California Polytechnic State University Admission Requirement

What are Cal Poly’s admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:

GPA requirements
Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
Application requirements

In this guide we’ll cover what you need to get into Cal Poly and build a strong application.

School location: San Luis Obispo, CA

This school is also known as: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.

The acceptance rate at Cal Poly is 30.2%. For every 100 applicants, 30 are admitted.

This means the school is very selective. If you meet Cal Poly’s requirements for GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and other components of the application, you have a great shot at getting in. But if you fall short on GPA or your SAT/ACT scores, you’ll have a very low chance of being admitted, even if you meet the other admissions requirements.

Cal Poly GPA Requirements

Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.

The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school’s average GPA for its current students.

(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 4, Cal Poly requires you to be at the top of your class. You’ll need nearly straight A’s in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes – AP or IB courses – to show that college-level academics is a breeze.

If you’re currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 4, you’ll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.

SAT and ACT Requirements

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Most schools require the SAT or ACT, and many also require SAT subject tests.

You must take either the SAT or ACT to submit an application to Cal Poly. More importantly, you need to do well to have a strong application.

Cal Poly SAT Requirements

Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school’s average score.

The average SAT score composite at Cal Poly is a 1335 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes Cal Poly Moderately Competitive for SAT test scores.

Cal Poly SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1240, and the 75th percentile New SAT score is 1430. In other words, a 1240 on the New SAT places you below average, while a 1430 will move you up to above average.

Here’s the breakdown of new SAT scores by section:

Section	Average	25th Percentile	75th Percentile
Math	675	620	730
Reading + Writing	660	620	700
Composite	1335	1240	1430

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.

Cal Poly has the Score Choice policy of “Highest Section.”

This is also known as “superscoring.” This means that you can choose which SAT tests you want to send to the school. Of all the scores they receive, your application readers will consider your highest section scores across all SAT test dates you submit.

Click below to learn more about how superscoring critically affects your test strategy.

Therefore, if your SAT superscore is currently below a 1430, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.

Even better, because of the Superscore, you can focus all your energy on a single section at a time. If your Reading score is lower than your other sections, prep only for the Reading section, then take the SAT. Then focus on Math for the next test, and so on. This will give you the highest Superscore possible.

Cal Poly ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, Cal Poly likely doesn’t have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

The average ACT score at Cal Poly is 29. This score makes Cal Poly Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.

The 25th percentile ACT score is 26, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 32.

Even though Cal Poly likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 26 or below, you’ll have a very hard time getting in, unless you have something else very impressive in your application. There are so many applicants scoring 29 and above that a 26 will look academically weak.

ACT Score Sending Policy

If you’re taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.

Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.

This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school’s ACT requirement of 32 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you’re happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.

ACT Superscore Policy

By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.

We weren’t able to find the school’s exact ACT policy, which most likely means that it does not Superscore. Regardless, you can choose your single best ACT score to send in to Cal Poly, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 32.

SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

Both the SAT and ACT have an optional essay section.

Cal Poly considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don’t need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you’re applying to may require it.

SAT Subject Test Requirements

Schools vary in their SAT subject test requirements. Typically, selective schools tend to require them, while most schools in the country do not.

We did not find information that Cal Poly requires SAT subject tests, and so most likely it does not. At least 6 months before applying, you should still doublecheck just to make sure, so you have enough time to take the test.

Because this school is very selective, strong academic scores are critical to improving your chances of admission. If you’re able to score a 1430 SAT or a 32 ACT or above, you’ll have a very strong chance at getting in.

For a school as selective as Cal Poly, rounding out the rest of your application will also help. We’ll cover those details next.

But if you apply with a score below a 1430 SAT or a 32 ACT, you unfortunately have a low chance of getting in. There are just too many other applicants with high SAT/ACT scores and strong applications, and you need to compete against them.

Note: Your admission decision relies not only on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but also on your coursework difficulty, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. This tool provides only a simplistic estimate of your chances of admission. Instead of treating this tool as a crystal ball, we recommend you consider the big picture of what your chance means:

80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
50-80%: More likely than not getting in
20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in

We recommend you apply to schools across a range of chances. Applying to some safety schools will guarantee you have a college to go to, while applying to some reach schools will give you a shot at getting into the school at the top of your range.