Cal Poly Makes Forbes List of Top 25 Public Schools

Cal Poly is again one of Forbes’ Top 25 Public Colleges, as part of the magazine’s 2025-26 list of America’s Top Colleges.

Overall, Cal Poly was 55th in the nation — up from 57th in 2024 and No. 83 in 2023 — among the 500 ranked public and private not-for-profit universities in the U.S.

The rankings, released Aug. 26, looked far beyond the Ivy League. Its top school was Massachusetts Institute of Technology of Boston. Also in the top five were Columbia University in New York; Princeton University of New Jersey; and the Golden State’s Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley.

Among public and private institutions in California, Cal Poly was 12th overall for the second consecutive year and again seventh among public schools, behind University of California campuses at Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine, Santa Barbara and Davis (all doctorate-level institutions).

In the Top 25 Public Colleges rankings, Cal Poly again joined seven other California schools, all UC campuses. Cal Poly moved up one spot to 17th overall among public institutions nationally.

“These 25 public schools,” the magazine reported, “give the private elites a run for their money. Their students have strong academic outcomes, high salaries and less debt. As public universities brace for the impact of slashed research funding and future enrollment declines, they’re still doing the bulk of the work of educating America’s students and doing it at a lower price than their private counterparts.”

Forbes highlighted Cal Poly’s acceptance rate of just below 30%, adding that the university’s “graduates earn a median salary of $83,200 three years after graduating, which jumps to $153,100 at 20 years.”

To see the full Forbes Best Colleges list, visit: https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/.