College profile
San Diego State University
CA · Public · Large city · 82,800 applicants 2023
A parent's read
- Top feeder high schools: Mira Costa High School (15), Saint Augustine High School (15), Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School (9), Orange County School of the Arts (8), Santa Margarita Catholic High School (8). Graduates per class year, from each high school's own published list. 92 high schools' lists name San Diego State University; every one is ranked below.
- The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing grads from here earn about $120,799 four years out; fine and studio arts grads about $35,416 — a 3.4× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
- The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 6× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$27,780/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$64,909/yr) still runs about 6× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
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 San Diego State University?
The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to San Diego State University, from each school's own published list: Mira Costa High School (15), Saint Augustine High School (15), Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School (9), Orange County School of the Arts (8), Santa Margarita Catholic High School (8). 92 high schools' lists name San Diego State University.
Enrolled — from the schools' matriculation lists
All 92 schools, with the class years each list covers
Published, but not ranked — these schools name San Diego State University 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 (9, not stated).
How this is counted
92 high schools publish a numbered matriculation list — where their graduates actually enrolled, counted, in the school's own School Profile — and name San Diego State University on it. Between them they printed 335 enrolled graduates. Ranked by graduates per class year enrolling at San Diego State University, 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 14 schools, with the class years each list covers
How this is counted
14 high schools publish a numbered list of college acceptances — where their graduates were admitted, not where they enrolled — and name San Diego State University on it. Between them they printed 300 admissions. Ranked by admissions per class year to San Diego State University, 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 100 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 ~$15,364/yr among aid recipients. Major value play for in-state residents.
Best for
- Strong overall academic profile (avg admit unweighted GPA 3.82 per CDS — school is test-blind, so scores aren't part of the decision at all — the transcript carries the weight)
- In-state residents (tuition ~$8,728 — major value play)
- Students focused on Business, Management, & Marketing (the school's signature program)
- Research-curious students (R2 — active research output)
- Students who thrive in a large, programmatic environment
The reality
- You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: unweighted GPA below 3.62 (test bands are the school's own; the 3.62 line is our estimate, not a published figure)
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
3.84 average
unstated — the Common Data Set does not state whether its GPA is weighted or unweighted, so a family's own GPA cannot be aligned to it, enrolled first-year students (Fall 2024 (CDS 2024-25)). San Diego State 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: 34%. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | 10,612 | 2,486 | 23.4% | Fall 2021: 31.3% ↓ |
| Nursing Pre-Licensure | 8,620 | 306 | 3.5% | Fall 2021: 7.3% ↓ |
| Psychology | 7,221 | 2,114 | 29.3% | Fall 2021: 37.4% ↓ |
| Mechanical Engineering | 4,209 | 1,730 | 41.1% | Fall 2021: 48.3% ↓ |
| Marketing | 3,762 | 1,233 | 32.8% | Fall 2021: 36.7% ↓ |
| Finance | 3,638 | 1,112 | 30.6% | Fall 2021: 43.9% ↓ |
| Kinesiology/Physical Education | 3,510 | 1,175 | 33.5% | Fall 2021: 39.4% ↓ |
| Management | 3,190 | 999 | 31.3% | Fall 2021: 33.5% ↓ |
| Computer Science | 3,107 | 2,219 | 71.4% | Fall 2021: 48.5% ↑ |
| Business Administration | 2,603 | 949 | 36.5% | Fall 2021: 39.9% ↓ |
| Criminal Justice | 2,496 | 886 | 35.5% | Fall 2021: 33.2% ↑ |
| Political Science/Government | 2,451 | 1,307 | 53.3% | Fall 2021: 46.7% ↑ |
| Chemistry | 2,099 | 728 | 34.7% | Fall 2021: 40.5% ↓ |
| Public Health | 1,983 | 721 | 36.4% | Fall 2021: 64.7% ↓ |
| Aerospace Engineering | 1,943 | 910 | 46.8% | Fall 2021: 48.5% ↓ |
| Civil Engineering | 1,708 | 723 | 42.3% | Fall 2021: 41.9% |
| Accountancy | 1,476 | 413 | 28.0% | Fall 2021: 43.8% ↓ |
| Economics | 1,440 | 818 | 56.8% | Fall 2021: 51.4% ↑ |
| Electrical Engineering | 1,351 | 528 | 39.1% | Fall 2021: 40.1% |
| Real Estate | 1,218 | 298 | 24.5% | Fall 2021: 25.8% ↓ |
| Child Development/Early Childhood Education | 1,192 | 642 | 53.9% | Fall 2021: 41.0% ↑ |
| Computer Engineering | 1,142 | 582 | 51.0% | Fall 2021: 42.0% ↑ |
| Speech Communication | 1,133 | 506 | 44.7% | Fall 2021: 41.2% ↑ |
| Liberal Studies | 1,054 | 652 | 61.9% | Fall 2021: 45.6% ↑ |
| Interior Design | 1,031 | 261 | 25.3% | Fall 2021: 32.6% ↓ |
| Sociology | 958 | 671 | 70.0% | Fall 2021: 33.5% ↑ |
| Environmental Science | 947 | 622 | 65.7% | Fall 2021: 49.0% ↑ |
| Radio Television Film/Telecommunications | 857 | 302 | 35.2% | Fall 2021: 44.3% ↓ |
| Statistics | 819 | 315 | 38.5% | Fall 2021: 56.3% ↓ |
| International Business | 802 | 484 | 60.3% | Fall 2021: 50.0% ↑ |
| English | 694 | 534 | 76.9% | Fall 2021: 48.2% ↑ |
| Journalism | 678 | 414 | 61.1% | Fall 2021: 45.0% ↑ |
| History | 602 | 419 | 69.6% | Fall 2021: 29.7% ↑ |
| Graphic Design | 590 | 145 | 24.6% | Fall 2021: 31.9% ↓ |
| Applied Mathematics | 548 | 324 | 59.1% | Fall 2021: 53.8% ↑ |
| Construction Management | 536 | 142 | 26.5% | Fall 2021: 18.0% ↑ |
| Dietetics & Food Administration/Nutritional Science | 535 | 312 | 58.3% | Fall 2021: 61.6% ↓ |
| Environmental Engineering | 491 | 250 | 50.9% | Fall 2021: 53.9% ↓ |
| Music (Professional Performance) | 486 | 175 | 36.0% | Fall 2021: 26.9% ↑ |
| Information Systems | 455 | 125 | 27.5% | Fall 2021: 39.7% ↓ |
| Microbiology | 430 | 121 | 28.1% | Fall 2021: 36.0% ↓ |
| Art | 430 | 147 | 34.2% | Fall 2021: 35.4% ↓ |
| Hotel and Restaurant/Hospitality Management | 422 | 301 | 71.3% | Fall 2021: 44.6% ↑ |
| Social Work | 407 | 107 | 26.3% | Fall 2021: 39.2% ↓ |
| Theatre Arts | 380 | 188 | 49.5% | Fall 2021: 40.0% ↑ |
| Speech Language Pathology (Entry-Ready) | 368 | 195 | 53.0% | Fall 2021: 50.0% ↑ |
| Anthropology | 326 | 229 | 70.2% | Fall 2021: 43.9% ↑ |
| Physics | 301 | 142 | 47.2% | Fall 2021: 54.0% ↓ |
| Financial Services | 299 | 94 | 31.4% | Fall 2021: 41.5% ↓ |
| Public Relations | 273 | 164 | 60.1% | Fall 2021: 40.4% ↑ |
| Mathematics | 251 | 141 | 56.2% | Fall 2021: 45.5% ↑ |
| Astronomy | 249 | 164 | 65.9% | Fall 2021: 47.5% ↑ |
| Urban Studies | 228 | 181 | 79.4% | Fall 2021: 46.1% ↑ |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Management | 221 | 77 | 34.8% | Fall 2021: 30.3% ↑ |
| International Security and Conflict Resolution | 216 | 180 | 83.3% | Fall 2021: 54.8% ↑ |
| Health Communication | 208 | 152 | 73.1% | Fall 2021: 43.9% ↑ |
| Philosophy | 206 | 150 | 72.8% | Fall 2021: 46.0% ↑ |
| Musical Theatre | 182 | 33 | 18.1% | — |
| Organizational Leadership | 171 | 106 | 62.0% | Fall 2024: 74.6% ↓ |
| Social Science/Social and Behavioral Sciences | 162 | 122 | 75.3% | Fall 2021: 42.9% ↑ |
| Geography | 158 | 114 | 72.2% | Fall 2021: 51.4% ↑ |
| Dance (Professional Performance) | 155 | 61 | 39.4% | Fall 2021: 42.5% ↓ |
| Linguistics | 143 | 111 | 77.6% | Fall 2021: 67.0% ↑ |
| Geology | 143 | 90 | 62.9% | Fall 2021: 30.0% ↑ |
| International Studies/Global Studies | 142 | 117 | 82.4% | Fall 2021: 69.3% ↑ |
| Advertising | 130 | 90 | 69.2% | Fall 2021: 56.8% ↑ |
| Spanish | 107 | 73 | 68.2% | Fall 2021: 53.2% ↑ |
| Multimedia | 106 | 29 | 27.4% | Fall 2021: 24.2% ↑ |
| Dance | 104 | 40 | 38.5% | — |
| Humanities | 104 | 66 | 63.5% | Fall 2021: 47.9% ↑ |
| Art History | 95 | 72 | 75.8% | Fall 2021: 36.8% ↑ |
| Women's Studies | 89 | 58 | 65.2% | Fall 2021: 38.6% ↑ |
| Public Administration | 84 | 39 | 46.4% | Fall 2021: 43.3% ↑ |
| Music | 78 | 13 | 16.7% | Fall 2023: 14.5% ↑ |
| African-American Studies | 71 | 44 | 62.0% | Fall 2021: 58.7% ↑ |
| Mexican-American/Chicano/Chicana Studies | 66 | 36 | 54.5% | Fall 2021: 34.3% ↑ |
| Recreation Administration | 64 | 35 | 54.7% | Fall 2021: 30.2% ↑ |
| Religious Studies | 58 | 40 | 69.0% | Fall 2021: 54.5% ↑ |
| Modern Jewish Studies | 56 | 38 | 67.9% | Fall 2024: 91.7% ↓ |
| Gerontology | 49 | 31 | 63.3% | Fall 2024: 52.0% ↑ |
| Japanese | 38 | 21 | 55.3% | Fall 2021: 62.2% ↓ |
| Geography and Environmental Studies | 34 | 22 | 64.7% | — |
| Linguistics and Anthropology | 34 | 24 | 70.6% | Fall 2021: 42.4% ↑ |
| English Composition | 30 | 26 | 86.7% | Fall 2021: 55.2% ↑ |
| Latin American Studies | 28 | 15 | 53.6% | Fall 2024: 33.3% ↑ |
| Native American Studies | 28 | 15 | 53.6% | Fall 2023: 56.0% ↓ |
| Asian Studies | 25 | 17 | 68.0% | Fall 2021: 47.1% ↑ |
| Asian American Studies | 22 | 14 | 63.6% | — |
| Islamic Studies | 14 | 11 | 78.6% | Fall 2024: 64.7% ↑ |
Majors reported by transfer path only — Fall 2025
CSU reported no first-year admit row for these majors. At most campuses that means a freshman is not admitted straight into the program: they enter a pre-major (pre-nursing, for example) and apply into it later, while transfer applicants apply to the program directly. The transfer numbers below are the only published gate, and at a program like nursing they are the number a family should plan around.
| Major | Transfer applicants | Admitted | Admit rate Fall 2025, transfer |
Earlier year for comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing (RN-to-Nursing Degree) transfer path | 48 | 48 | 100.0% | Fall 2021: 100.0% |
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 San Diego State University actually costs
Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by San Diego State University'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
+$538K ahead at full price +$588K 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 San Diego State University
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what San Diego State University actually graduates — not just what it markets.
What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — San Diego State University's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | $120,799 |
| Computer Engineering. | $116,842 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | $106,416 |
| Computer Science. | $100,586 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician. | $100,564 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | $100,139 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | $97,825 |
| Civil Engineering. | $95,865 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | $88,417 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | $88,136 |
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 San Diego State University
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
Alternatives to San Diego State University
Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.
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Deciding on San Diego State University?
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Related reading
Behind the data · September 15, 2026
College admissions · August 21, 2026
College admissions · October 2026
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At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantSan Diego State University is a public four-year college in CA. It admitted 34% of applicants (82,800 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-blind.
Average enrolled GPA 3.82 (unweighted, 2025-26, as published by the college).
Cost: about $15,364 a year on average with aid, $27,780 a year at full price for in-state students.
Median earnings ten years after entry: $64,909 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $587,634 ahead with aid, $537,970 ahead at full price.
Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($120,799); Computer Engineering ($116,842); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($106,416).
First-year admit rate by major, Fall 2025: lowest Nursing Pre-Licensure 3.5% (8,620 applied); highest International Security and Conflict Resolution 83.3% (216 applied). 1 major is reported on the transfer side only (freshmen enter as a pre-major): Nursing (RN-to-Nursing Degree) 100.0%. Every program at this campus is impacted, meaning more qualified applicants than seats.
Economic mobility (Opportunity Insights): 9% of students came from families in the bottom fifth of income, and 41% of those reached the top fifth as adults.
Nursing: freshmen are admitted directly into the nursing major; NCLEX-RN first-time pass rate 91.0% (2024/2025, California Board of Registered Nursing).
High schools that publish a numbered matriculation list and name San Diego State University: 92, 335 enrolled students between them — ranked by graduates per class year, most often Mira Costa High School (15.0 per class year, 15 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Saint Augustine High School (15.0 per class year, 15 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School (9.0 per class year, 9 over 1 class year, Class of 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/san-diego-state-university.
High schools that publish a numbered list of college acceptances naming San Diego State University: 14, 300 admissions between them — ranked by admissions per class year, most often Archbishop Mitty High School (66.0 per class year, 66 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Mira Costa High School (65.0 per class year, 65 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 (48.0 per class year, 48 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/san-diego-state-university.
Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/san-diego-state-university.json
Questions families ask
What is San Diego State University's acceptance rate? San Diego State University is a public four-year college in CA. It admitted 34% of applicants (82,800 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-blind.
Does San Diego State University require the SAT or ACT? San Diego State University is a public four-year college in CA. It admitted 34% of applicants (82,800 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-blind.
How much does San Diego State University cost? Cost: about $15,364 a year on average with aid, $27,780 a year at full price for in-state students.
What do San Diego State University graduates earn? Median earnings ten years after entry: $64,909 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $587,634 ahead with aid, $537,970 ahead at full price.
Which majors at San Diego State University pay the most? Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($120,799); Computer Engineering ($116,842); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($106,416).
Does the admit rate at San Diego State University depend on the major? First-year admit rate by major, Fall 2025: lowest Nursing Pre-Licensure 3.5% (8,620 applied); highest International Security and Conflict Resolution 83.3% (216 applied). 1 major is reported on the transfer side only (freshmen enter as a pre-major): Nursing (RN-to-Nursing Degree) 100.0%. Every program at this campus is impacted, meaning more qualified applicants than seats.
Which high schools send the most graduates to San Diego State University? The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to San Diego State University, from each school's own published list: Mira Costa High School (15), Saint Augustine High School (15), Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School (9), Orange County School of the Arts (8), Santa Margarita Catholic High School (8). 92 high schools' lists name San Diego State University.
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Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.