California State University-Long Beach: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Arcata, California · Public · Open access · CDS 2024-2025
California State University-Long Beach is a public university in Arcata, California that admits about 99% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $13,167 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Psychology, General, Natural Resources Conservation and Research and Business Administration, Management and Operations, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 8.4 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
California State University-Long Beach is a public institution located in Arcata, California. For the most recent reporting cycle, California State University-Long Beach admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 99%. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,167 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether California State University-Long Beach is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for California State University-Long Beach?
California State University-Long Beach has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores California State University-Long Beach typically admits
Many applicants to schools in this tier submit test scores, though the policy varies by year — check the latest test-optional status before deciding.
How much does California State University-Long Beach actually cost?
Published tuition is $7,913 for in-state students and $19,793 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $13,166 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $13,167 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 46% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| Average net price (after aid) | $13,167 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for California State University-Long Beach
Most popular majors at California State University-Long Beach
The most popular undergraduate programs at California State University-Long Beach, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Psychology, General, Natural Resources Conservation and Research and Business Administration, Management and Operations. Across all programs, California State University-Long Beach confers roughly 789 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Psychology, General program report a median income of about $43,990 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology, General | 143 | $43,990 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 141 | $50,871 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 110 | $58,979 |
| Biology, General | 97 | $50,531 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management | 95 | $41,148 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 76 | $49,190 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 67 | $35,523 |
| Social Work | 60 | $57,147 |
Is California State University-Long Beach safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), California State University-Long Beach disclosed 47 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 8.4 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 2 violent offenses and 33 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
Other colleges in California parents ask about
- Stanford University4% acceptance
- University of California-Berkeley12% acceptance
- University of California-Los Angeles9% acceptance
- University of Southern California10% acceptance
- University of California-Davis42% acceptance
- University of California-Irvine26% acceptance
- University of California-San Diego25% acceptance
- University of California-Santa Barbara63% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like California State University-Long Beach
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like California State University-Long Beach recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about California State University-Long Beach
What GPA do I need for California State University-Long Beach?
California State University-Long Beach has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission.
What SAT or ACT score does California State University-Long Beach typically admit?
California State University-Long Beach does not publish standardized test ranges in the most recent reporting cycle. Test-optional policies have made scores less universally required, but submitting strong scores still helps when available.
How much does California State University-Long Beach actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at California State University-Long Beach after grants and scholarships is $13,167 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is California State University-Long Beach realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, California State University-Long Beach is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at California State University-Long Beach?
California State University-Long Beach accepts about 99% of applicants. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.
Is California State University-Long Beach a public or private school, and where is it located?
California State University-Long Beach is a public institution located in Arcata, California.
What are the most popular majors at California State University-Long Beach?
The largest undergraduate majors at California State University-Long Beach by annual graduates are Psychology, General, Natural Resources Conservation and Research and Business Administration, Management and Operations. The school awards about 789 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is California State University-Long Beach safe? What is its campus crime rate?
California State University-Long Beach reported 47 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 8.4 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by California State University-Long Beach, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.