Private for-profit · Community college
Pacific College
Costa Mesa, California · Midsize city
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $29,363
- Avg net price
- 63%
- Grad / completion
- $70,064
- Median earnings
Pacific College is a private for-profit associate-granting institution in Costa Mesa, California (midsize city setting), enrolling 225 undergraduates.
About Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Members of the Tongva and Acjachemen nations long inhabited the area. The Tongva villages of Lupukngna, at least 3,000 years old, and the shared Tongva and Acjachemen village of Genga, at least 9,500 years old, were located in the area on the bluffs along the Santa Ana River. The Orange County Fair takes place at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa each July. The Fair receives more than one million visitors each year. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Midsize city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 33 miles to Los Angeles, CA
- To the ocean
- 6 miles
- Nearest airport
- < 1 mi to John Wayne Orange County (SNA) · major hub
How Pacific College compares
More selective than 80% · #6 most selective of 20 in California
Higher than 52% · #212 of 382 in California
Higher than 98% · #7 of 326 in California
Cheaper than 9% · #313 cheapest of 377 in California
Lower than 4%
Lower than 86%
Larger than 47%
Percentiles compare Pacific 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
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate22593%
- Graduate187%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women20390%
- Men2210%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White12%
- Black15%
- Hispanic47%
- Asian15%
- Other or multiracial12%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 225
- Graduate enrollment
- 18
- Student–faculty ratio
- 9 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 28%
- First-generation students
- 63%
- Students over 25
- 86%
- Median family income
- $31,206
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $47,385
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
- $29,363
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 56.0%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Outcomes
- Graduated
- 63%
- First-year retention
- —
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $62,792
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $70,064
- Median debt at graduation
- $22,469
- Students with federal loans
- 44%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 48%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- $100
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%.
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.
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?
Pacific 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.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $70,064
- Typical debt at graduation
- $22,469
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 32%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 76%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.2 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Women out-earn men by $7,907 (13%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 80°F
- Winter low
- 48°F
- Annual rain
- 11.2″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Santa Ana John Wayne AP, CA US station (0.4 mi from campus).
What Pacific College graduates study — and earn
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 Pacific College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Pacific College side by side →
Brownson Technical School
Anaheim, California · Large city · 25 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 307
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $69k
Marian Health Careers Center-Los Angeles Campus
Los Angeles, California · Large city · 3 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 150
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $64k
Career Development Institute Inc
Los Angeles, California · Large city · 8 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 172
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $62k
Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology
Riverside, California · Large suburb · 2 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 317
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 32%
- Earnings
- $62k
Southern California Institute of Technology
Anaheim, California · Large city · 22 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 508
- Tuition
- $21k
- Transfer
- 1%
- Earnings
- $54k
Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology
Inglewood, California · Large suburb · 10 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 411
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $62k
Colleges near Pacific College
Homestead Schools-Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa, CA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 32 students
Stanbridge University
Irvine, CA · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 2,643 students
Westcliff University
Irvine, CA · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 2,363 students
Vanguard University of Southern California
Costa Mesa, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,933 students
Orange Coast College
Costa Mesa, CA · Public · Certificate · 16,091 students
Interior Designers Institute
Newport Beach, CA · Private for-profit · Associate · 97 students
American Institute of Massage Therapy
Santa Ana, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 19 students
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 30,197 students
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.