San Diego State University
San Diego, CA
San Diego State University is a public research university in San Diego, California, a large city, with 35,377 undergraduates. Its largest fields are business, engineering and social sciences. 76% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $64,909 ten years after starting.
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Bakersfield · Cal Poly Humboldt · Cal Poly Pomona · Cal Poly San Luis Obispo · Channel Islands · Chico · Dominguez Hills · East Bay · Fullerton · Long Beach · Los Angeles · Monterey Bay · Northridge · Sacramento · San Bernardino · San Diego State · San Francisco State · San José State · San Marcos · Sonoma State · Stanislaus.San Diego State University admitted 35,709 of 95,444 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (37.4%).
- Acceptance rate
- 37.4%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $8,728
- $21,328 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $15,364
- Average, students with aid
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What San Diego State University is known for
Measured by the 8,703 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
- Business Administration, Management and Operations2,00823.1% of degrees$69,902About the $68,257 national median
- Psychology6467.4% of degrees$51,021About the $50,706 national median
- Criminal Justice and Corrections4154.8% of degrees$57,510About the $55,378 national median
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness3544.1% of degrees$59,914+10% vs $54,562 nationally
- Biology2763.2% of degrees$68,861+20% vs $57,214 nationally
- Communication and Media Studies2613.0% of degrees$61,389+9% vs $56,359 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Large city
San Diego, CA
Undergraduates
35,377
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, high research activity
Living on campus
Under a quarter
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
27 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
2%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at San Diego State University
Three things San Diego State University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
San Diego State University reports that test scores are not considered at all.
That is the school’s own answer on the form it fills in every year. A score you send is not read as part of the decision here.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
962 admitted from a waitlist of 11,627.
6,016 students accepted a place on that list, and 962 were admitted from it, 16% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Families paid $15,364 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
37.4%
35,709 admitted of 95,444 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.82
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at San Diego State University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What San Diego State University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $8,728 ($21,328 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $27,780. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $15,364 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$8,728
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$21,328
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$27,780
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$15,364
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $27,780 full cost.
- Under $30k$9,910Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$10,017Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$12,697Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$15,891Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$23,821Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
76%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
91%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$64,909
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$15,000
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What San Diego State University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Essay
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scores
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendations
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rank
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 11,627
- Accepted the place
- 6,016
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 962
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Regular DecisionNovember 30, 2026
Verified July 11, 2026
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in California
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- University of California-Santa Barbara38.2%
- Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science38.8%
- University of California-Merced39.2%
- Occidental College39.9%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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