hey everyone, i just got admitted to sdsu as an out of state student. i’m a bit confused because one website says the oos tuition is 20k and another website says it’s around 42k. can any oos students let me know which one is more accurate?
also, have y’all had any luck with financial aid as an oos student? my efc is $0 but i really wanna attend 
The $42K OOS COA on the linked page above includes tuition, room, board, and estimates for additional expenses.
SDSU does not provide much financial aid to OOS students. Do you have an affordable safety on your list?
SDSU also has a 2 year on-campus living requirement for in-coming Freshman (Covid may alter this) but expect to pay around $42K/year to attend. As stated above, OOS students receive little to no financial aid. To get an estimate of costs, use the Net price calculator. Net Price Calculator | Student Affairs and Campus Diversity | SDSU
San Diego is an expensive area so the cost of living off campus may not be much different. My son was paying $800/month rent with 3 other roommates and my niece is currently paying $1000/month with 2 roommates. Something to consider if you are planning for 4 years of study.
With an EFC of $0, you will still be expected to pay the majority of tuition/room/board/fees ( I am getting around $34K/year based on the Net Price calculator). Since you are not a CA resident, you will only be eligible for Federal aid and Federal Student loans which will not cover the full cost of attendance. You are not eligible for Cal Grant or any other state aid that is available to California residents.
Based on what you have posted, SDSU is not an affordable option. I hope you have some affordable options in your home state.
Best of luck.
“out of state student”
“my efc is $0”
I cannot imagine how this could possibly be affordable.
You should minimize debt as much as you can. Also, you really, really do not want to get part way through your undergraduate education and then discover that it is not possible to borrow enough money to complete your degree.
What more affordable options do you have?
One friend of a daughter who was a very strong student did two years at a community college and transferred to a good in-state public university with a significant merit scholarship – she will be graduating in May with very little debt and a marketable degree. You might need to do something similar.
I probably should had been clearer: This friend who wanted to save money attended a community college that was close to home, so she was in-state and could live at her father’s house to save money.
SDSU is a California public university. It is funded by California taxpayers and the State of California. Your guidance counselor should have informed you about the costs of California public colleges. Privates colleges charge the same fees for everyone and tend to have more private monies for scholarships and grants.
As a public university, SDSU’s priority is to educate California residents, and, as a public university, it doesn’t have thousands of dollars to fund non-residents. Such that
students from out of state pay full fees because the State cannot afford to pay for non-residents.
If you were admitted, it means that they liked your profile, but they also assumed that you would be a full paying student.
If you filled out a FAFSA, you will receive ~$6K per year from federal funds and can borrow about $6K+ per year from the feds, but that’s it. You would still owe $30K per year plus health insurance fees (which are separate).
If you are at $0 income, you wont be able to borrow this kind of money.
Jobs are at a premium and wont help you to make this kind of cash for 4 years without a degree.
Please look at your safeties or wait and reapply next year to the California privates in the area like USD and Point Loma Nazarene. There is also Chapman University in Orange County, Loyola Marymount, Azuza Pacific, USC, and the Claremont College Consortium.
Edited to add: our Community Colleges would also be full fees, which aren’t as much as the Cal States, but you would have to pay high California rents. Plus, you would still be considered a non-resident and would still have to pay $42K for two years because you would be noted as being in California for “educational purposes”.