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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Business Programs

Located in San Luis Obispo, California, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution. San Luis Obispo is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center.

1,109 Undergraduate Degrees
104 Graduate Degrees
$37,050 Avg Cost After Aid (Undergrad)
38% Acceptance Rate

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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Rankings

We have ranked Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as #35 out of 1,477 colleges and universities in the country in our 2023 Best Colleges list. This lands it a coveted spot in the top 5% of all colleges and universities in the country. Out of the 102 colleges in California, it is ranked at #5.

These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#27 Best Business Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#108 Best Business Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Construction Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#2 Best Agricultural Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#4 Best Value Agricultural Economics Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#11 Best Value Construction Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#14 Best Business Administration & Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#17 Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#25 Best Accounting Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#32 Most Popular Business Administration & Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#74 Best Value Accounting Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#156 Best Value Business Administration & Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#2 Best Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations Schools College Factual
#3 Best Construction Management Schools College Factual
#6 Best Agricultural Economics & Business Schools College Factual
#36 Best Business Administration & Management Schools College Factual
#45 Best Schools Course Advisor
#53 Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools College Factual

Where Is California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo?

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Contact details for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Phone: 805-756-1111
Website: calpoly.edu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaPolytechnic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/calpoly

How Do I Get Into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo?

You can apply to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo online at: www2.calstate.edu/apply

Admission Requirements for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program required
Recommendations neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores required
TOEFL neither required nor recommended

How Hard Is It To Get Into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo?

38% Acceptance Rate
54% Of Accepted Are Women
80% Submit SAT Scores
The acceptance rate of California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is 38%. While it may not be as selective as some schools, it does screen its applicants very carefully. Do what you can to stand out among others in the pool of applicants!

Approximately 46% of accepted students are men and 54% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 35%, and the acceptance rate for women is 42%.

Average Test Scores

About 80% of students accepted to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 610 and 690. Math scores were between 610 and 720.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo  ( 610 to 690 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo  ( 610 to 720 )
200
800
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo received ACT scores from 42% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 25 and 34. Math scores were between 26 and 31. Composite scores were between 26 and 32.

ACT English Scores for California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo  ( 25 to 34 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo  ( 26 to 31 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo  ( 26 to 32 )
1
36

Can I Afford California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo?

$37,050 Net Price
28% Take Out Loans
0.7% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $37,050. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, approximately 28% of students took out student loans averaging $6,270 a year. That adds up to $25,080 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is 0.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Undergraduate Student Diversity

20,198 Full-Time Undergraduates
50% Women
41% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 21,456 undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with 20,198 being full-time and 1,258 being part-time.

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There are also 984 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 20,198 full-time undergraduates at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 50% are male and 50% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo students is as follows.

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 2,729
Black or African American 157
Hispanic or Latino 3,705
White 10,860
International Students 425
Other Races/Ethnicities 2,322

Geographic Diversity

California students aren't the only ones who study at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. At this time, 40 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 70 countries are represented at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.

Online Learning at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

18,546 Took All Classes Online
22,344 Took At Least One Class Online
6,850.6% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
In 2019-2020, 22,344 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has changed over the last few years.

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Online Growth Rankings of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo was 6,850.6%. This is the #36 largest growth rate of all schools that are mostly online. This refers to all students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo regardless of major.

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Business Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Bachelor’s Master’s TOTAL
General Business Administration and Management 766 36 802
Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations 132 2 134
Construction Management 114 0 114
General Economics 97 0 97
Accounting 0 23 23
Management Science 0 19 19
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 0 13 13
Taxation 0 11 11
Agricultural Business 0 0 0
Interior Design Management 0 0 0
TOTAL 1,109 104 1,213

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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