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For-profit College

Lionel University

For-profit College in Carpinteria, CA. Six-year graduation rate 67%.

Verdict Profile in progress
Lionel University · Campus
Median debt at grad
$12,668
Graduation rate
67.1%
Federal loan default
0%

Completion is a strength: 67% of students finish within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $12,668 — modest by four-year standards.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Academics

Full-time retention
75%
Transfer-out rate
19%
Student:faculty
24:1

Six-year completion runs to 67% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention of 75% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Transfer-out runs to 19% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. At 24:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit. Being a for-profit four-year institution is the single most useful context for these numbers — the sector's spread is wide enough that the school-level figures matter more than usual.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$28,176
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
65%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
66%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 452 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Net price averages $28,176 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Net price varies modestly by income — $29,817 at $0–30k against $27,635 at $30–48k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 65% of students receive grant aid, averaging $4,539 — common but not automatic. Most students borrow — 66% take federal loans to cover the gap.

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.

% receiving grants
48%
Average grant
$2,359

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 25 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 $29,817
$30–48k $27,635
$48–75k
$75–110k
$110k+

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 300 of these 452 students, totalling $2,456,421 — an average of $8,188 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Santa Barbara County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$2,459/mo
1 bedroom
$2,746/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$3,124/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
192
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Lionel University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Lionel University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →