Admissions & selectivity
California State University-Long Beach Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at CSU Long Beach?
CSU Long Beach’s reported acceptance rate is 46.3%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 46.3%
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-Long Beach Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
California State University-Long Beach admits 46.3% of applicants, well below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 88,276 applicants, 40,105 admitted students, and 5,884 enrolled first-year students.
What SAT and ACT scores do CSU Long Beach students report?
SAT and ACT ranges are not available for CSU Long Beach in the data shown here. Missing scores do not establish whether tests are required, optional or excluded from review.
Figures cover fall 2024.
Who enrolls at CSU Long Beach?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 50.2%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 43.1%
- First-year retention
- 86.8%
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-Long Beach enrolls 35,924 undergraduates, and an estimated 43.1% of students enter as transfers or part-time students. Pell Grant recipients make up 50.2% of undergraduates, reflecting broad financial access.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 26,319 transfer applicants, 13,204 admitted, and 4,407 enrolled. Applicants from community colleges and those eligible for Pell Grants should see a campus where their profile is common, not an outlier.
The first-year retention rate is 86.8%, above the 83.1% median for comparable institutions. The six-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time students is 68.9%, also above the peer median of 65.0%.
Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 78.4%, which is above the overall six-year rate. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a retention rate of 88% for the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class.
The university serves 35,924 undergraduates, and the estimated transfer-in share is 43.1%, reflecting a student body that includes a large number of students who began their studies elsewhere. Enrolled students can expect first-year retention above the peer median and Pell completion above the university's overall six-year graduation rate.
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.