Cal Poly vs UMD Duluth

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) and University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. Cal Poly SLO, located on California's Central Coast, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to UMD's 70%. Cal Poly SLO is renowned for its strong engineering and agriculture programs, while UMD excels in liberal arts and sciences, with a particular focus on environmental studies. Cal Poly SLO's student body is more diverse, with a higher percentage of Hispanic and Asian students, while UMD's student body is predominantly White. Both universities offer a vibrant campus life, with Cal Poly SLO having a slightly higher graduation rate (79%) than UMD (76%). To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two institutions. Dive in to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	University of Minnesota-Duluth
Overview
Location	San Luis Obispo, California	Duluth, Minnesota
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
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%	77.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	33.0%	79.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	1160 - 1270
ACT range	N/A	22 - 28
Students submitting SAT score		1.0%
Students submitting ACT score		47.0%
Total number of applicants	54,570	9,610
Total number of admissions given out	18,008	7,644
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,884	2,029
Yield rate	27.1%	26.5%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,680 Out of state: $47,590	In state: $26,194 Out of state: $31,492
Average net price	$20,708	$16,960
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $12,420 Out of state: $17,718
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,642 Meal plan: $6,138	$8,796
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	55.0% Average amount $5,988	72.0% Average amount $7,817
Students receiving federal student loan	24.0% Average amount $5,023	52.0% Average amount $5,124
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,714	19.0% Average amount $12,751

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,128 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	9,024 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%
Graduate students	1,103 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	860 Men 40.5% Women 59.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	20.6%	12.9%
International students	2.3%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	8,147	2,962
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	Minnesota Wisconsin North Dakota Illinois Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Agriculture Architecture Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Engineering Business Education Public Administration and Social Service Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.4%	64.7%
Dropout rate	12.5%	8.9%
Transferred out	1.2%	25.6%
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	Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,504 Year 2: $64,940 Year 3: $72,817 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,019 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $72,678 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,483 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $70,314 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,217 Year 2: $61,218 Year 3: $70,085 Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,767 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,743 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,804 Year 2: $56,979 Year 3: $65,374 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,744 Year 2: $53,244 Year 3: $62,864 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,990 Year 2: $52,651 Year 3: $61,141 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,377 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $60,088 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,318 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $57,955

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Cal Poly vs UMD Duluth

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

University of Minnesota-Duluth

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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