Public · San Diego, CA
San Diego State University
Get to know the college, from admissions and cost to life on campus.
Overview
SDSU is a research university that also sits blocks from the beach: $144 million a year in research funding alongside a genuinely laid-back campus feel. It's a CSU campus on Kumeyaay land, one application via Cal State Apply, and admission runs almost entirely on GPA since SDSU doesn't look at test scores at all. The tradeoff of a 35,000-undergrad public: you have to actively find your own community inside it.
About San Diego State University
- Type
- Public Research University
- Setting
- Urban
- Undergraduates
- 35,377
Admissions
- Early Decision/Early Action
- No
- Accepts Common App
- —
Cost
Tuition and aid
- Full cost of attendance
- $26,045per year
- In-state tuition
- $8,728
- Out-of-state tuition
- $21,328
- Average family income
- $53,802
- Students with a school grant
- 90%
- Average school grant
- $2,035
- Average federal debt
- $14,500at graduation
- Need-blind
- —
- Meets full need
- No
- Merit scholarships
- Yes
- CSS Profile
- —
- International aid
- —
Academics
- Majors offered
- 79
- Freshmen who return
- 91%
- Notable
- $144.4Min research funding secured in a recent fiscal year
Students
Campus life
- Setting
- Urban
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Live on campus
- —
- Student organizations
- —
- Varsity sports
- —
SDSU's campus backs up its laid-back reputation: an Aquaplex with heated pools, kayaking and surfing lessons through Mission Bay Aquatic Center, and free entry to Division I Aztec games for every enrolled student. The Daily Aztec, SDSU's own student-run paper since 1913, has run opinion pieces on real friction points, including one arguing that mandatory first-year on-campus housing is overpriced, and international students describe leaning on each other to make the adjustment. With 400+ student organizations and over half the student body identifying as students of color at a Hispanic-Serving Institution, finding your specific community takes some deliberate searching in a school this size.
Summarized by Spike from what students write: The Daily Aztec.
Outcomes
- Earnings 6 years in
- $59,773
- Graduate within 6 years
- 77%
- Average federal debt
- $14,500
- Graduates go into
- Alumni Network, Career Services
Reviews
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Spike Rankings 2027
Where San Diego State University ranks.
Ranked on federal data about graduation, earnings and cost. How Spike ranks colleges
Common questions
Questions about San Diego State University
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