — and name Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on it. Between them they printed 671 enrolled graduates. Ranked by graduates per class year enrolling at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, from each school's own published list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, so a one-year list and a five-year list can sit on the same page. A list whose class years we cannot read is not divided by a guess — it is listed below with its total instead.
Is my high school on this list?
Admitted — from the schools' acceptance lists
All 13 schools, with the class years each list covers
How this is counted
13 high schools publish a numbered list of college acceptances — where their graduates were admitted, not where they enrolled — and name Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on it. Between them they printed 279 admissions. Ranked by admissions per class year to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, from each school's own published acceptances list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. Admits are counted at each college a student was admitted to, the same way the UC Reach Score counts a student admitted to three UC campuses three times — so this is a count of admissions, not of students. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, and a list whose class years we cannot read is listed below with its total rather than divided by a guess.
All 103 feeder schools, ranked →
Counted from each school's own published document, linked on that school's page. A high school that is not here does not publish a numbered list we could read — that is all absence means, and it says nothing about its graduates. Where a school publishes both, the two lists are shown separately: an acceptances list is not a list of enrollments, and the two are never added together.
Parent/student verdict
SelectiveSelective but achievable for strong students. Affordable — net price averages ~$16,665/yr among aid recipients. Major value play for in-state residents.
Best for
- Strong overall academic profile (3.9+ unweighted GPA in rigorous coursework + strong essays — school is test-blind, so scores aren't part of the decision at all — the transcript carries the weight)
- In-state residents (tuition ~$13,596 — major value play)
- Students drawn to Engineering or Business, Management, & Marketing (the two biggest majors)
The reality
- Test-blind — scores aren't considered at all, so transcript GPA, course rigor, and essays do all the work
- With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ
- Out-of-state tuition is 2.5× the in-state rate
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
What are your child's odds here?
Enter their numbers once — this and every college page shows their verdict, and the UC campus cards on California school pages light up with it too. Free, no email.
Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.
Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.
Admitted-student GPA
4.04–4.25 typical range
capped weighted — Cal Poly counts the 9th-11th grade weighted GPA from college-prep coursework, with honors/AP/IB weight for up to eight semesters, admitted first-year students (2025). Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is an impacted (selective) campus — admission is competitive and can vary sharply by major. Cal State is test-blind (no SAT/ACT in admissions), so the a–g GPA is the key academic signal. Source ↗
CSU first-year GPA — verified 2026-06-15 against the campus's official Common Data Set / admissions data. The GPA basis (a–g vs. weighted vs. 4.0-scale) differs from the unweighted GPA shown for private colleges.
Admit rate by major — Fall 2025
The headline admit rate hides a wide spread by program.
First-time freshman applications and admits by major, from the CSU Chancellor's Office. Campus overall: 30%. Every program at this campus is impactedA CSU term: the program gets more qualified applicants than it has seats, so the campus adds admission requirements beyond the CSU minimum — a higher GPA bar, specific courses, or priority for local students. Treat impacted majors as more competitive than the campus's overall admit rate suggests. — the campus adds admission requirements beyond the CSU minimum to every major.
| Major | Applicants | Admitted | Admit rate Fall 2025 |
Earlier year for comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration | 8,836 | 2,373 | 26.9% | Fall 2021: 28.7% ↓ |
| Biology | 5,323 | 1,311 | 24.6% | Fall 2021: 28.2% ↓ |
| Mechanical Engineering | 4,953 | 657 | 13.3% | Fall 2021: 22.7% ↓ |
| Computer Science | 4,090 | 1,085 | 26.5% | Fall 2021: 20.7% ↑ |
| Psychology | 3,732 | 486 | 13.0% | Fall 2021: 14.7% ↓ |
| Aerospace Engineering | 2,399 | 289 | 12.0% | Fall 2021: 15.5% ↓ |
| Architecture | 2,239 | 415 | 18.5% | Fall 2021: 25.6% ↓ |
| Kinesiology/Physical Education | 2,162 | 262 | 12.1% | Fall 2021: 14.7% ↓ |
| Political Science/Government | 2,113 | 734 | 34.7% | Fall 2021: 33.9% |
| Biomedical Engineering | 2,015 | 592 | 29.4% | Fall 2021: 34.6% ↓ |
| Electrical Engineering | 1,996 | 719 | 36.0% | Fall 2021: 53.7% ↓ |
| Civil Engineering | 1,833 | 507 | 27.7% | Fall 2021: 33.8% ↓ |
| Animal Science | 1,831 | 616 | 33.6% | Fall 2021: 46.1% ↓ |
| Biochemistry | 1,709 | 602 | 35.2% | Fall 2021: 40.2% ↓ |
| Economics | 1,665 | 539 | 32.4% | Fall 2021: 30.8% ↑ |
| Public Health | 1,519 | 471 | 31.0% | Fall 2021: 39.4% ↓ |
| Computer Engineering | 1,474 | 435 | 29.5% | Fall 2021: 28.6% |
| Speech Communication | 1,083 | 311 | 28.7% | Fall 2021: 41.5% ↓ |
| Sociology | 949 | 282 | 29.7% | Fall 2021: 37.1% ↓ |
| Mathematics | 885 | 518 | 58.5% | Fall 2021: 66.9% ↓ |
| Child Development/Early Childhood Education | 842 | 196 | 23.3% | Fall 2021: 24.6% ↓ |
| Chemistry | 840 | 361 | 43.0% | Fall 2021: 48.7% ↓ |
| Agricultural Business | 795 | 312 | 39.2% | Fall 2021: 58.7% ↓ |
| Land Resource Management | 764 | 272 | 35.6% | Fall 2021: 46.9% ↓ |
| Construction Engineering | 712 | 190 | 26.7% | Fall 2021: 43.8% ↓ |
| Art (Studio/Professional Performance) | 635 | 159 | 25.0% | Fall 2021: 19.0% ↑ |
| Dietetics & Food Administration/Nutritional Science | 633 | 296 | 46.8% | Fall 2021: 66.3% ↓ |
| Marine Science | 630 | 137 | 21.7% | Fall 2021: 20.2% ↑ |
| Environmental Engineering | 628 | 246 | 39.2% | Fall 2021: 35.0% ↑ |
| English | 617 | 393 | 63.7% | Fall 2021: 76.5% ↓ |
| Diversified Studies/Education | 587 | 294 | 50.1% | Fall 2021: 41.4% ↑ |
| History | 581 | 323 | 55.6% | Fall 2021: 58.2% ↓ |
| Microbiology | 562 | 210 | 37.4% | Fall 2021: 43.1% ↓ |
| Engineering Science | 541 | 209 | 38.6% | Fall 2021: 40.3% ↓ |
| Software Engineering | 539 | 124 | 23.0% | Fall 2021: 18.0% ↑ |
| Forestry | 537 | 151 | 28.1% | Fall 2021: 32.0% ↓ |
| Architectural Engineering | 537 | 205 | 38.2% | Fall 2021: 40.8% ↓ |
| Statistics | 531 | 298 | 56.1% | Fall 2021: 64.2% ↓ |
| Physics | 529 | 321 | 60.7% | Fall 2021: 64.2% ↓ |
| Journalism | 515 | 338 | 65.6% | Fall 2021: 64.9% |
| Recreation Administration | 443 | 174 | 39.3% | Fall 2021: 62.0% ↓ |
| Industrial Engineering | 439 | 187 | 42.6% | Fall 2021: 72.4% ↓ |
| Graphic Communications | 431 | 216 | 50.1% | Fall 2021: 46.6% ↑ |
| Earth Sciences | 426 | 271 | 63.6% | Fall 2021: 71.4% ↓ |
| Materials Engineering | 359 | 167 | 46.5% | Fall 2021: 77.6% ↓ |
| Industrial Technology | 312 | 115 | 36.9% | Fall 2021: 67.2% ↓ |
| Anthropology and Geography | 276 | 133 | 48.2% | Fall 2021: 59.5% ↓ |
| Food Science | 271 | 174 | 64.2% | Fall 2021: 74.6% ↓ |
| Agronomy/Crop Science | 263 | 149 | 56.7% | Fall 2021: 57.8% ↓ |
| Philosophy | 257 | 160 | 62.3% | Fall 2021: 72.5% ↓ |
| Interdisciplinary Studies/Special Major | 255 | 124 | 48.6% | Fall 2021: 42.7% ↑ |
| Viticulture | 247 | 149 | 60.3% | Fall 2021: 46.6% ↑ |
| Agricultural Engineering | 209 | 121 | 57.9% | Fall 2021: 61.9% ↓ |
| Agricultural Communication | 202 | 106 | 52.5% | Fall 2021: 59.1% ↓ |
| Agriculture | 192 | 105 | 54.7% | Fall 2021: 49.5% ↑ |
| Landscape Architecture | 188 | 117 | 62.2% | Fall 2021: 69.6% ↓ |
| City and Regional Planning | 184 | 128 | 69.6% | Fall 2021: 67.8% ↑ |
| Theatre Arts | 177 | 110 | 62.1% | Fall 2021: 59.8% ↑ |
| Music | 170 | 58 | 34.1% | Fall 2021: 30.0% ↑ |
| Agricultural Systems Management | 156 | 50 | 32.1% | Fall 2021: 34.0% ↓ |
| Manufacturing Engineering | 125 | 63 | 50.4% | Fall 2021: 55.4% ↓ |
| Gender/Ethnic/Women's Studies | 100 | 62 | 62.0% | Fall 2021: 64.9% ↓ |
| Spanish | 73 | 38 | 52.1% | Fall 2021: 42.2% ↑ |
| Dairy Science | 69 | 27 | 39.1% | Fall 2021: 33.3% ↑ |
Source: CSU Chancellor's Office ↗, applications & admissions by discipline and major (Fall 2021–2025); impaction status from the CSU impacted-programs list (2027-28 cycle). Groups smaller than 10 are suppressed by CSU. A rising admit rate usually means fewer applications, not lower standards.
Outcomes & cost
What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.
Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).
The real cost
What Cal Poly San Luis Obispo actually costs
Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.
Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.
The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways
+$779K ahead at full price +$841K with aidSource: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. Full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.
What students study here
Most popular majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Cal Poly San Luis Obispo actually graduates — not just what it markets.
What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Computer Science. | $154,784 |
| Computer Engineering. | $148,950 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | $125,240 |
| Construction Management. | $118,331 |
| Industrial Engineering. | $112,797 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | $110,902 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | $109,232 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | $107,498 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | $106,750 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | $102,702 |
Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →
Student body & economic mobility
Who attends here — and what the campus adds.
Opportunity Insights data. It measures two things at once: how many lower-income students a college enrols, and how many of them reach the top earnings quintile later. A high rate says the college does both — it does not establish that the campus caused the earnings, because the students it admits differ from the students it doesn't. Read it as a signal about access and destination, not as proof of value added.
Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →
AI program signal
AI + computing education at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
Alternatives to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
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Get your child's odds at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo →Score-odds calculator · Improve the score first · Find merit aid
Related reading
Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026
Behind the data · September 15, 2026
College admissions · October 2026
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At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantCal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public four-year college in CA. It admitted 30% of applicants (63,736 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-blind.
Average enrolled GPA 4.03 (weighted, 2025-26, as published by the college).
Cost: about $16,665 a year on average with aid, $32,265 a year at full price for in-state students.
Median earnings ten years after entry: $90,768 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $841,020 ahead with aid, $778,620 ahead at full price.
Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Computer Science ($154,784); Computer Engineering ($148,950); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($125,240).
First-year admit rate by major, Fall 2025: lowest Aerospace Engineering 12.0% (2,399 applied); highest City and Regional Planning 69.6% (184 applied). Every program at this campus is impacted, meaning more qualified applicants than seats.
Economic mobility (Opportunity Insights): 4% of students came from families in the bottom fifth of income, and 54% of those reached the top fifth as adults.
High schools that publish a numbered matriculation list and name Cal Poly San Luis Obispo: 95, 671 enrolled students between them — ranked by graduates per class year, most often Mira Costa High School (18.0 per class year, 18 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Tamalpais High School (18.0 per class year, 18 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Leigh High School (14.0 per class year, 140 over 10 class years, 2017–2026). Each figure is the number that school printed divided by the class years its own list covers; the totals and years are shown. These are the schools that publish such a list, not every school that sends students; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/california-polytechnic-state-university-san-luis-obispo.
High schools that publish a numbered list of college acceptances naming Cal Poly San Luis Obispo: 13, 279 admissions between them — ranked by admissions per class year, most often Archbishop Mitty High School (62.0 per class year, 62 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Mira Costa High School (47.0 per class year, 47 over 1 class year, 2022-2026 College Admission Data, counted column "The first column represents the number of students admitted from the Class of 2026"); Chaminade College Preparatory (41.0 per class year, 41 over 1 class year, Class of 2026). Admits are counted at each college, so this counts admissions, not students. These are a different set of documents from the matriculation lists above and the two are never added together; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/california-polytechnic-state-university-san-luis-obispo.
Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/california-polytechnic-state-university-san-luis-obispo.json
Questions families ask
What is Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's acceptance rate? Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public four-year college in CA. It admitted 30% of applicants (63,736 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-blind.
Does Cal Poly San Luis Obispo require the SAT or ACT? Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public four-year college in CA. It admitted 30% of applicants (63,736 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-blind.
How much does Cal Poly San Luis Obispo cost? Cost: about $16,665 a year on average with aid, $32,265 a year at full price for in-state students.
What do Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduates earn? Median earnings ten years after entry: $90,768 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $841,020 ahead with aid, $778,620 ahead at full price.
Which majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo pay the most? Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Computer Science ($154,784); Computer Engineering ($148,950); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($125,240).
Does the admit rate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo depend on the major? First-year admit rate by major, Fall 2025: lowest Aerospace Engineering 12.0% (2,399 applied); highest City and Regional Planning 69.6% (184 applied). Every program at this campus is impacted, meaning more qualified applicants than seats.
Which high schools send the most graduates to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo? The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, from each school's own published list: Mira Costa High School (18), Tamalpais High School (18), Leigh High School (14), Cardinal Newman High School (13), Dublin High School (13). 95 high schools' lists name Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
+31 more programs
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.