California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Public, Four-years School Located in San Luis Obispo, CA

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How much is the Cal Poly tuition? For the academic year 2023-2024, Cal Poly's tuition & fees is $11,075 for California residents and $30,995 for out-of-state students.
With indirect costs not billed by school, such as room & boards and personal living expenses, the total cost of attendance for one academic year is $30,674 for California residents and $50,594 for out-of-state students when a student lives on-campus.

Cal Poly Tuition & Expenses

2022-2023 Rate
California Residents Tuition & Fees$11,075
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees$30,995
Books & Supplies Costs$906
On-campus Room & Board$16,449
On-campus Expenses$2,244
Off-campus Room & Board$16,449
Off-campus Expenses$2,244
2023-2024 Projection
California Residents Tuition & Fees$11,022
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees$30,942

How Much Does it Cost to Go to Cal Poly for 4 Years?

For the class of 2027, who entering colleges in 2023, the 4 years tuition & fees is $157,475 at Cal Poly. The estimated tuition rate is based on the changes over last 5 years. With room & board, books, and other personal expenses, the estimated 4 years costs of attendance is $233,432. After receiving financial aid including grants, scholarships, and/or student loans, the 4 years COA is down to $193,533.
The following table computes the 4 years tuition and COA by class of year.
College YearTuition & FeesCOAAfter Financial Aid
Freshmen (2023-24)$34,032$52,843$44,220
Sophomore (2024-25)$37,367$56,296$46,829
Junior (2025-26)$41,028$60,076$49,681
Senior (2026-27)$45,048$64,216$52,803
4 Years Total$157,475$233,432$193,533
College YearTuition & FeesCOAAfter Financial Aid
Freshmen (2024-25)$37,367$56,296$46,829
Sophomore (2025-26)$41,028$60,076$49,681
Junior (2026-27)$45,048$64,216$52,803
Senior (2027-28)$49,462$68,751$56,219
4 Years Total$172,905$249,340$205,532
College YearTuition & FeesCOAAfter Financial Aid
Freshmen (2025-26)$41,028$60,076$49,681
Sophomore (2026-27)$45,048$64,216$52,803
Junior (2027-28)$49,462$68,751$56,219
Senior (2028-29)$54,309$73,719$59,959
4 Years Total$189,847$266,763$218,663
College YearTuition & FeesCOAAfter Financial Aid
Freshmen (2026-27)$45,048$64,216$52,803
Sophomore (2027-28)$49,462$68,751$56,219
Junior (2028-29)$54,309$73,719$59,959
Senior (2029-30)$59,630$79,163$64,055
4 Years Total$208,449$285,850$233,037
College YearTuition & FeesCOAAfter Financial Aid
Freshmen (2027-28)$49,462$68,751$56,219
Sophomore (2028-29)$54,309$73,719$59,959
Junior (2029-30)$59,630$79,163$64,055
Senior (2030-31)$65,473$85,129$68,540
4 Years Total$228,873$306,762$248,774

Average Tuition By School Type and Comparison

Compared to four-years schools nationwide, Cal Poly' tuition is much higher than the average tuition of $12,960. Compared to public, four-years colleges in California, its tuition is much higher than the average tuition of $13,259.
In-StateOut-of-State
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$11,075$30,995
U.S. Four-years Colleges$18,672
Public Schools$7,199$12,960
Private Schools$20,937
California Four-years Colleges$20,867
Public Schools$4,034$13,259
Private Schools$23,111

Compare Similar School's Tuition

The next table compares the tuition & fees between Cal Poly and similar schools. The similar colleges are selected by school type & level (public, four-years), ranking, and comparison frequency by our users. The comparison is based on 2022-2023 tuition rate.
LocationIn-StateOut-of-State
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoSan Luis Obispo, CA$11,075$30,995
University of Illinois SpringfieldSpringfield, IL$12,252$22,017
Northwest Missouri State UniversityMaryville, MO$10,181$16,623
California State University-San BernardinoSan Bernardino, CA$7,675$19,555
Keene State CollegeKeene, NH$14,710$26,186
Stockton UniversityGalloway, NJ$15,532$23,420
Clayton State UniversityMorrow, GA$5,068$15,790
Montana State University BillingsBillings, MT$6,706$21,347
New Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologySocorro, NM$9,058$26,312
Southern Arkansas University Main CampusMagnolia, AR$9,820$15,400
California State University-SacramentoSacramento, CA$7,602$19,482

Financial Aid and COA

At California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, 10,615 students (50%) received grant or scholarship from the federal government, state or local government, the institution, and other sources. The average amount of grant/scholarship received is $7,853.
After receiving financial aid, the cost of attendance (COA) at Cal Poly is $42,741 for students living on-campus and $42,741 for students living off-campus.
For beginning students (i.e. first-time freshmen), 2,768 students received any type of financial aid including grants/scholarship and student loans. The average amount of grant/scholarship for the first-time students is $10,065 and the average amount of student loans is $6,132.
The financial aid data is based on 2021-2022 statistics from IPEDS.
California ResidentsOut-of-State
COA (on-campus)$30,674$50,594
COA (off-campus)$30,674$50,594
Tuition & Fees$11,075$30,995
Indirect Costs (on-campus)$19,599$19,599
Indirect Costs (off-campus)$19,599$19,599
COA (on-campus) after Receiving Aid$22,821$42,741
COA (off-campus) after Receiving Aid$22,821$42,741
Average Financial Aid$7,853$7,853
Type of AidNumber Receiving AidPercent Receiving AidAverage Amount of Aid Received
Grant or Scholarship10,61550%$7,853
Pell Grants3,59817%$4,942
Federal Student Loan4,76523%$5,983
Type of AidNumber Receiving AidPercent Receiving AidAverage Amount of Aid Received
Any Financial Aid2,76857%-
Grants or Scholarships2,04642%$10,065
Federal Grants84917%$5,874
Pell Grants84717%$5,296
Other Federal Grants81517%$615
State/Local Grants1,44930%$2,916
Institutional Grants1,53632%$7,410
Student Loan Aid1,28927%$6,132
Federal Student Loans1,27126%$5,038
Other Student Loans671%$22,410
Income LevelNumber of StudentsNumber of Students AwardedAverage Amount Aid Awarded
All level1,4701,193$10,914
0-30,000299299$19,563
30,001-48,000232231$18,838
48,001-75,000235232$15,061
75,001-110,000202179$7,429
110,001 or more502252$1,561

Admission Stats and Requirements to Apply

Cal Poly's acceptance rate is 33.00%. A total of 54,570 applicants applied to and 18,008 students were accepted. Of the admitted students, 4,884 enrolled finally, and the yield (i.e. enrollment rate) is 27.12%.
To apply to Cal Poly, 3 items are required - Secondary school GPA, Secondary school record and Completion of college-preparatory program.
TotalMenWomen
Applicants54,57027,380$27,190
Admitted18,0087,693$10,315
Enrolled4,8842,417$2,467
Acceptance Rate33.00%28.10%37.94%
Yield (Enrollment Rate)27.12%31.42%23.92%
Secondary school GPARequired
Secondary school rankNeither Required Nor Recommended
Secondary school recordRequired
Completion of college-preparatory programRequired
RecommendationsNeither Required Nor Recommended
Formal demonstration of competenciesNeither Required Nor Recommended
Admission test scoresNeither Required Nor Recommended
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)Neither Required Nor Recommended
Other Test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)Neither Required Nor Recommended

Student Population

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo has a total of 22,000 students including 21,026 undergraduate and 974 graduate students. By gender, there are 11,381 male students and 10,850 female students attending Cal Poly. The school offers online degree programs and 151 students enrolled online exclusively (0.69% of all students).
TotalMaleFemale
Total22,231 11,38110,850
Undergraduate21,128 10,82510,303
Graduate1,103 556547

Directory & Academic Information

Directory Information
Address1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA
Phone805-756-1111
WEBcalpoly.edu/
Degree & Programs
DegreeUndergraduate, Graduate
Program Offered132 Programs
Graduate Program Offered50 Graduate Programs
Academic Stats
Acceptance Rate30.00%
Yield28.00%
Student Population22,000
Graduation Rate85%
Transfer-out Rate1%
Retention Rate94% (Full-time), 64% (Part-time)
Students to Faculty Ratio Rate20 to 1
Faculty & Staffs
Number of Faculties881 (Full-time), 383 (Part-time)
Number of Staffs2,386 (Full-time), 428 (Part-time)
Average Faculty Salary$95,198
Average Staff Salary$74,774