How this school serves students from different economic backgrounds, including Pell students, first-generation pathways, and long-term mobility outcomes.
California State University-Sacramento serves a broad and diverse undergraduate population. Among enrolled students, 49.1% receive Pell Grants and 49.0% are first-generation college students — figures that place Sac State well above the norm for institutions of its size and type. The university admits 94.0% of applicants, reflecting its broad-access mission, and transfer students make up 53.5% of enrollment, underscoring its role as a destination for students who begin their academic path at community colleges across the Sacramento region. Azimuth ranks California State University-Sacramento #104 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The institution also offers work-study as part of its aid structure and maintains named scholarship programs including Sac State Scholars, per the financial aid page. For students who enroll, the outcomes tell a meaningful story about upward mobility. The six-year graduation rate is 56.3%, and 63.8% of Pell-eligible students complete within that window — a signal that broad access does not come at the cost of completion. Low-income graduates earn median earnings of $51,900 on a historical 10-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 78.3 percentile for low-income graduate median earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. Given that more than four in ten students arrive from Pell-eligible backgrounds, that outcome reflects real economic progress at meaningful scale. Azimuth ranks California State University-Sacramento #5 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's student-success infrastructure, which includes the CSU Student Success Dashboard per the student services page, supports that trajectory for students navigating college without family precedent.
California State University-Sacramento serves a broad and diverse undergraduate population. Among enrolled students, 49.1% receive Pell Grants and 49.0% are first-generation college students — figures that place Sac State well above the norm for institutions of its size and type. The university admits 94.0% of applicants, reflecting its broad-access mission, and transfer students make up 53.5% of enrollment, underscoring its role as a destination for students who begin their academic path at community colleges across the Sacramento region. Azimuth ranks California State University-Sacramento #104 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The institution also offers work-study as part of its aid structure and maintains named scholarship programs including Sac State Scholars, per the financial aid page. For students who enroll, the outcomes tell a meaningful story about upward mobility. The six-year graduation rate is 56.3%, and 63.8% of Pell-eligible students complete within that window — a signal that broad access does not come at the cost of completion. Low-income graduates earn median earnings of $51,900 on a historical 10-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 78.3 percentile for low-income graduate median earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. Given that more than four in ten students arrive from Pell-eligible backgrounds, that outcome reflects real economic progress at meaningful scale. Azimuth ranks California State University-Sacramento #5 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's student-success infrastructure, which includes the CSU Student Success Dashboard per the student services page, supports that trajectory for students navigating college without family precedent.
California State University-Sacramento serves a broad and diverse undergraduate population. Among enrolled students, 49.1% receive Pell Grants and 49.0% are first-generation college students — figures that place Sac State well above the norm for institutions of its size and type. The university admits 94.0% of applicants, reflecting its broad-access mission, and transfer students make up 53.5% of enrollment, underscoring its role as a destination for students who begin their academic path at community colleges across the Sacramento region. Azimuth ranks California State University-Sacramento #104 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The institution also offers work-study as part of its aid structure and maintains named scholarship programs including Sac State Scholars, per the financial aid page. For students who enroll, the outcomes tell a meaningful story about upward mobility. The six-year graduation rate is 56.3%, and 63.8% of Pell-eligible students complete within that window — a signal that broad access does not come at the cost of completion. Low-income graduates earn median earnings of $51,900 on a historical 10-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 78.3 percentile for low-income graduate median earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. Given that more than four in ten students arrive from Pell-eligible backgrounds, that outcome reflects real economic progress at meaningful scale. Azimuth ranks California State University-Sacramento #5 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's student-success infrastructure, which includes the CSU Student Success Dashboard per the student services page, supports that trajectory for students navigating college without family precedent.
