San Francisco State University

Admissions at San Francisco State University are broad and accessible, but the campus faces difficulty enrolling accepted applicants. In the 2027 U.S. News rankings, the university placed at 227 among national universities. Gaining entry is straightforward, as the university accepted 96.4% of undergraduate applicants in 2025. Compared to its peer group of 30 closely ranked public comprehensive universities, this admit rate is higher than 93% of peer schools. However, the institution shows a limited draw after extending offers. The undergraduate yield rate reached only 8.6% in 2025, which is lower than all peer schools in the comparison group. For prospective applicants, these patterns indicate that obtaining an acceptance letter is very achievable, but the university frequently loses admitted students to other educational options.

San Francisco State University maintains an admission test policy where standardized test scores are not considered, operating as a test-blind campus where scores are not used even if submitted. As a result, recent years have no published scores or official score ranges for admitted cohorts. For prospective applicants, this policy means that standardized exam marks carry no weight in undergraduate admissions decisions, shifting the evaluation focus to secondary school records and grades. When testing was still reported before the policy change, standardized test submissions were common among incoming undergraduates. In 2021, 89% of enrolled students submitted SAT scores, while 19% submitted ACT scores. Because testing results play no role in application review, students do not need to aim for specific SAT or ACT score benchmarks, and applicants should instead focus on their high school GPA, course selection, and overall classroom performance.

Degree awards at San Francisco State University are moderately concentrated among popular disciplines, while its strongest outcomes appear in specific applied fields. The three largest undergraduate programs accounted for 34.9% of all bachelor's degrees conferred in 2025, led by general business administration with 881 graduates, followed by psychology and biology. However, these massive programs do not represent the institution's highest-ranked areas. In U.S. News program rankings, the undergraduate nursing program stood at 94 in 2027, while the graduate international business MBA ranked 74 in 2026. Healthcare also leads the campus in starting compensation. According to 2023 earnings data, bachelor's degree recipients in registered nursing earned a median of $145,008 one year after graduation. Engineering graduates also reported solid pay, though substantially below healthcare. For prospective applicants, professional credentials in health sciences offer clear financial returns, even though general business and liberal arts draw the largest share of students.

The student body at San Francisco State University is large and racially diverse, with undergraduates making up the vast majority of the population. In 2025, overall campus enrollment stood at 22,563 students. Hispanic students form the largest single group on campus, while Asian students represent the second-largest demographic community across all academic levels. Among incoming first-year undergraduates, Asian students accounted for 21.2% of the freshman class, maintaining a similar representation among transfer and continuing cohorts. In contrast, international students comprise a relatively small fraction of the undergraduate population, making up only 2.6% of first-year students. However, their presence is significantly more pronounced at the post-baccalaureate level, where international students made up 10.1% of all graduate students. Women represent a majority of both undergraduate and graduate divisions across campus.

San Francisco State University maintains a predominantly traditional-age undergraduate population alongside an older graduate student body. In 2025, students aged 20 to 21 represented the largest segment of the 19,444 undergraduates at 30.8%, followed by those aged 18 to 19 and 22 to 24. This concentration means undergraduate student life centers primarily on young adults pursuing their degrees. Meanwhile, the university's 3,119 graduate students are older, with the 25-to-29 age bracket making up the largest share at 33.2%. For prospective applicants, this profile indicates an undergraduate experience shared mostly with peers in their early twenties, while graduate programs primarily assemble cohorts in their mid-to-late twenties.

International enrollment at San Francisco State University has contracted noticeably over the past decade, yet the school maintains a solid global footprint compared to similar public institutions. By 2025, international students made up 4.3% of the undergraduate student body. Within its peer group of closely ranked public comprehensive universities, this undergraduate share is higher than 87% of peer schools. At the graduate level, international representation is significantly higher, standing at 10.1% in 2025. Among graduating cohorts, international degree recipients gravitate toward business and technical disciplines. For bachelor's degrees conferred in 2025, international students accounted for 14.2% of computer science graduates, while representing smaller proportions of liberal arts and health fields. At the master's level, international representation is similarly concentrated in general business administration. This pattern shows that while overall foreign enrollment has trended downward, overseas students continue to seek out quantitative and professional curricula on campus.

Applicants exploring colleges near San Francisco State University can consider several diverse academic institutions in northern California. Located just 4.1 kilometers away, the University of San Francisco is a private national university ranked 116 in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. Across the San Francisco Bay, the University of California-Berkeley sits 15.7 kilometers away and holds a rank of 20 among national universities. Slightly farther south, Stanford University is situated 26.3 kilometers away and ranks 5th nationally. Another private option in the region is Santa Clara University, located 39.2 kilometers from the campus with a national university ranking of 55. These nearby universities present an array of public and private options within the immediate Bay Area.

Campus safety at San Francisco State University shows a moderate overall incident level that has gradually improved over time. In 2025, the university recorded a crime rate of 4.8 per 1,000 students, down from earlier years. Examining specific safety reports recorded across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, disciplinary referrals for drug violations formed the single largest category, with 128 incidents. Property offenses also represented a regular concern on campus grounds, led by 87 reported incidents of motor vehicle theft over those three years. Other recorded incidents included smaller numbers of general thefts, stalking cases, and interpersonal offenses. For prospective students evaluating the urban campus setting, these figures indicate that substance violations and vehicular crime constitute the primary enforcement challenges, while violent offenses occur far less frequently.