Cal Poly rejected thousands of students with a 4.0 GPA or higher in 2026
Thousands of applicants were once again rejected from Cal Poly this year despite having 4.0 GPAs or higher, underscoring the high level of competition at the San Luis Obispo university.
During the 2025-26 admissions cycle, Cal Poly received about 79,400 applications and accepted about 24,267 students, according to numbers provided by the university.
About 19,178 of those applicants had a GPA of a 4.0 or higher but still did not receive acceptance letters, according to university spokesperson Keegan Koberl.
That’s nearly a quarter of the total number of students who applied, and nearly 35% of total rejected applicants.
It’s significantly lower, however, than the 32,463 students with 4.0 GPAs or higher who were rejected in 2025.
The average GPA of applicants to the San Luis Obispo campus this year was a 4.1 for selected freshmen and a 3.62 for selected transfer students, according to a Cal Poly Strategic Enrollment Management report.
However, the average GPA of students who actually confirmed that they would attend the university this fall was slightly lower — at 3.98 for confirmed freshmen and 3.61 for confirmed transfers, a subsequent report showed.
Overall, Cal Poly admissions continued to be competitive this cycle, with some majors reporting seats available for less than 3% of applicants. However, 2026 was the first year since 2020 that the university didn’t receive a record-breaking number of applications — and student confirmations also saw a slight dip from 2025.
What were the average GPAs for students accepted to Cal Poly in 2026?
According to Cal Poly’s Strategic Enrollment Management selection report, the College of Engineering saw the highest average GPA for selected freshmen at 4.15.
It was followed by the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics, which saw a selected student average of 4.14.
Next came the Orfalea College of Business, which had an average of 4.11, followed by the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at a 4.07, the College of Liberal Arts at a 4.05 and finally, the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science at 4.02.
The by-college GPA averages were slightly lower for the selected transfer students, according to the report.
For accepted transfers, the college with the highest average GPA was also the College of Engineering, which saw a 3.67.
Next was the Orfalea College of Business, which had a 3.66 average GPA for selected transfers, followed by the College of Liberal Arts at a 3.64.
The College of Architecture and Environmental Design followed with a 3.52 GPA, followed by the Bailey College of Science at Mathematics at a 3.51 and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at a 3.46.
What were the average GPAs for students who confirmed to Cal Poly in 2026?
The GPA averages for the 7,066 students who confirmed their attendance to Cal Poly were slightly lower, a subsequent report showed.
Among newly confirmed freshmen, the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics saw the highest GPA at a 4.09.
Next was the College of Engineering, at 4.05, followed by the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at a 4.0.
That was followed by the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science, which saw an average GPA of 3.97 among confirmed freshmen, the Orfalea College of Business at a 3.95 and finally, the College of Liberal Arts at a 3.89.
The GPA ranges differed among transfer students who confirmed they’d attend Cal Poly, the report showed.
For confirmed transfers, the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics saw the highest average GPA at 3.89.
Next came the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at 3.76, followed by the Orfalea College of Business at 3.73, the College of Engineering at 3.67 and the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at 3.36.
Finally, the College of Liberal Arts saw an average GPA of 3.26 among confirmed transfer students, the report showed.
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