California State
University-San Marcos
Public College in San Marcos, CA. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $62,908.
Ten-year median earnings of $62,908 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate is 55%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $17,350 in debt — in line with the national norm. It also moves people — 2.1% 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 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 95% of applicants are accepted. With 19,721 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is low at 14%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 Marcos →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 55%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. 79% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 58% return, against 79% full-time. A 24:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 14,174 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,241 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 — $6,230 at $0–30k versus $18,734 at $110k+. 64% of students receive grant aid, averaging $11,025 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 28% 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 · 2,500 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 | $6,230 |
| $30–48k | $7,240 |
| $48–75k | $8,928 |
| $75–110k | $12,525 |
| $110k+ | $18,734 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4,038 of these 14,174 students, totalling $26,407,520 — an average of $6,540 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Diego 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)