Cal Poly SLO received fewer applications than first reported, data shows. Why?
A Cal Poly spokesperson told The Tribune in March that the university received 81,095 applications during its most recent admissions cycle — not a record-breaker, but still the second year in a row that more than 81,000 people applied.
Except, more than 1,600 of those applications weren’t actually for Cal Poly SLO at all.
While analyzing the latest admissions data reported by Cal Poly’s Office of Institutional Research, The Tribune discovered that alone, Cal Poly SLO received fewer than 80,000 applications during the 2025-26 admissions cycle.
So, what happened to the remaining applications?
The Tribune looked into that question as part of its Reality Check series.
Cal Poly roped Maritime data into applications reporting
The original 81,095 applications reported by university spokesperson Keegan Koberl included more than just the San Luis Obispo campus.
Around 1,695 of those applications were actually from students applying to Cal Poly Maritime Academy, formerly known as Cal Maritime, located in Vallejo.
That campus was approved to merge with Cal Poly in November 2024 and is being integrated into Cal Poly as “one university” — both under the leadership of President Jeffrey Armstrong, a university FAQ said. As of fall 2026, Maritime students will be considered Cal Poly students.
By itself, Cal Poly SLO actually received only 79,400 applications this year — a fact The Tribune later confirmed with Koberl.
That number is a decrease from the previous year, when the SLO campus alone received 81,910 applications.
“Yes, applications to the San Luis Obispo campus moderated slightly from last year’s record high but remained above fall 2024 levels, which were also record-setting, signaling a steadying pace following several years of significant growth,” Koberl clarified to The Tribune in a May email.
“As higher education institutions nationwide experience demographic enrollment pressures and increased competition for students (trends that are expected to continue) Cal Poly continues to outperform broader industry trends and sustain exceptionally strong student demand,” he continued.
Koberl did not directly respond to questions about why the applications wavered, and whether or not that downturn is expected to continue in the future.
He confirmed this is the first year the university has reported a combined admissions number to The Tribune following the approval of the merger with Cal Maritime.
“As part of the Cal Poly Maritime Academy integration, fall 2026 is the first term with students at the Solano campus and the Maritime Academy being enrolled as Cal Poly students,” Koberl further explained. “Since this is the first time students applying to/enrolled from this campus are considered Cal Poly students officially, that’s why the numbers are now combined.”
.JPG)