California State
University-San Bernardino
Public Research University in San Bernardino, CA. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $59,977.
Students who entered California State University-San Bernardino land at a median of $59,977 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 55% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates leave owing a median of $14,715 — modest by four-year standards. It also moves people — 4.4% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.25 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 94% of applicants are accepted. The applicant pool is large — 14,543 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. A 15% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at California State University-San Bernardino →Academics
Completion is middling: 55% finish inside six years. Retention is strong at 80%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. 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. Retention drops to 47% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 22:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 15,771 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $5,231 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The income table below is the number that matters — $2,681 at $0–30k versus $14,316 at $110k+. 79% of students receive grant aid, averaging $11,433 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 25% of students.
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 · 2,166 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 | $2,681 |
| $30–48k | $2,680 |
| $48–75k | $4,735 |
| $75–110k | $7,745 |
| $110k+ | $14,316 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,904 of these 15,771 students, totalling $26,029,816 — an average of $6,667 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Bernardino 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)