Cuyamaca College
Public Community College in El Cajon, CA. Six-year graduation rate 41%. Median 10-year earnings $32,435.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $32,435, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 41%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish.
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
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 41%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. 72% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four 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. The part-time picture is harder: 43% return, against 72% full-time. 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 6,788 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $7,752 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($6,183 versus $11,961), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 59% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,808 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 3% 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 · 508 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 | $6,183 |
| $30–48k | $5,219 |
| $48–75k | $9,270 |
| $75–110k | $12,665 |
| $110k+ | $11,961 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 191 of these 6,788 students, totalling $1,462,241 — an average of $7,656 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)