Cal Poly vs California State University-Northridge (CSUN)

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) and California State University-Northridge (CSUN) are two esteemed public universities in California, each offering unique educational experiences. Cal Poly SLO boasts a lower acceptance rate of 31% compared to CSUN's 48%, indicating a more selective admissions process. While Cal Poly SLO is renowned for its strengths in engineering, agriculture, and architecture, CSUN excels in the arts, business, and education. Cal Poly SLO's student body is predominantly White (54%) and Asian (23%), while CSUN's student population is more diverse, with a larger Hispanic (38%) and Asian (29%) population. Both universities boast impressive graduation rates, with Cal Poly SLO's rate at 79% and CSUN's at 73%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two institutions. Explore the table

	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	California State University-Northridge
Overview
Location	San Luis Obispo, California	Northridge, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	82.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	33.0%	88.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	54,570	23,656
Total number of admissions given out	18,008	20,842
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,884	4,716
Yield rate	27.1%	22.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,680 Out of state: $47,590	In state: $31,857 Out of state: $43,737
Average net price	$20,708	$8,708
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,642 Meal plan: $6,138	Room/dormitory: $7,316 Meal plan: $4,506
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	55.0% Average amount $5,988	82.0% Average amount $10,882
Students receiving federal student loan	24.0% Average amount $5,023	14.0% Average amount $4,779
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,714	1.0% Average amount $12,360

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,128 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	34,496 Men 45.0% Women 55.0%
Graduate students	1,103 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	5,612 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	20.6%	1.7%
International students	2.3%	6.0%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	8,147	4,029
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Colorado Oregon Texas	California Washington Hawaii Nevada Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Agriculture Architecture Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	26:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.4%	54.2%
Dropout rate	12.5%	33.7%
Transferred out	1.2%	5.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $88,197 Year 2: $120,462 Year 3: $143,849 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $104,015 Year 2: $101,964 Year 3: $116,606 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $91,493 Year 2: $93,964 Year 3: $106,798 Fire Protection (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $103,907 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,656 Year 2: $82,780 Year 3: $96,152 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,643 Year 2: $73,562 Year 3: $90,242 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,873 Year 2: $78,971 Year 3: $90,194 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,220 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $89,378 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,920 Year 2: $70,886 Year 3: $87,984 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,454 Year 2: $79,647 Year 3: $87,345	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $108,158 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,831 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $98,535 Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,745 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $97,852 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,455 Year 2: $88,907 Year 3: $96,626 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,863 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,559 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,493 Year 3: $92,252 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,281 Year 2: $83,669 Year 3: $89,964 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,782 Year 2: $75,047 Year 3: $84,221 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,859 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $82,977 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,180 Year 2: $76,863 Year 3: $82,194

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Cal Poly vs California State University-Northridge (CSUN)

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

California State University-Northridge

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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