Cal Poly placed No. 10 among public universities and No. 38 overall in TIME magazine’s inaugural “America’s Best Colleges of 2026-2027” rankings, published in partnership with Statista.
TIME ranked universities in three categories: student outcomes, learning environment and attractiveness. They were then given a final score overall. Cal Poly received the highest score in the “Student Outcomes” category for public universities, ranking just above the University of Michigan and the University of Florida. The score is calculated based on graduates’ earnings, graduation rate and return on education.
However, the school has the 12th-lowest “Learning Environment” score for public universities. “Learning Environment” was graded on student-to-faculty ratio, essential spending per student and diversity. TIME calculated the final rankings with student outcomes at 75%, learning environment at 15% and attractiveness at 10%. Cal Poly ranked 13th for attractiveness among public schools, above UC Irvine and UC San Diego.
When it comes to Cal Poly’s reputation, some students said they learned about it without the national lists.
“I didn’t really look at the lists exactly,” said Kaitlyn Pozzi, an architectural engineering sophomore. “I heard a lot of word of mouth that Cal Poly is one of the best Cal States. I think that did influence my decision to come here.”
Pozzi also noted how Cal Poly’s low student-to-faculty ratio, one of the categories graded in the learning environment score, encouraged her decision to attend.
“I feel like I could name every single professor I’ve ever had, and a conversation I’ve had with them,” Pozzi said.
Liam Walker, a computer science junior and transfer student, said the San Luis Obispo area drew him to Cal Poly.
“I love the campus and the area, and so that’s why I wanted to go here,” Walker said. “I don’t think I really look at the lists.”
Walker noted that both ethnic and financial diversity is an aspect of the school that is lacking, when it comes to the learning environment score.
“I feel like Cal Poly is known for having a large white population,” Walker said. “I think because it is expensive, that prices out a lot of people, and maybe they don’t get financial aid.”
Cal Poly has the lowest number of Pell Grant recipients in the Cal State system as of the 2020-2021 school year, according to a report from the Cal State Student Association and the Institute for College Access and Success. Pell Grant numbers are one of the metrics tracked under “diversity” in the learning environment score. Cal Poly has since grown the number of Pell-eligible students by 6.38%.
University Spokesperson Matt Lazier expressed pride in the No. 10 public university recognition and restated the university’s commitment to broaden access to the school’s resources.
“We hope this helps to further raise awareness of the benefits of our Learn by Doing approach to prospective students and their parents and supporters throughout California and around the country,” Lazier wrote in an email to Mustang News. “Among Cal Poly’s top priorities are effective stewardship of available resources to support Learn by Doing for all students and open the doors of the university even wider to prospective students.”
