Cal Poly SLO rejected 32,000 students with a 4.0 GPA or higher this year
Cal Poly was so competitive this year that more than 32,000 students with at least a 4.0 grade point average didn’t make it into the university.
A report from Cal Poly Strategic Enrollment Management showed that the university received a record-breaking 81,899 applications this year.
And more than half of those applicants had GPAs of 4.0 or higher, according to numbers provided by university spokesperson Keegan Koberl on Tuesday.
According to the numbers, the university received a total of 49,258 applications from students with a 4.0 GPA or higher. But only 16,795 of those received acceptance letters, while 32,463 students were rejected, Koberl said.
That means about two-thirds of the 4.0 students who applied didn’t get in.
The Strategic Enrollment Management report also showed that the average GPA for selected students was 4.06 this admissions cycle.
A subsequent report shared with The Tribune on Tuesday showed that the GPA average for students who actually confirmed their attendance at Cal Poly was slightly lower, at 3.93.
Overall, admission to Cal Poly was as competitive as ever this cycle, with some majors having seats available for less than 3% of applicants, according to the university’s target enrollment numbers.
Meanwhile, other majors were less competitive, but most still intended to enroll less than 30% of applicants.
How did GPAs for confirmed students break down by college?
While the university did not provide data for GPAs broken down by major, the report did show a GPA range for the students who confirmed their attendance to each college.
The ranges reflect the middle 50th percentile of students, according to Koberl.
For confirmed freshmen, the College of Engineering boasted the highest GPA range at 4.04-4.25.
The College of Science and Mathematics also reached a 4.25 on the top end, while the lower end of the range sat at a 3.96 for confirmed freshmen.
The averages were slightly lower for confirmed transfer students, according to the report.
There, the GPAs topped out in the College of Business, which ranged from 3.33-3.89. The lowest end was found in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, where the GPAs ranged from 3.14 to 3.71 for confirmed transfer students.
The total GPA range breakdown for the colleges for confirmed freshmen was:
- College of Agriculture Food and Environmental Sciences — 3.77-4.18
- College of Architecture and Environmental Design — 3.88-4.24
- College of Business — 3.92-4.22
- College of Engineering — 4.04-4.25
- College of Liberal Arts — 3.82-4.18
- College of Science and Mathematics — 3.92-4.25
Meanwhile, here’s the GPA range breakdown by college for confirmed transfers:
- College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences — 3.14-3.71
- College of Architecture and Environmental Design — 3.56-3.87
- College of Business — 3.33-3.89
- College of Engineering — 3.34-3.85
- College of Liberal Arts — 3.15-3.85
- College of Science and Mathematics — 3.22-3.84
What were the ranges for accepted students?
Generally, the GPA ranges were lower for confirmed students compared to accepted students.
Koberl said that’s because the ranges for accepted students reflect top achievers who may ultimately have chosen not to attend Cal Poly.
Data for selected students was provided in the university’s Strategic Enrollment Management selection review report.
These ranges also reflect the middle 50th percentile of students, according to Koberl.
Here’s what the numbers looked like for accepted freshmen as a whole, broken down by college:
And here’s what the data showed for accepted transfer students:
This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 12:33 PM.
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