Private for-profit · Community college

High Desert Medical College

Lancaster, California · Large suburb

0%
Transfer rate
$29,627
Avg net price
68%
Grad / completion
Median earnings

High Desert Medical College is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Lancaster, California (large suburb setting), enrolling 2,245 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitMidsize · 2,245 undergradsLarge suburbCold winters

About Lancaster, California

Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. Antelope Valley, the area where Lancaster is now located, was home to the Paiute tribe at the time of first contact with Europeans. Originally founded as the Lancaster Museum/Art Gallery in 1986, the MOAH operates four sites within the city, serving the Antelope Valley, Los Angeles County, and parts of Kern and San Bernardino Counties. The museum contains over 10,000 art pieces about Southern California. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
50 miles
Nearest airport
35 miles to Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope (BUR) · major hub

How High Desert Medical College compares

Graduation rate68%

Higher than 59% · #180 of 382 in California

First-year retention80%

Higher than 62%

Average net price$29,627

Cheaper than 9% · #316 cheapest of 377 in California

Median debt at graduation$13,555

Lower than 19%

Student–faculty ratio30 : 1

Lower than 5%

Undergraduate enrollment2,245

Larger than 83%

Percentiles compare High Desert Medical College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in California.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

2,245undergrads
  • Women2,04991%
  • Men1969%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White14%
  • Black13%
  • Hispanic62%
  • Asian4.2%
  • Other or multiracial7.3%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
2,245
Student–faculty ratio
30 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
57%
First-generation students
60%
Students over 25
45%
Median family income
$13,379
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$67,851

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
Room & board
Total cost of attendance
Average net price
$29,627

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
68%
First-year retention
80%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$31,486
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
Median debt at graduation
$13,555
Students with federal loans
59%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
68%
First-generation
73%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$200

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
3

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (2,280 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.0reported offenses a year
0 violent a year1.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
1.0

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$28,959
$30–48k
$28,873
$48–75k
$29,971
$75–110k
$32,495
$110k+
$34,287

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

High Desert Medical College funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.

Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.

Campus climate

Summer high
98°F
Winter low
32°F
Annual rain
5.9″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°70°110°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.00.81.5JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Palmdale AP, CA US station (4.7 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to High Desert Medical College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare High Desert Medical College side by side →

Colleges near High Desert Medical College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.