Cal Poly accepted 123 more SLO County students for fall 2024. But there’s a catch

Cal Poly has accepted more than 120 additional local students from San Luis Obispo County for fall enrollment this year — but there’s a catch.

They likely can’t live in the dorms their first quarter.

The university has offered admission to 123 more local students on the condition that they will not be guaranteed on-campus housing their first quarter.

However, they can get on a waitlist for on-campus housing for winter and spring quarters, according to a statement sent to The Tribune by Cal Poly’s Strategic Enrollment Division.

“This is all a part of Cal Poly’s continued efforts to serve the local community,” spokesperson Matt Lazier told the Tribune in an email. “We are excited that we were able to admit a record number of local student this year.”

The offer was made across students of all majors, according to the university.

”These students will be automatically added to the winter and spring housing waitlists, unless they choose to be exempt from housing for the 2024-25 academic year,” Lazier said. “The expectation is that the additional students who choose to accept our offer of admission will be able to live on campus if they desire in the winter or spring terms. And should space become available in the fall, the university will reach out to students.”

The new program is part of an effort to increase the number of local students attending Cal Poly.

In fall 2022, Cal Poly accepted 1,042 local students for admission. That number rose to 1,197 last year and then jumped to 1,500 students for fall 2024.

That’s a 44% increase in two years.

“The rising numbers illustrate the university’s commitment to offering more local, academically qualified students with the opportunity to earn a Cal Poly degree,” Lazier said. “We envision continuing to provide increased opportunities to local students in coming years as well.”

Cal Poly sets application record

The boost in local acceptances comes as Cal Poly continues to see record numbers for applications.

Some 78,947 students applied for a spot at the university this year, according to University Communications spokesperson Keegan Koberl.

That’s a 5.5% increase over 2023, when the university received 74,571, and 12% above the 69,429 students who applied in 2022, according to the Cal Poly Institutional Research data dashboard.

The university admitted 21,619 students in 2023, with 6,619 admitted students accepting the university’s offer. The previous year, the university admitted 20,440 students, but only 6,430 accepted.

If the number of admitted students held steady in 2024, that would mean SLO County acceptances made up roughly 7% of the overall total.

This story was originally published April 5, 2024 at 9:00 AM.