Cal Poly San Luis Obispo achieved a No. 10 ranking for public universities in TIME's inaugural America's Best Colleges list.
A calculated score combining student outcomes, learning environment and attractiveness determine the rankings.
The score for student outcomes account for 75% of the overall score, while learning environment and attractiveness account for 15% and 10% respectively.
TIME used data from Statista, which analyzed data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
In terms of public schools in California, Cal Poly ranked fourth behind UC San Diego, UCLA and No. 15 UC Berkeley. Stanford achieved the No. 1 overall ranking.
The university enrolls more than 23,000 students and now falls under the semester system. Students started classes this week and cut short a month of summer in order to switch and stay on time.
In 2025, Forbes ranked Cal Poly 17th in the same category and No. 55 overall in the nation.
