The mission of the California State University is to ensure that students from all backgrounds achieve the lifelong, life-transforming benefits of a college degree. With over 4,000 majors, nearly 460,000 current students and over 4 million engaged alumni, the California State University is the largest, most diverse university in the nation.
Here are 3 ways the CSU makes college within reach of thousands of students each year:
1. The CSU offers one of the most affordable tuitions in the country.
At $5,742 a year (plus campus-based fees) for full-time undergraduates, the CSU has the lowest tuition of all comparable institutions.
In 2022, all 23 campuses ranked among the top 100 “Best Bang for the Buck" universities in the West, according to Washington Monthly.
2. More than 80% of Cal State students receive financial aid.
In the 2021-22 school year, 83 percent of students received some form of financial aid—with 388,000 students receiving a total of $4.3 billion. To help students turn their dream of college into reality, the university offers a variety of financial aid options including grants, loans, scholarships, fellowships, veterans aid and work study.
In addition, more than half of the CSU's bachelor's recipients in 2021-22 graduated with zero student debt.
3. A CSU degree can transform lives.
Nearly a third of CSU students are the first in their family to earn a degree, changing the trajectory of graduates and their families. Half of CSU students are underrepresented minorities and nearly half of undergraduates receive the Pell Grant.
CSU campuses consistently rank high each year in CollegeNET's “Social Mobility Index"—which measures to what extent higher education institutions are helping solve the declining levels of economic mobility in the U.S.
Find your place at the CSU at calstate.edu/apply.