Admissions & selectivity
California State University-Chico Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Chico State?
Chico State’s reported acceptance rate is 92.7%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 92.7%
Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.
Source: California State University-Chico Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
California State University-Chico admits 92.7% of applicants, well above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 22,091 applicants, 20,528 admitted, and 2,041 enrolled.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Chico State students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, California State University-Chico reported that entering students who submitted ACT scores had a middle half of 19 to 26.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Chico State. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
- 25th percentile
- 19
- Median
- 20
- 75th percentile
- 26
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: California State University-Chico Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Chico State?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 42.5%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 49.5%
- First-year retention
- 81.6%
Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.
About these student measures
The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.
California State University-Chico admitted 92.7% of applicants, a rate that sits well above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The public university serves 13,631 undergraduates, and Pell Grant recipients make up 42.5% of the student body.
An estimated 49.5% of undergraduates entered as transfers or part-time students, reflecting a substantial transfer pipeline alongside the first-year class. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 22,091 first-year applicants, 20,528 admitted students, and 2,041 enrolled students.
For transfer applicants, the university reported 8,280 applicants, 6,289 admitted students, and 1,993 enrolled students. Applicants who receive Pell Grants or who are considering transferring should know that both groups are well represented on campus.
The transfer numbers show a sizable admitted pool, and the Pell share signals that financial access is a core part of the university's makeup.
California State University-Chico retains 81.6% of its first-year students, just below the peer median of 83.1%. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 62.8%, which is slightly below the peer median of 65.0%.
Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 68.2%, above the overall rate by 5.4 percentage points. Enrolled students can expect a campus where Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than their peers, a pattern that coincides with the university's strong mobility outcomes.
Retention and completion figures run close to peer norms, and a large share of undergraduates began as transfer students.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.