High Desert
Medical College
For-profit College in Lancaster, CA. Six-year graduation rate 68%.
The six-year graduation rate of 68% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $13,555, a light load against those earnings.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion runs to 68% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 80%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 5% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. A 30:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,798 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $29,256 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($28,959 versus $34,287), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 64% get grants averaging $5,363, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 65% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 1,274 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 | $28,959 |
| $30–48k | $28,873 |
| $48–75k | $29,971 |
| $75–110k | $32,495 |
| $110k+ | $34,287 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,829 of these 2,798 students, totalling $15,038,956 — an average of $8,223 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles 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)