Private nonprofit · University
Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego, California · Large city
- 83.7%
- Admit rate
- $38,729
- Avg net price
- 77%
- Graduation rate
- $63,998
- Median earnings
Point Loma Nazarene University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in San Diego, California (large city setting), enrolling 3,188 undergraduates. It has a Church of the Nazarene religious affiliation.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Point Loma Nazarene University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 83.7%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1175–1365
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.59
Enter a test score to see where you land against Point Loma Nazarene University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Point Loma Nazarene University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About San Diego, California
San Diego is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. What has been referred to as the San Dieguito complex was established in the area at least 9,000 years ago. The culture of San Diego is influenced heavily by the mixing of American and Mexican cultures, due to the city's position on the Mexico–United States border, its large Chicano population, and its history as part of Hispanic America and Mexico. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 5 miles to San Diego, CA
- To the ocean
- < 1 mile
- Nearest airport
- 4 miles to San Diego (SAN) · major hub
How Point Loma Nazarene University compares
More selective than 38% · #66 most selective of 107 in California
Higher than 77%
Higher than 87% · #34 of 122 in California
Higher than 77%
Higher than 76% · #71 of 130 in California
Cheaper than 5% · #96 cheapest of 118 in California
Lower than 54%
Lower than 50%
Larger than 70%
Percentiles compare Point Loma Nazarene University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.
Point Loma Nazarene University campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate3,18868%
- Graduate1,51132%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women2,18569%
- Men1,00331%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White52%
- Black2.1%
- Hispanic27%
- Asian6.7%
- Other or multiracial13%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 3,188
- Graduate enrollment
- 1,511
- Student–faculty ratio
- 13 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 21%
- First-generation students
- 29%
- Students over 25
- 14%
- Median family income
- $59,409
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $106,758
- Endowment
- $87,146,089
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 657 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From California70%
- Other U.S. states28%
- International1.4%
Most first-years stay in state — Point Loma Nazarene University draws overwhelmingly from California.
1% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 83.7%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1175–1365
- SAT average
- 1287
- SAT reading
- 610–695
- SAT math
- 565–670
- ACT composite
- 25–32
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.59
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $46,250
- Room & board
- $13,650
- Books & supplies
- $1,062
- Total cost of attendance
- $60,488
- Average net price
- $38,729
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 (within 6 years)
- 77%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 68%
- First-year retention
- 86%
- Transferred to another college
- 18%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $54,811
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $63,998
- Median debt at graduation
- $22,990
- Students with federal loans
- 50%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 75%
About 9% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 1,859
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 58%
- Application fee
- $55
- Athletics
- NCAA Division II without football
- Varsity athletes
- 228 (88 men · 140 women)
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%.
Varsity sports (7)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.5 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 4
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 17
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 9 campuses (4,757 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$32,888/year × about 4.2 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 93% — get grant money from Point Loma Nazarene University itself, averaging $17,782, which softens the sticker price.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 689 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $63,998
- Typical debt at graduation
- $22,990
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 36%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 70%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.6 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.
Men out-earn women by $8,674 (14%) 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
- 77°F
- Winter low
- 48°F
- Annual rain
- 9.3″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, North Island Nas, CA US station (3.2 mi from campus).
What Point Loma Nazarene University 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 Point Loma Nazarene University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Point Loma Nazarene University side by side →
Champlain College
Burlington, Vermont · Small city · < 1 mi to Burlington
- Students
- 2,752
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $36k
- SAT
- 1312
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $58k
High Point University
High Point, North Carolina · Midsize city · 13 mi to Greensboro
- Students
- 5,129
- Admission
- 75%
- Net price
- $39k
- SAT
- 1288
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $61k
John Carroll University
University Heights, Ohio · Large suburb · 8 mi to Cleveland
- Students
- 2,274
- Admission
- 81%
- Net price
- $29k
- SAT
- 1298
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $63k
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, California · Midsize city · 38 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 2,296
- Admission
- 76%
- Net price
- $30k
- SAT
- 1266
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $69k
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · Large city · < 1 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 5,350
- Admission
- 84%
- Net price
- $38k
- SAT
- 1276
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $75k
Endicott College
Beverly, Massachusetts · Large suburb · 17 mi to Boston
- Students
- 3,125
- Admission
- 71%
- Net price
- $41k
- SAT
- 1274
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $58k
Colleges near Point Loma Nazarene University
High Tech High Graduate School of Education
San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
The Chicago School at San Diego
San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2 students
Franciscan School of Theology
San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 5,671 students
California Western School of Law
San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
ICOHS College
San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 171 students
Paul Mitchell the School-San Diego
San Diego, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 225 students
Associated Barber College of San Diego
San Diego, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 121 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.














