California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo campus
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo logo

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA 4 year Public

Acceptance Rate

Fall 2021 admitted students

33%

Application Fees

Fall 2021

$70

Undergraduate

$70

Graduate

Applicants Stats

The following table details the number of students who applied, admitted, and enrolled in Cal Poly during the Fall 2021 enrollment season.

Total Men Women
Applicants 54,570 27,380 27,190
Admitted students 18,008 7,693 10,315
Enrolled students 4,884 2,417 2,467
Acceptance rate 33% 28% 38%
Yield rate 27% 31% 24%
    • Total Applicants

      During the Fall 2021 enrollment season, Cal Poly received a total of 54,570 applications. These applications included 27,380 male applicants and 27,190 female applicants.
    • Admitted Students

      Out of the 54,570 applicants, Cal Poly admitted 18,008 students. Among the admitted students, there were 7,693 males and 10,315 females who received offers of admission.
    • Enrolled Students

      Among the admitted students, 4,884 students chose to enroll at Cal Poly. This means that 4,884 students accepted the admission offers and officially registered to attend the university for the Fall 2021 term. Among the enrolled students, 2,417 were male and 2,467 were female.
    • Acceptance Rate

      The acceptance rate is the percentage of applicants who were offered admission. In this case, Cal Poly had an overall acceptance rate of 33% for the Fall 2021 enrollment season. When we break it down by gender, the acceptance rate for male applicants was 28% while the acceptance rate for female applicants was 38%.
    • Yield Rate

      The yield rate is the percentage of admitted students who actually chose to enroll at the university. Cal Poly had an overall yield rate of 27% for the Fall 2021 term. The yield rate for male admitted students was 31%, and for female admitted students, it was 24%.

Admission and Enrollment Trends

The following table presents the application, admission, and enrollment statistics for Cal Poly over the past 7 years.

Applicants Admitted Students Acceptance Rate Enrolled Students Yield Rate
Year Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
2015 46,820 24,832 21,988 14,651 6,804 7,847 31% 27% 36% 4,943 2,467 2,476 34% 36% 32%
2016 48,162 25,393 22,769 14,202 6,552 7,650 30% 26% 34% 4,341 2,183 2,158 31% 33% 28%
2017 48,588 25,496 23,092 16,817 7,644 9,173 35% 30% 40% 5,253 2,541 2,712 31% 33% 30%
2018 54,663 28,425 26,238 16,491 7,299 9,192 30% 26% 35% 4,398 2,148 2,250 27% 29% 24%
2019 54,072 28,008 26,064 15,366 7,012 8,354 28% 25% 32% 4,613 2,282 2,331 30% 32% 28%
2020 52,371 26,639 25,732 20,127 9,192 10,935 38% 34% 42% 4,789 2,414 2,375 24% 26% 22%
2021 54,570 27,380 27,190 18,008 7,693 10,315 33% 28% 38% 4,884 2,417 2,467 27% 31% 24%

Admission Requirements

Fall 2021

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo uses the following list of admission requirements and recommended documents when evaluating students' applications. All documents listed under the Required sections must be submitted with your application, but those listed under the Recommended section are optional.

In contrast to the most common test-optional policies, Cal Poly operates as a test-blind college. This means that it does not consider or require SAT or ACT scores for admission purposes. Regardless of whether applicants submit test scores or not, they will not be factored into the admissions evaluation. However, in the 1 enrollment season, 1 of admitted students submitted SAT scores, and 1 submitted ACT scores for admission. The primary motivation behind test-blind policies is to promote equity and inclusivity in the admissions process. Please double-check with the school to verify the current and complete admission requirements.

Required

  • Secondary school GPA
  • Secondary school record
  • Completion of college-preparatory program

Neither required nor recommended

  • Secondary school rank
  • Recommendation letters
  • Formal demonstration of competencies
  • Test scores (SAT/ACT)
  • TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
  • Other tests (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)

Accepted Credits

Fall 2021

The following is a list of college preparatory work and life experience that are accepted at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

  • Credit for life experiences

    Accepted
  • Advanced placement (AP) credits

    Accepted
  • Dual credit (college credit earned while in high school)

    Accepted

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