Pacific College
For-profit College in Costa Mesa, CA. Six-year graduation rate 63%. Median 10-year earnings $70,064.
A decade after enrolling, the median Pacific College student earns $70,064 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate is 63%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $22,469, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
At 56%, the acceptance rate makes Pacific College a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. The applicant pool is small at 25, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. A 57% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through.
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 Pacific College →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 63%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. At 9:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a for-profit four-year institution, outcomes here deserve a harder look than the sector average suggests: for-profit institutions vary enormously, and the sector's aggregate numbers hide both strong and very weak performers. The undergraduate body is just 436, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 436 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $26,511 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The gap between the $0–30k and $48–75k bands is narrow ($29,386 versus $21,438), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is limited — 35% of students receive any. About 44% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 31 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 | $29,386 |
| $30–48k | $29,331 |
| $48–75k | $21,438 |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 193 of these 436 students, totalling $1,702,677 — an average of $8,822 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Orange County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Payment Method Changed); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)