Bachelor's · San Luis Obispo, California

Is Architectural Sciences and Technology at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $73,354; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $22,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $80k (likely $80k – $107k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $36k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.1 years (likely 2.6–4.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $91k (likely $12k – $164k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $473k (likely $332k – $640k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 87%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26