California State University-Monterey Bay

Seaside, CA · Public

Official website

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Admission rate

California State University-Monterey Bay admitted 97.4% of applicants university-wide (14,545 of 14,933).

CohortAdmit rateAdmittedApplicants
University-wide97.4%14,54514,933
Men97.1%5,6545,823
Women97.6%8,8919,110

Of 14,545 admitted students, 1,419 enrolled (9.8% yield).

California State University-Monterey Bay Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections C1–C2 · 2024Published cohort admit rates — context, not an applicant-specific probability.

Test scores and GPA of admitted students

SAT (mid-50%)
980–1140
ACT (mid-50%)
19–25
GPA (mid-50%, 4.0 scale)
3.003.74

Testing policy: Test-blind (scores not considered)

California State University-Monterey Bay Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections C9–C12 · 2024Published admit stats reflect the entire incoming class unless explicitly labeled international-only.

Cost and financial aid

Published cost of attendance: $43,012/yr.

Out-of-state tuition$20,379
Fees, housing, food, books & other$22,633
Sticker cost of attendance$43,012/yr

Average net price by family income (US, federal aid data)

Under $30k$9,970
$30k–48k$9,981
$48k–75k$12,440
$75k–110k$16,281
Over $110k$22,818

U.S. Dept. of Education · College Scorecard — average net price by family income (Title IV, from IPEDS) · 2023

US applicants

Need- and merit-based aid available.

  • Agriculture Plant Soil Science NextGen Scholarshipup to $10,000 (Need Based)
  • Joel and Dena Gambord Nursing ScholarshipVaries (Other)
  • John S. Myszak Scholarship for Future TeachersVaries (Other)

International applicants

No need-based aid reported for internationals.

  • Agriculture Plant Soil Science NextGen Scholarshipup to $10,000 (Need Based)
  • Joel and Dena Gambord Nursing ScholarshipVaries (Other)
  • John S. Myszak Scholarship for Future TeachersVaries (Other)

California State University-Monterey Bay Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections G–H · 2024

Application requirements

US applicants

  • High School Transcript
  • SAT/ACT Scores (optional)
  • Application fee

International applicants

  • High School Transcript
  • SAT/ACT Scores (optional)
  • Application fee
  • English proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL)
  • GPA credential conversion
  • Predicted Class XII marksheet
  • Financial documentation (I-20)

California State University-Monterey Bay · Application requirements (official admissions pages) · 2025

Essay prompts

California State University-Monterey Bay requires no supplemental essays.

Prompts from the Cal State Apply member feed · verified Jul 4, 2026

Graduate outcomes

Median earnings
$59,247
Median earnings · 10 years after entry
Graduation rate
59.1%
Within 150% of normal time
First-year retention
80%
Return for year two · CDS Section B
Median debt
$12,750
At graduation

California State University-Monterey Bay · U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2023 release) · 2023Earnings and debt figures are federal data for aid-receiving graduates — cohort outcomes, not a guarantee for any individual student.

Published rankings

  • WSJ: #172
  • Forbes: #266
  • Niche: #596

Academics and campus

Largest degree fields: Business & marketing (15%), Psychology (13%), Computer & information sciences (12%).

Student–faculty ratio: 20:1 · 51% of class sections have under 20 students.

California State University-Monterey Bay Common Data Set 2024-2025 · Sections E, F, I · 2024Published institutional figures for the reporting year — descriptive of the current student body, not a prediction about your experience.

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