Admissions & selectivity
California State University-Northridge Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at CSUN?
CSUN’s reported acceptance rate is 93.4%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 93.4%
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.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
California State University-Northridge admits 93.5% of applicants, well above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
What SAT and ACT scores do CSUN students report?
SAT and ACT ranges are not available for CSUN 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 CSUN?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 56.1%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 44.6%
- First-year retention
- 73.4%
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.
Undergraduates at California State University-Northridge number 32,691, and the university serves a broad population. 56.1% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 44.6% of students enter as transfers or part-time students.
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 13,924 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 10,027 admitted, and 4,335 enrolled. The enrolled first-year class reported an average high-school GPA of 3.33, with 100.0% of students providing a GPA.
The composition reflects a university that is a major destination for students who begin elsewhere and for those from lower-income backgrounds.
At California State University-Northridge, 73.4% of students who start full time return for a second year, below the peer median of 83.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The federal six-year graduation rate is 57.0%, also below the comparable-institution median of 65.0%.
Pell recipients finish at 64.1%, which is 7.1 percentage points above the overall rate. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported a six-year graduation rate of 55.0% for the first-time, full-time fall 2018 entering class; Pell recipients graduated at 51.0%, below that.
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.