Cal State Chico acceptance rate and your odds of getting in
Cal State Chico is a public university in California that admits most qualified applicants (around 93%), which puts it in the accessible range. A rate like this means it admits most qualified applicants; the bar is less about clearing a single cutoff and more about how your full profile compares to admitted students.
Use this page to see what Cal State Chico weighs, where it ranks among California schools, and how a profile like yours is likely to land. Admitted students post a 75th-percentile SAT around 1170, a useful checkpoint for where your scores sit, though it is a reference range and not a cutoff.
What do students study at Cal State Chico?
Bachelor's degrees awarded by field in 2023 (IPEDS completions). Each field has its own page with the school's numbers, the model's major adjustment, and peers offering it.
Will I get into Cal State Chico?
Direct answers to what applicants ask about getting into Cal State Chico, plus a free way to calculate your own odds.
What are my chances of getting into Cal State Chico?
At Cal State Chico, your real chance depends on far more than the published 93% admit rate. Your real odds depend on how your GPA, course rigor, test scores, and activities compare to its admitted students. Run your profile through the free CollegeCalcAI calculator to get a personalized acceptance percentage for Cal State Chico in about three minutes, with no account needed to start.
Is Cal State Chico hard to get into?
Cal State Chico is accessible: it admits most qualified applicants, with about a 93% acceptance rate. Meeting the academic basics gives most qualified applicants a realistic shot.
What GPA do you need to get into Cal State Chico?
There is no hard GPA cutoff at Cal State Chico, but admitted students span a wide GPA range, with many in the 2.8 to 3.5 band. Cal State Chico reads your GPA alongside the rigor of your courses, so a challenging schedule matters as much as the number itself.
What SAT score do you need for Cal State Chico?
Cal State Chico does not publish a required score, but the admitted-student 75th-percentile SAT is around 1170. A score at or above that range strengthens your application, while a lower score puts more weight on your rigor, activities, and essays. CollegeCalcAI shows how your exact score shifts your odds at Cal State Chico.
Your chances at Cal State Chico by GPA and SAT
Estimated chance of admission at Cal State Chico for plain profiles, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA, 3 AP courses, Regular Decision, no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook. The last column is test-optional (no score sent).
What are my chances at Cal State Chico with a 3.1 GPA and a 1110 SAT?
About 98% (Safety), by CollegeCalcAI's deterministic model, for an applicant with a 3.1 unweighted GPA and a 1110 SAT, the middle of Cal State Chico's admitted range, applying Regular Decision without a hook. A 3.4 GPA with a 1170 SAT comes out near 98%. Courses, activities, essays and the application round move the number; the free calculator includes them.
Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities. Assistants and developers can fetch this table from the free API: /api/v1/colleges/cal-state-chico.
How to get into Cal State Chico
Built from Cal State Chico's admitted class and what it reports weighing. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled figures, not published cutoffs.
Getting into Cal State Chico comes down to four decisions, each one visible in the data on this page.
CollegeCalcAI's modeled typical admit at Cal State Chico carries about a 2.98 core GPA and a 1120 SAT, in the most rigorous schedule available. Meeting it puts you in the admitted range for most applicants.
Cal State Chico rates rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and standardized test scores highest in its own Common Data Set. Put your depth there: and a transcript whose rigor rises through junior year.
Most public universities read early applicants first without a binding commitment. Apply by Cal State Chico's early or priority deadline (confirm dates at www.csuchico.edu), and if you are out of state, know that residency changes both the bar and the price.
How many students apply to Cal State Chico, and how many get in?
22,263 students applied to Cal State Chico for fall 2023; 20,864 were admitted (93.7%). 2,171 enrolled. Only about 10% of admitted students enrolled, so the school admits several students for every seat it expects to fill, which is why its acceptance rate reads higher than its selectivity feels. Cal State Chico enrolls about 13,631 undergraduates in total, 56% of them women, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 23 to 1.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 admissions and enrollment.
What SAT and ACT scores do you need for Cal State Chico?
Cal State Chico reports that it neither requires nor recommends test scores, so admission turns on your transcript, rigor, and the rest of the file.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10.
What Cal State Chico looks for
What Cal State Chico weighs most heavily in its admissions review, informed by its reported Common Data Set.
Cal State Chico signals that it values rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and standardized test scores above the rest of the file. Solid grades in a challenging schedule do most of the work here, with the rest of the application providing context. These ratings come from Cal State Chico's reported Common Data Set, so the full chart below reflects what the school itself says it values, not a generic guess.
SAT score positioning at Cal State Chico
How common SAT scores sit relative to the admitted middle. This is context, not a probability. Your full profile determines the real estimate.
How much does Cal State Chico cost after financial aid?
Cal State Chico's published cost of attendance, before any aid, is roughly $26,283 per year. Tuition and fees are $8,472 for CA residents and $21,072 for out-of-state students, a $12,600 gap that makes residency the single biggest lever on cost. What families actually pay is different: the average net price after grants and scholarships is $14,480 a year, and it ranges from $9,902 for families earning under $30,000 to $23,566 for families earning over $110,000. 43% of undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Net price is what students receiving aid paid after grants, by family income.
What do Cal State Chico graduates earn, and how many graduate?
Ten years after enrolling, the median Cal State Chico student who received federal aid earns $64,172 a year, up from $50,493 at six years. 63% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 82% return for a second year. Among graduates who borrowed, median federal debt at graduation is $16,552; 32% of undergraduates take federal loans.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Earnings cover students who received federal aid.
How Cal State Chico compares in California
Cal State Chico ranks #48 most selective of 61 schools in California in our database.
Among the 61 California schools we track, Cal State Chico ranks #48 most selective by acceptance rate. Schools like California Institute of Technology (3%) and Stanford University (4%) sit nearby, which makes California a useful frame for calibrating a balanced list. As a public university, residency matters: in-state applicants generally see meaningfully better odds than the headline rate suggests.
Similar to Cal State Chico
Schools with a similar selectivity profile, worth comparing as you build a balanced list.
If Cal State Chico is on your list, schools with a similar admit profile are worth a look: Cal State Northridge, Jackson State University, and Northwestern State University. Running the same profile against each one in the free calculator is the fastest way to see where you are a reach, a match, or a likely.
More data for California: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo architecture admissions
Frequently asked questions
What is Cal State Chico's acceptance rate?
Cal State Chico admitted 20,864 of 22,263 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class, an acceptance rate of 93.7% (U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS). 10% of admitted students enrolled.
Is Cal State Chico test-optional?
Cal State Chico reports that it neither requires nor recommends test scores.
How much does Cal State Chico cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Cal State Chico, what students receiving aid paid after grants and scholarships, is $14,480 a year against a sticker price of about $26,283. Families earning under $30,000 paid about $9,902 on average.
What do Cal State Chico graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entering Cal State Chico are $64,172 a year among students who received federal aid, and 63% of students graduate within six years (College Scorecard).
What does Cal State Chico value most in applicants?
Based on its admissions profile, Cal State Chico weighs rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and standardized test scores most heavily. The full factor breakdown is on this page.
Does Cal State Chico favor in-state applicants?
As a public university, Cal State Chico generally admits in-state applicants at a higher rate than out-of-state applicants, so your home state affects your odds. CollegeCalcAI applies an in-state residency boost when you select your state.
How can I improve my chances at Cal State Chico?
Focus on the highest-leverage parts of your application: course rigor and GPA trajectory first, then test scores, then a focused leadership or activity spike. CollegeCalcAI's Power-Ups quantify how much each change would move your odds at Cal State Chico specifically.
How does residency affect admission to Cal State Chico?
As a public university, Cal State Chico typically admits in-state students at a higher rate, and tuition differs sharply by residency. Select your home state in the calculator to fold the in-state effect into your estimate.
Acceptance rate, application counts, admitted test ranges, cost, and outcomes reflect publicly reported federal data (U.S. Department of Education: IPEDS 2023 and the College Scorecard) and each school's Common Data Set; figures are rounded and lag the current cycle by one to two years, so confirm deadlines and policies on the school's own site. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled estimates. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.