Is Cal Poly the right choice for your kid? Here’s what the rankings say
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cal Poly earned five stars from Money Magazine for quality, affordability and outcomes.
- U.S. News and World Report named Cal Poly the best in the West.
- Cal Poly scored lower in diversity and student experience in WSJ college rankings.
Cal Poly has ranked highly on several national lists over the past year, getting recognition for its Learn by Doing philosophy and positive student outcomes.
And for college-bound students in San Luis Obispo County, looking at the rankings could be helpful when deciding whether or not to attend the local campus.
As part of our Parents Central series, we compiled information from multiple national lists to help inform families as they decide whether or not Cal Poly is the right choice for their child.
Cal Poly earns 5 stars from Money Magazine
Cal Poly earned a five-star rating on Money Magazine’s list of top colleges and universities, ranking alongside Ivy League campuses like Harvard and Stanford.
Money’s annual list ranks public and private colleges based on three indicators: quality of education, affordability and outcomes, according to the outlet.
The magazine’s methodology page showed that factors like graduation rates and instructor access were considered when calculating quality of education.
The affordability indicator included the net price of a degree from an institution, debt taken on by students and their ability to repay loans after graduating.
When calculating student outcomes, the magazine took into account how much a graduate earns after entering the workforce as well as economic mobility.
According to Cal Poly’s ranking, the university boasts a 86% graduation rate with a median student debt of $18,500.
The university had a 30% acceptance rate with an average GPA of 4.03.
The typical early career salary for a Cal Poly graduate sat at $90,770, according to the ranking — something the magazine described as “a premium over similar schools.”
Cal Poly named best in the West
In September, Cal Poly was named the best overall regional university in the West in U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 college rankings.
Cal Poly beat out nearly 120 other universities vying for the best in the West title, leading the University of Portland at No. 2, and Cal Poly Pomona at No. 3, the ranking showed at the time.
The SLO campus was also named the top public master’s-level university in the region, leading Cal Poly Pomona at No. 2, and San Jose State University at No. 3, according to the ranking.
Cal Poly also ranked in the top regional spot for innovation and was named in the top 10 for best value in the West at the time, according to U.S. News and World Report’s rankings. It placed eighth for best undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, compared to other universities that don’t offer doctoral engineering programs.
Cal Poly grads earn high salaries, Wall Street Journal says
In September, the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse ranked Cal Poly in the top 25 schools for graduate salaries.
The San Luis Obispo campus sat at No. 23 on the national ranking — which compared salary impact with cost of attendance — falling between Columbia University at No. 22 and Harvard University at No. 24, the ranking showed at the time.
According to the list, the average Cal Poly student saw an $18,766 price tag on their education at the time of the ranking. But they also saw over $58,000 in added value tied to attending the university.
Based on those numbers, the average Cal Poly grad was able to pay off their education within one year and three months, according to the outlet.
Cal Poly was considered the 48th best college in the nation, the WSJ’s overall rankings showed at the time.
University receives lower scores for diversity, student experience
Cal Poly also saw some lower scores in the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse’s annual ranking in September.
The university came in at No. 465 for student experience, which measured students’ satisfaction with campus facilities, community and social life and diversity on campus, according to student surveys distributed by the WSJ and College Pulse.
For social mobility, Cal Poly ranked at No. 343 at the time.
The SLO campus’ lowest-scoring metric in the overall Wall Street Journal and College Pulse ranking was diversity, where Cal Poly received a 46 out of 100, the rankings showed.
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