Financial Aid at Cal Poly

[Last update: December 11, 2025]

11,120 students (52% of total 21,559 undergraduate students) have awarded federal, state, local, institutional or other sources of grant aid at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). The average amount of the aid awarded is $12,264.

For the first-time, full-time beginning students (freshmen), 62% of total 5,163 enrolled students have received any kind of financial aid and its average amount of aid received is $14,338.

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All Undergraduate Financial Aid

At California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, 11,120 undergraduate students (52% of total 21,559 students) have received financial aid including grants, scholarships, and/or federal student loans. The average amount of aid received is $12,264.

Financial Aid Statistics (All Undergraduate Students) - Cal Poly
Type of AidNumber Receiving AidPercent Receiving Aid Total Amount of Aid ReceivedAverage Amount of Aid Received
Grant or Scholarship11,12052% $136,380,632$12,264
Pell Grants4,14919% $24,902,452$6,002
Federal Student Loan5,36125% $31,628,460$5,900

Beginning Undergraduate Students (Freshmen) Financial Aid

3,183 beginning undergraduate students (62% of total 5,163 enrolled freshmen) have received financial aid including grants, scholarships, and/or federal student loans at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. The average amount of aid received is $14,338.

Financial Aid Statistics (First-time Full-time Beginning Undergraduate Students) - Cal Poly
Type of AidNumber Receiving AidPercent Receiving Aid Total Amount of Aid ReceivedAverage Amount of Aid Received
Any Financial Aid3,18362% --
Grants or Scholarships2,50448%$35,901,465$14,338
Federal Grants1,02320%$6,704,897$6,554
Pell Grants1,02320%$6,389,714$6,246
Other Federal Grants95118%$315,183$331
State/Local Grants1,87536%$10,255,446$5,470
Institutional Grants2,17242%$18,941,122$8,721
Student Loan Aid1,55430%$10,331,382$6,648
Federal Student Loans1,52830%$7,665,714$5,017
Other Student Loans1272%$2,665,668$20,990

Grants and Scholarship Aid By Income Level (Paying In-State Tuition)

The following table shows the number of students awarded and the average grants / scholarship aid amount by income level for the academic year 2023-2024 at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

The sources of grants and scholarship aid are the federal government, state/local government, or the institution. For the statistics, only students who paid the in-state or in-district tuition rate are considered.

Grants of Scholarship Aid Statistics By Income Level
Income LevelNumber of StudentsNumber of Students AwardedTotal Amount Aid Awarded Average Amount Aid Awarded
All level1,7311,490$24,742,110$14,294
0-30,000375374$8,790,801$23,442
30,001-48,000252251$5,799,586$23,014
48,001-75,000312309$5,786,415$18,546
75,001-110,000224218$2,662,385$11,886
110,001 or more568338$1,702,923$2,998

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