Cal Poly vs NorthWestern

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) and Northwestern University (NU) are two distinct institutions with unique offerings. Cal Poly, a public polytechnic university, boasts a 79% acceptance rate, while NU, a private research university, has a highly selective 9% acceptance rate. Cal Poly's student body is predominantly composed of California residents, with a diverse mix of ethnicities and a strong emphasis on hands-on learning. NU, on the other hand, attracts a more geographically diverse student body and is known for its rigorous academic programs in fields like business, engineering, and the humanities. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, but Cal Poly is particularly renowned for its engineering, agriculture, and architecture programs, while NU excels in business, law, and medicine. With distinct campus cultures, graduation rates, and costs of attendance, Cal Poly and NU present prospective students with contrasting educational experiences. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best

	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	Northwestern University
Overview
Location	San Luis Obispo, California	Evanston, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	99.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	33.0%	7.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95
SAT range	N/A	1470 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		43.0%
Students submitting ACT score		39.0%
Total number of applicants	54,570	47,636
Total number of admissions given out	18,008	3,321
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,884	2,086
Yield rate	27.1%	62.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,680 Out of state: $47,590	$83,838
Average net price	$20,708	$29,999
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	$60,276
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,642 Meal plan: $6,138	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	55.0% Average amount $5,988	57.0% Average amount $51,087
Students receiving federal student loan	24.0% Average amount $5,023	23.0% Average amount $4,625
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,714	2.0% Average amount $38,595

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,128 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%
Graduate students	1,103 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	20.6%	N/A
International students	2.3%	17.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	8,147	4,409
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Agriculture Architecture Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.4%	95.2%
Dropout rate	12.5%	4.2%
Transferred out	1.2%	N/A
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	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046

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Cal Poly vs NorthWestern

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Northwestern University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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