California Aeronautical University
For-profit College in Bakersfield, CA. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $38,361.
Students who entered California Aeronautical University reach a median of $38,361 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Completion is the weak point: 33% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation reaches $30,705, heavy enough to shape the years right after the degree.
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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.80 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Academics
Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 69% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 22% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The 8:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 393 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $34,836 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Net price varies modestly by income — $35,535 at $0–30k against $43,076 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 55% get grants averaging $8,073, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Borrowing is widespread: 61% take federal loans.
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 · 48 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 | $35,535 |
| $30–48k | $28,863 |
| $48–75k | $35,669 |
| $75–110k | $39,250 |
| $110k+ | $43,076 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 239 of these 393 students, totalling $3,005,957 — an average of $12,577 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Kern County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Financial Responsibility); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)