Easy Peasy, right?
Cal State may win the prize for easiest application. No essays, no letters of recommendation, and a lot of self-reported data (negative points for how tedious it is to enter everything by hand! ) And who doesn’t like the plug-and-play calculator they provide where you just enter your GPA and SAT score and it gives you the odds of acceptance? If only all the applications were so predictable!
But there are a few numbers it doesn’t show you . . .
What you can’t see and few people think about is what is the actual acceptance rate and how many people graduate in four years? Cal Grants only last four years, so every year beyond that is going to be expensive. And that is in addition to lost income from a full-time job. Below is a list of all the Cal State Schools and their average GPA and SAT score for accepted first-year students. It also includes the acceptance rate to give a sense of how competitive the admission is AND the important and overlooked criteria of how many students graduate in four years. Getting accepted to college doesn’t do you much good if you never graduate. Even worse if you don’t graduate and accumulate debt along the way.
Here are the numbers you really need
sorted by GPA lowest to highest
| College Name | GPA | SAT | admit rate % | 4-year grad rate |
| CSU East Bay | 3.1 | 995 | 74 | 25 |
| CSU Dominguez Hills | 3.13 | 895 | 77 | 8 |
| CSU Fresno | 3.16 | 1000 | 53 | 23 |
| CSU Northridge | 3.18 | 1000 | 48 | 14 |
| CSU Bakersfield | 3.2 | 1000 | 100 | 14 |
| CSU San Bernadino | 3.21 | 1000 | 57 | 18 |
| CSU LA | 3.21 | 745 | 46 | 9.5 |
| CSU Channel Islands | 3.22 | 1070 | 53 | 21.5 |
| San Franciso State U. | 3.23 | 1050 | 72 | 25 |
| CSU Sonoma | 3.24 | 1075 | 82 | 35 |
| CSU Humboldt | 3.26 | 1068 | 58 | 22 |
| CSU San Marcos | 3.27 | 960 | 77 | 16 |
| CSU Chico | 3.27 | 1070 | 66 | 29 |
| CSU Sacramento | 3.27 | 1040 | 68 | 15 |
| Cal Maritime | 3.3 | 1160 | 66.5 | 48 |
| CSU Stanislaus | 3.31 | 1005 | 77 | 19 |
| CSU Monterey Bay | 3.32 | 1070 | 53 | 29 |
| San Jose State | 3.4 | 1140 | 55 | 19 |
| Cal Poly Pomona | 3.49 | 1121 | 55 | 29 |
| CSU Fullerton | 3.53 | 1110 | 46 | 25 |
| CSU Long Beach | 3.54 | 1025 | 28.6 | 28 |
| San Diego State Univ. | 3.69 | 1185 | 35 | 46 |
| Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | 3.92 | 1293 | 34 | 52 |
Whatever you decide, keep this in mind
College isn’t just a numbers game to get accepted. It is an experience that builds the foundation for a career and life (yes, let’s remember those are two separate things.) Why do some schools have a higher four-year graduation rate? Maybe it is a school where the students are more focused or evidence there are more services to support student success. Or maybe it indicates it is harder to get classes and stay on track for four-year graduation at some schools. Ask those questions when making your choice. It might make a LIFETIME of difference.
Holly McCord Duncan, College Expert, Smart College Admission