San Diego State University: Acceptance Rate and Admissions Statistics

Dr. Allen Grove is an Alfred University English professor and a college admissions expert with over 20 years of experience helping students transition to college.

San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university with an acceptance rate of 34%. San Diego State University is part of the California State University system. The 293-acre campus is located on the northeastern edge of the city. The college ranks highly for study abroad, and SDSU students have a choice of 350 study abroad programs. The university has an active Greek system with 46 fraternities and sororities. SDSU's strengths in the liberal arts and sciences earned it a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In athletics, the San Diego State Aztecs compete in the NCAA Division I Mountain West Conference.

Considering applying to San Diego State University? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including average SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students.

Acceptance Rate

During the 2018-19 admissions cycle, San Diego State University had an acceptance rate of 34%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 34 students were admitted, making SDSU's admissions process competitive.

The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to San Diego State University. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in with a free Cappex account.

Admissions Chances

San Diego State University is one of the larger and more selective universities in the California State University System. Roughly one-third of applicants are accepted. What makes the difference between an acceptance and a rejection? Unlike the University of California System, the California State University admission process is not holistic. Except for EOP (Educational Opportunity Program) students, applicants do not need to submit letters of recommendation or an application essay, and extracurricular involvement is not part of the standard application. Instead, admissions is based primarily on an eligibility index that combines GPA and test scores. The reasons why an applicant with adequate scores and grades would be rejected tends to come down to factors such as insufficient college preparatory classes, high school classes that weren't challenging, or an incomplete application.

Be aware that San Diego State is designated as impacted for all majors and pre-majors because it receives more applications than can be accommodated. In addition, particularly competitive majors such as Nursing, Theater Arts-Performance, Music, and Dance have additional requirements for eligibility.

The green and blue dots in the above graph represent accepted students. The majority of successful applicants had "B+" averages or higher, SAT scores (ERW+M) of 950 or higher, and ACT scores of 20 or better. Higher grades and test scores improve your chances of admission significantly. You'll notice that some students with lower grades and scores were accepted, and also that there are many spots of red (rejected students) in the middle of the graph. Some students with grades and test scores that seem to be on target for San Diego State University will still be rejected.