Allan Hancock College
Public Community College in Santa Maria, CA. Six-year graduation rate 26%. Median 10-year earnings $42,786.
Students who entered Allan Hancock College land at a median of $42,786 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Only 26% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential they enrolled for.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 26% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 26% graduate within six years. First-year retention is 68% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 41% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The 28:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,812 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,029 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $3,970 at $0–30k, $8,619 at $110k+. About 70% get grants averaging $4,174, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 1% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 690 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $3,970 |
| $30–48k | $4,900 |
| $48–75k | $6,789 |
| $75–110k | $8,461 |
| $110k+ | $8,619 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 76 of these 7,812 students, totalling $475,687 — an average of $6,259 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Santa Barbara County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)