Admissions & selectivity
San Diego State University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at SDSU?
SDSU’s reported acceptance rate is 36.2%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 36.2%
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: San Diego State University Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
San Diego State University admits 36.2% 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 95,444 applicants, 35,709 admitted, and 6,911 enrolled.
What SAT and ACT scores do SDSU students report?
SAT and ACT ranges are not available for SDSU 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 SDSU?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 31.7%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 41.7%
- First-year retention
- 90.6%
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.
San Diego State University enrolls 35,377 undergraduates, a population shaped by two large entry routes: Pell Grant recipients and transfer students. 31.7% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 41.8% arrive as transfers or part-time students.
That means a substantial share of the student body did not start as first-time freshmen, and many are using federal grant aid.
The full-time bachelor's-seeking first-year cohort at San Diego State University returns after the first year at a rate of 90.6%, a level higher than the peer median of 83.1%. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 76.4%, a level that exceeds the peer median of 65.0%.
For Pell Grant recipients in the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year completion rate is 76.1%, falling below the overall rate by 0.3 percentage points. Students who enroll should anticipate a campus climate where first-year retention and the six-year graduation rate both outpace peer norms, with Pell recipients finishing below the overall six-year 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.