Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
What Cal Poly SLO says
Exact quotes from Cal Poly SLO’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
To take ITO, undergraduate students should complete the ITO form and read the instructions provided.
— retention.calpoly.edu ↗Students may use one (1) semester of ITO before discontinuation or requesting an LOA.
— retention.calpoly.edu ↗Matriculated students who have not enrolled in classes at Cal Poly for two consecutive semesters (excluding summer term) … will be discontinued and will be required to file an application for readmission.
— catalog.calpoly.edu ↗Students may use one (1) semester of ITO before discontinuation or requesting an LOA.
— retention.calpoly.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- Cal Poly appears to use Informal Time Off for one semester, with a form to complete.
- No ITO deadline is stated; ask the Registrar about timing.
- A formal leave looks meant for longer than one semester; ask your registrar or advising office.
- Reasons accepted: no leave request needed (ITO form is notice only; covers all reasons except military).
- Time away allowed: LOA up to 4 semesters.
- What to file: short notice or form.
- Classes start Jan 25.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Hackathon
- Camp PolyHacks ↗Student-run multidisciplinary hackathon run through CIE (Feb 2026 edition)
Student founder community
- Cal Poly Entrepreneurs Club ↗Student entrepreneurial community (CIE lists CPE)
- Sigma Eta Pi ↗Co-ed entrepreneurship society helping students turn ideas into ventures
Entrepreneurship center
- CIE Summer Accelerator ↗12-week accelerator for student founders ending in Demo Day
- Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) ↗University startup center: Innovation Quest, Hatchery, incubator
Hard-tech team
- Cal Poly Racing ↗Formula SAE/racing team listed by CENG (team site calpolyracing.com showed 'Coming Soon')
- Cal Poly Space Innovations Club ↗Rover and space technology student org
- PolySat ↗Cal Poly CubeSat lab, listed by the College of Engineering
CS club
- Cal Poly Vibe Coding Club ↗Students of any major building with AI; strong fit for non-CS builders
Why 93
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Source pages look current for 2026–27. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.