Cal Poly vs Grand Valley State

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) are two public universities with distinct characteristics. Cal Poly SLO, located on California's Central Coast, is known for its strong engineering and agriculture programs, while GVSU, situated in Allendale, Michigan, offers a diverse range of academic options, including business, health professions, and liberal arts. With different acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates, these universities cater to unique student populations. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	Grand Valley State University
Overview
Location	San Luis Obispo, California	Allendale, Michigan
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	83.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	33.0%	91.7%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	54,570	17,163
Total number of admissions given out	18,008	15,730
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,884	3,807
Yield rate	27.1%	24.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,680 Out of state: $47,590	In state: $23,604 Out of state: $29,340
Average net price	$20,708	$16,947
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $13,560 Out of state: $19,296
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,642 Meal plan: $6,138	Room/dormitory: $6,380 Meal plan: $3,500
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	55.0% Average amount $5,988	80.0% Average amount $8,376
Students receiving federal student loan	24.0% Average amount $5,023	50.0% Average amount $5,161
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,714	6.0% Average amount $13,024

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,128 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	19,379 Men 38.9% Women 61.1%
Graduate students	1,103 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	3,027 Men 28.0% Women 72.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	20.6%	10.6%
International students	2.3%	1.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	8,147	6,012
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Colorado Oregon Texas	Michigan Illinois Indiana Ohio Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Agriculture Architecture Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.4%	67.1%
Dropout rate	12.5%	15.6%
Transferred out	1.2%	15.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $88,197 Year 2: $120,462 Year 3: $143,849 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $104,015 Year 2: $101,964 Year 3: $116,606 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $91,493 Year 2: $93,964 Year 3: $106,798 Fire Protection (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $103,907 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,656 Year 2: $82,780 Year 3: $96,152 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,643 Year 2: $73,562 Year 3: $90,242 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,873 Year 2: $78,971 Year 3: $90,194 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,220 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $89,378 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,920 Year 2: $70,886 Year 3: $87,984 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,454 Year 2: $79,647 Year 3: $87,345	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $103,525 Year 2: $105,839 Year 3: $111,967 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,846 Year 2: $96,539 Year 3: $93,695 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,623 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $83,454 Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,965 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $73,434 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,881 Year 2: $62,691 Year 3: $72,792 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,211 Year 2: $65,969 Year 3: $72,474 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,095 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $71,736 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,039 Year 2: $58,479 Year 3: $69,240 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,382 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,410 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,161 Year 2: $67,939 Year 3: $68,289

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Cal Poly vs Grand Valley State

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Grand Valley State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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