Grossmont College
Public Community College in El Cajon, CA. Six-year graduation rate 37%. Median 10-year earnings $40,309.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $40,309, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 37% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $8,625 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Only 37% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential. 71% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 49% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 24:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 11,467 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $8,351 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The income table below is the number that matters — $4,169 at $0–30k versus $12,250 at $110k+. About 58% get grants averaging $4,448, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 2% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 1,349 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 | $4,169 |
| $30–48k | $4,736 |
| $48–75k | $7,761 |
| $75–110k | $9,677 |
| $110k+ | $12,250 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 176 of these 11,467 students, totalling $1,101,376 — an average of $6,258 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)