Cal Poly has been a dream school for Jocelyn Vasquez since her freshman year of high school. But two quarters into the computer engineering program, she is rethinking following her dreams.
Vasquez had to pay $10,000 out of pocket to attend Cal Poly, and her parents are not helping her cover the costs of attendance.
“Although I have received a substantial amount of help at least for my circumstances, I feel like I still need more,” Vasquez said.
“It’s on me, so I just don’t think it was enough.”
Jocelyn Vasquez
Vasquez says FAFSA helps and has found additional scholarships to cover the costs of attending Cal Poly, but they are only for one academic year. She has to find new scholarships or reapply for next year.
Cal Poly students, like Vasquez, pay the highest student-based fees in the Cal State system. For the 2024-25 academic year, some students pay $6,077, according to the Cal State Committee on Finance. This year, Cal Poly student-based fees are about $2,500 higher than the next most costly university — Cal Maritime.
The Board of Trustees received a report outlining student fees at each campus during its January meeting. The system has consistent systemwide tuition costs, and each campus can determine and charge students a campus-specific fee.
In March 2022, President Jeffrey Armstrong approved a gradual college-based fee increase through 2026-2027. Since then, Cal Poly’s college-based fees have increased by 5-8% each year, as part of The Cal Poly College Based Fee Student Aid and Learn by Doing Plan.
Some students who started this fall pay $2,592 more in fees than they would have if they started three years ago. Incoming students in the Colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; Architecture and Environmental Design; and Engineering have experienced the highest increase in fees.
The fee cost is individual to each incoming class. Students pay the same fee amount for the entire time they are enrolled. The fee was approved by a student body vote and only affects the newest class of students each year.
The plan provides additional financial aid to lower-income, middle-class and first-generation students who might not be able to attend Cal Poly otherwise, according to University Spokesperson Matt Lazier.
The entire college-based fees generated a $31 million budget during the 2023-2024 year, according to Cal Poly Administration and Finance. 42% of the budget goes to academic salaries, 24% to bonuses and 22% to financial aid.
A presentation given to students in 2022 said 60% of the revenue generated from the fee was intended to fund financial aid and 40% would fund other academic areas, according to previous Mustang News coverage. Only 60% of the raised portion of the fee is approved to support financial aid, according to Lazier.
The campus-based fee increase raised Cal Poly’s total in-state cost by nearly 20% for students enrolled after the 2025-26 school year. Low-income out-of-state students and California residents who make above $150,000 are not eligible for financial aid from the college-based fees.
Along with tuition and the college-based fee, Cal Poly students pay Student Success, ASI and other fees to attend the university.
Cal Poly has the highest cost of attendance amongst all the institutions in the Cal State System – an estimated $36,579 this year for in-state students who live on campus, according to Cal State calculations.
Olivia Watts, Cal Poly’s CalFresh outreach coordinator, says there has been a large increase in applications for CalFresh, California’s supplemental nutrition assistance program, over the past four years.
“We’re seeing the cost of living, groceries, rent, and utilities all increasing, and that’s hard for somebody that’s working full time,” Watts said. “That’s even harder for somebody who’s a college student and is definitely scraping by. It makes me sad that the fees for students are increasing.”
CalFresh eligibility requirements started to include undergraduate students with the passage of legislation in 2021. Watts says the increase in students enrolling in CalFresh is due to more awareness of the program and the rising cost of living, but she also thinks the increasing fees is not helping the situation.
“I do think that it’s becoming much more difficult for students from non-traditional backgrounds to pursue an education or pursue a degree at Cal Poly,” Watts said. “We see it time and time again that students are sharing how hard of a time they’re having financially, and it breaks my heart.”
Vasquez has felt support from the Education Opportunity Program (EOP) at Cal Poly. She was able to take courses at Cal Poly before she started this fall for free with support from the program.
Beyond financial support, Vasquez has made connections with people who have similar backgrounds as her, which motivates her to stay at Cal Poly despite the financial burden.
“Honestly, because of the EOP program, I have a lot of people like me from underfunded schools,” Vasquez said. “I feel like I built a community, and I feel like it would be kind of hard to leave them.”