Cal Poly vs Stanford

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) and Stanford University stand as two distinct beacons of higher education in California, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. Cal Poly, a public polytechnic university, prides itself on its strong focus on hands-on learning and its close ties to industry, while Stanford, a private research university, is renowned for its academic excellence and world-class research facilities. With acceptance rates of 30% and 5%, respectively, these institutions attract a diverse student body, with Cal Poly boasting a larger undergraduate population and a higher percentage of male students compared to Stanford. While both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, Cal Poly is particularly known for its engineering, agriculture, and business programs, while Stanford excels in fields such as computer science, engineering, and medicine. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two esteemed institutions and discover which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	Stanford University
Overview
Location	San Luis Obispo, California	Stanford, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	Suburb: Large
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%	98.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	33.0%	3.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $90 Graduate: $125
SAT range	N/A	1470 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		15.0%
Students submitting ACT score		11.0%
Total number of applicants	54,570	55,471
Total number of admissions given out	18,008	2,190
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,884	1,757
Yield rate	27.1%	80.2%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,680 Out of state: $47,590	$78,898
Average net price	$20,708	$14,402
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	$55,473
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,642 Meal plan: $6,138	Room/dormitory: $11,166 Meal plan: $6,694
Available payment plans

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	55.0% Average amount $5,988	61.0% Average amount $56,211
Students receiving federal student loan	24.0% Average amount $5,023	5.0% Average amount $5,151
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,714	1.0% Average amount $17,186

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,128 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	7,645 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
Graduate students	1,103 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	10,035 Men 56.5% Women 43.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	20.6%	58.5%
International students	2.3%	24.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	8,147	14,621
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Colorado Oregon Texas	California Texas Washington New York Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Agriculture Architecture Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Engineering Computer and Information Science Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	5:1
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%	95.5%
Dropout rate	12.5%	1.7%
Transferred out	1.2%	0.6%
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	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $151,574 Year 2: $170,457 Year 3: $210,837 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $159,729 Year 2: $168,942 Year 3: $203,193 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $164,734 Year 2: $163,337 Year 3: $187,054 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $137,457 Year 2: $150,874 Year 3: $173,548 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $136,126 Year 2: $136,499 Year 3: $165,375 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,556 Year 2: $135,709 Year 3: $157,500 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $123,354 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $139,234 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $105,326 Year 2: $111,435 Year 3: $126,185 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,457 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $107,477 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,475 Year 2: $85,391 Year 3: $104,592

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