San Diego
Christian College
Private College in Santee, CA. Six-year graduation rate 20%. Median 10-year earnings $49,766.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,766 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 20% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $24,941 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
- ! Graduation rate 20% — below national average
Admissions
At 31%, the acceptance rate makes San Diego Christian College a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. Only 185 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. Yield is low at 16%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 San Diego Christian College →Academics
Only 20% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential. 86% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. A 23% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. At 9:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 78 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $21,199 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $992 at the $0–30k band to $30,336 at $48–75k. Grant aid is widespread — 88% of students receive it, averaging $12,253. About 36% 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 · 3 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 | $992 |
| $30–48k | $27,224 |
| $48–75k | $30,336 |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 28 of these 78 students, totalling $262,893 — an average of $9,389 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
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Financial Responsibility); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)