California State University-San Marcos
San Marcos, CA · Public · 14,877 undergrads (medium, suburb) · website ↗
- 52% Hispanic undergrads
- Test scores not considered
- $70 application fee
What you'll actually pay
Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.
| Household income | Avg net price / year |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $6,230 |
| $30,000 – $48,000 | $7,240 |
| $48,000 – $75,000 | $8,928 |
| $75,000 – $110,000 | $12,525 |
| Over $110,000 | $18,734 |
| All incomes (average) | $10,229 |
Sticker tuition and fees: $8,082 in-state, $20,682 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.
These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use California State University-San Marcos's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.
Net price calculator ↗Other costs of attendance, 2025–26
The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.
| Housing and meals, on campus | $15,320 |
| Housing and meals, off campus (not with family) | $21,792 |
| Books and supplies | $1,086 |
| Other expenses, on campus | $3,712 |
| Other expenses, off campus | $6,662 |
Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23
What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (2,410 of them) in 2022–23; 79% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.
| Type of aid | Students awarded | Average amount |
|---|---|---|
| Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own | 72% | $10,247 |
| Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government | 47% | $5,441 |
| The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college | 48% | $5,344 |
| Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans | 29% | $4,896 |
IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.
Admissions & outcomes
- Acceptance rate
- 95%
- Average SAT
- —
- Median ACT
- —
- Students with Pell grants
- 43%
- Graduation rate (6yr)
- 55%
- Freshman retention
- 79%
- Median earnings @ 10yr
- $62,908
- Median debt at graduation
- $17,350
- International undergrads
- 139 (1%)
For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.
Admission policy, test scores and teaching
- SAT/ACT policy
- Not considered
- Application fee
- $70
- Students per faculty member
- 24 to 1
- Faculty who are full-time
- 46%
- Open admission
- No
Not considered, even if submitted (fall 2024)
undergraduate, 2023–24
undergraduates, fall 2024
fall 2024
fall 2024
What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023
How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.
| High school GPA | Required |
| High school class rank | Not considered |
| High school record | Required |
| Completion of a college-preparatory program | Required |
| Recommendations | Not considered |
| Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio) | Not considered |
| English proficiency test (for applicable students) | Required |
| Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.) | Not considered |
| Work experience | Not considered |
| Personal statement or essay | Not considered |
| Legacy status | Not considered |
- First-time applicants
- 17,519
- Admitted
- 16,765
- Enrolled
- 2,625
fall 2023
fall 2023
fall 2023, full and part time
Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.
IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.
Most popular fields of study
Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.
Earnings and debt by field of study
Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.
Bachelor's degrees (37)
| Field of study | Degrees awarded 2023–24 | Earnings, 1 yr after | Earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 538 | $54,287 | $70,900national $68,257 | $14,958 |
| Psychology, General | 308 | $35,069 | $55,196national $50,706 | $15,290 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 294 | $110,156 | $120,196national $88,910 | $25,000 |
| Sociology | 245 | $42,251 | $53,287national $52,657 | $16,281 |
| Computer Science | 195 | $60,771 | $97,827national $107,009 | $14,094 |
| Criminology | 188 | $38,371 | $55,418national $55,556 | $11,750 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 183 | $47,149 | $59,842national $56,359 | $15,467 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 164 | $38,673 | $61,252national $54,562 | $15,000 |
| Biology, General | 161 | $41,912 | $70,789national $57,214 | $20,629 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 146 | $30,938 | $58,289national $53,072 | $15,000 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 99 | $37,100 | $53,568national $48,568 | $15,818 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 91 | $34,712 | $51,445national $47,382 | $14,500 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General | 80 | $31,526 | $48,043national $41,688 | $15,000 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 70 | $28,572 | $71,068national $58,928 | $22,000 |
| History | 69 | $31,396 | $52,985national $50,680 | $18,625 |
| Political Science and Government | 68 | $44,035 | $50,857national $63,293 | $13,738 |
| Social Sciences, General | 63 | $38,828 | $63,622national $53,366 | $15,769 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 58 | $29,454 | $54,985national $48,590 | $18,383 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 42 | $38,666 | $55,903national $55,012 | $14,250 |
| Computer Engineering | 36 | $81,770 | —national $109,015 | $16,750 |
| Biotechnology | 29 | $63,252 | $76,622national $67,097 | $15,755 |
| Economics | 28 | $56,089 | $83,339national $82,686 | $17,000 |
| Mathematics | 26 | — | —national $69,562 | $17,500 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 23 | $53,599 | $65,479national $65,466 | — |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 21 | $48,586 | —national $55,000 | — |
| Anthropology | 12 | $30,664 | $49,848national $46,676 | — |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | — | —national $92,374 | $17,500 |
| Computer Systems Analysis | — | $63,316 | $93,047national $78,929 | — |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | — | $47,535 | $80,303national $66,697 | $10,595 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences | — | $51,830 | —national $62,172 | $17,462 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | — | $32,654 | —national $48,842 | — |
| Business/Commerce, General | — | $52,352 | $68,984national $68,407 | $14,375 |
| Accounting and Related Services | — | $70,925 | $86,318national $76,194 | $16,826 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | — | $58,814 | $77,312national $83,343 | $12,500 |
| International Business | — | — | $77,965national $73,201 | — |
| Management Information Systems and Services | — | $56,828 | $72,448national $83,290 | $18,000 |
| Marketing | — | $50,413 | $73,290national $69,303 | $15,299 |
Master's degrees (9)
| Field of study | Degrees awarded 2023–24 | Earnings, 1 yr after | Earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Health | 66 | $58,518 | —national $82,751 | $36,177 |
| Social Work | 63 | $68,481 | $77,471national $65,123 | $38,808 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 49 | $98,028 | $105,743national $103,485 | $35,500 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 31 | $132,068 | $148,800national $120,193 | $53,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 28 | $79,234 | $88,196national $67,030 | $73,890 |
| Education, General | 22 | — | $95,348national $65,824 | — |
| Biotechnology | 22 | $92,122 | $92,859national $107,682 | — |
| Curriculum and Instruction | 19 | $75,598 | —national $63,399 | — |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 0 | $75,536 | —national $71,685 | — |
A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 43 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.
Contact and accreditation
- Address
- 333 S Twin Oaks Valley Rd, San Marcos, CA 92096-0001
- Phone
- (760) 750-4000
- Institutional accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
Is California State University-San Marcos a reach, target, or safety for you?
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Find my matches →Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.
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