California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo campus

Cal Poly Comparisons

8/10 Overall Rating
4 Year
San Luis Obispo, CA
4.7 3 reviews

#7 Best Public Universities in California

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Curious how California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo stacks up against other colleges? Compare Cal Poly to any three other US colleges using the College Simply compare tool, or compare with some of the pre-selected schools below.

Frequently Compared

These similar colleges are most often compared with California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo by students and parents using CollegeSimply.

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Compare with California Public Colleges

Compare with California Public Colleges for California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
College	In-state tuition	Acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$1,607 higher in-state tuition	22% lower acceptance rate	Compare
San Diego State University San Diego, CA	$4,868 lower in-state tuition	5% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Irvine Irvine, CA	$2,126 higher in-state tuition	2% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$2,751 higher in-state tuition	20% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$2,818 higher in-state tuition	2% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Davis Davis, CA	$3,178 higher in-state tuition	11% higher acceptance rate	Compare
San Jose State University San Jose, CA	$5,186 lower in-state tuition	54% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$6,246 lower in-state tuition	15% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	$3,162 higher in-state tuition	4% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Riverside Riverside, CA	$2,010 higher in-state tuition	45% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	$2,409 higher in-state tuition	35% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California State Polytechnic University Pomona Pomona, CA	$5,816 lower in-state tuition	44% higher acceptance rate	Compare

Compare with California Private Colleges

Compare with California Private Colleges for California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
College	In-state tuition	Acceptance rate	Compare
Stanford University Stanford, CA	$52,314 higher in-state tuition	27% lower acceptance rate	Compare
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	$58,501 higher in-state tuition	21% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	$56,322 higher in-state tuition	32% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$46,896 higher in-state tuition	31% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	$48,761 higher in-state tuition	14% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$47,697 higher in-state tuition	17% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Chapman University Orange, CA	$51,388 higher in-state tuition	34% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	$52,302 higher in-state tuition	28% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Pomona College Claremont, CA	$51,824 higher in-state tuition	24% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	$52,678 higher in-state tuition	13% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of the Pacific Stockton, CA	$43,484 higher in-state tuition	40% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA	$32,654 higher in-state tuition	53% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Redlands Redlands, CA	$47,282 higher in-state tuition	52% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	$55,017 higher in-state tuition	18% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	$54,384 higher in-state tuition	21% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Scripps College Claremont, CA	$52,354 higher in-state tuition	7% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Whittier College Whittier, CA	$37,754 higher in-state tuition	50% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA	$39,988 higher in-state tuition	46% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Biola University La Mirada, CA	$35,388 higher in-state tuition	43% higher acceptance rate	Compare
California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, CA	$38,964 higher in-state tuition	45% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Soka University of America Aliso Viejo, CA	$25,132 higher in-state tuition	12% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA	$42,892 higher in-state tuition	51% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Dominican University of California San Rafael, CA	$38,565 higher in-state tuition	52% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Northeastern University Oakland Oakland, CA	$54,182 higher in-state tuition	14% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Thomas Aquinas College Santa Paula, CA	$16,604 higher in-state tuition	52% higher acceptance rate	Compare

Compare with National Colleges

Compare with National Colleges for California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
College	In-state tuition	Acceptance rate	Compare
Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	$7,940 lower in-state tuition	7% lower acceptance rate	Compare
Clemson University Clemson, SC	$1,958 higher in-state tuition	7% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Penn State Main Campus University Park, PA	$7,048 higher in-state tuition	30% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	$2,352 higher in-state tuition	24% higher acceptance rate	Compare
The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	$1,416 lower in-state tuition	46% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Auburn University Auburn, AL	$706 lower in-state tuition	15% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Washington Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	$623 lower in-state tuition	8% higher acceptance rate	Compare
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	$4,797 lower in-state tuition	11% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Texas A&M University College Station College Station, TX	$442 lower in-state tuition	26% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	$330 higher in-state tuition	55% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	$2,070 higher in-state tuition	47% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington, IN	$1,452 lower in-state tuition	47% higher acceptance rate	Compare
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	$804 higher in-state tuition	46% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	$8,330 higher in-state tuition	27% higher acceptance rate	Compare
The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	$1,048 higher in-state tuition	34% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	$3,976 lower in-state tuition	55% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	$2,660 lower in-state tuition	43% higher acceptance rate	Compare
CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	$6,214 lower in-state tuition	23% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	$7,448 higher in-state tuition	21% higher acceptance rate	Compare
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	$6,132 lower in-state tuition	17% higher acceptance rate	Compare
University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL	$4,498 lower in-state tuition	57% higher acceptance rate	Compare

Data source: NCES / IPEDS https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110422.

Last updated: August 2026