California Polytechnic
State University-San Luis Obispo
Public College in San Luis Obispo, CA. Six-year graduation rate 86%. Median 10-year earnings $90,768.
A decade after enrolling, the median California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo student earns $90,768 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 86% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $18,500, neither a bargain nor a burden. On economic mobility, 2.2% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.20 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 86% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Selectivity is real here: only 31% of applicants are offered a place. With 68,371 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield sits at 25% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo →Academics
86% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. 96% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 60% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 19:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 21,521 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $17,453 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $7,529 at $0–30k versus $27,772 at $110k+. About 52% get grants averaging $12,265, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 25% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 5,163 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $7,529 |
| $30–48k | $7,253 |
| $48–75k | $9,896 |
| $75–110k | $15,786 |
| $110k+ | $27,772 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,361 of these 21,521 students, totalling $31,628,460 — an average of $5,900 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Luis Obispo County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)