A South Bay CC
on the San Diego border
You're deciding whether to start your bachelor's at Southwestern College in Chula Vista before finishing a four-year degree elsewhere. That decision turns on the transfer-out rate, the cost of getting through two years, and the debt you'd carry forward.
21,000 undergrads, 27% transfer out by year 8, median $40k 10-yr earnings, $4,500 median debt.
A mid-size Chula Vista CC with a functional transfer rate and unusually low debt
Southwestern College enrolls about 21,000 undergrads in Chula Vista, just south of San Diego, with 61% attending part-time. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 27% — above the typical community college band — and the in-institution completion rate is 30%. Median earnings ten years out are $40k, median borrower debt is $4,500, and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. Liberal Arts and Sciences is by far the largest program at 723 completions, followed by Business Administration at 329 and Psychology at 216. Health Sciences, Biological/Physical Sciences, Criminal Justice, and EMT all clear 125 completions. Net price is $12,671, with in-state tuition just $1,288.
Southwestern College is a mid-size community college in Chula Vista, about ten miles from the Mexican border and inside the San Diego metro. Undergrad headcount is just under 21,000, with 61% part-time — a meaningful share, but lower than at many California CCs. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 27%, which lands above the 15–25% band typical for community colleges; another 30% complete a credential at Southwestern itself. Liberal Arts and Sciences is the flagship program by volume at 723 completions, followed by Business Administration (329) and Psychology (216). On the cost side, in-state tuition is just $1,288 and net price runs $12,671. Median borrower debt is $4,500 — unusually low — and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. Median earnings ten years after enrollment are $40,060.
What this CC teaches at scale
| Program | Completions |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies. | 723 |
| Business Administration and Management, General. | 329 |
| Psychology, General. | 216 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | 155 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | 137 |
| Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration. | 137 |
| Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic). | 129 |
| Sociology, General. | 96 |
| Economics, General. | 91 |
| Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide. | 80 |
Source · IPEDS completions (all undergraduate credentials).
Where California transfers tend to go
Reflects state-aggregated IPEDS transfer-in volume — CC-specific destinations are not publicly available from IPEDS or the College Scorecard.
Frequently asked
- Is Southwestern College a good place to start a bachelor's degree?
- The data supports a cautiously positive answer. Southwestern's eight-year transfer-out rate is 27%, which sits above the 15–25% range typical for community colleges nationally. Another 30% of students earn a credential at Southwestern itself, so the combined "completed or moved on" share is around 57%. In-state tuition is $1,288 and net price is $12,671 — the tuition figure is very low, though net price reflects living costs in the San Diego metro. Median borrower debt is just $4,500 with a 0% three-year loan default rate, which is an unusually clean debt profile for a CC of this size. Median earnings ten years out are $40,060. For a South Bay student with a clear transfer plan, the numbers line up: functional transfer momentum, low direct cost, low debt load, and earnings in line with other California CCs ten years out.
- How does Southwestern College's transfer-out rate compare to typical community colleges?
- Southwestern's eight-year transfer-out rate is 27%, which is above the 15–25% band that national research places around the average community college. An additional 30% completed a credential at Southwestern by the eight-year mark, and 1.6% were still enrolled. That mix — roughly a quarter transferring out, close to a third finishing locally, and the rest either stopping out or still in progress — is a stronger outcome profile than the baseline CC picture. The 61% part-time share is worth flagging: part-time students nationally transfer at lower rates because life circumstances compete with academic momentum, and Southwestern's aggregate numbers include that drag. A full-time, transfer-focused student at Southwestern is likely operating on better odds than the 27% headline figure suggests.
- What programs does Southwestern College teach at meaningful scale?
- Southwestern's largest programs by completions are Liberal Arts and Sciences (723) — a transfer-prep academic track — followed by Business Administration and Management (329) and Psychology (216). Health Services/Allied Health (155), Biological and Physical Sciences (137), Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement (137), and Emergency Medical Technology (129) all operate at real scale. Sociology (96), Economics (91), and Nursing Assistant (80) round out the top ten. The mix is weighted heavily toward transfer-oriented academic programs — Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, Psychology, Bio/Physical Sciences — which matches a 27% transfer-out rate. Allied health and public-safety tracks (EMT, Nursing Assistant, Criminal Justice) add direct workforce options for students who decide not to transfer.
Methodology — Transfer signals reflect IPEDS Outcome Measures 8-year cohorts; earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard. Destinations are state-aggregated; we do not claim CC-specific transfer destinations without authoritative per-student tracking data.