Cuesta College San Luis Obispo

Cuesta College is more than just Cal Poly’s younger sibling. It is a public community college with around 10,000 students and a main campus that covers 150 acres on a scenic stretch of Highway 1. Main-campus students can hop on the highway and drive 10 minutes north for an afternoon on the beaches of Morro Bay or 10 minutes south to grab something to eat in downtown San Luis Obispo. The school also has smaller satellite campuses to the north in Paso Robles and to the south in Arroyo Grande.

Cuesta College was established in 1963 and offers 74 degree programs and 62 certificate programs and classes that can teach you how to plan an overnight hiking trip or write a short story. Popular programs include the Registered Nursing (RN) Program and general studies programs that provide a fast track to one of the 23 California State Universities. One of those universities, California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) is located right down the road from the Cuesta College main campus in San Luis Obispo. Around half of all Cuesta graduates are accepted into Cal Poly, much higher than the state average. Cuesta College has community education and adult classes and teaches aquatics classes on one of its two on-campus pools. There’s also a children’s center, student newspaper and art gallery located on campus. The Harold J Miossi Art Gallery hosts contemporary art exhibits from from national and international artists and the Cuesta College Cultural & Performing Arts Center features a 450-seat main stage theater and a 100-seat experimental theater that hosts year-round performances.

So if you’re a student looking to transfer to a four-year university or a student of life who just wants to learn something new, Cuesta College might be the place for you.