MiraCosta College Tuition & Open Admission (2026)

Net price / year

$7,339

after grants & scholarships

lower than 85% of public 4-year colleges

Acceptance rate

Open admission

accepts most applicants

Graduation rate

41%

within 150% of normal time

lower than 63% of public 4-year colleges

MiraCosta College at a glance

What is the tuition at MiraCosta College?: In-state undergraduate tuition and fees are $1,158 for the 2024-25 academic year, or $9,750 for out-of-state students.
What is the cost of attendance at MiraCosta College?: The average cost of attendance is $15,531 a year before financial aid (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses.
What is the net price at MiraCosta College?: The average net price for in-state students is $7,339 a year after grants and scholarships (2023-24).
What is the acceptance rate at MiraCosta College?: This school has open admission: most applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted.
What is the graduation rate at MiraCosta College?: 41% of first-time, full-time students finish within 150% of normal time, or 6 years (entering classes through fall 2018).

Key takeaways

At $7,339 a year, the average net price is lower than 85% of public 4-year colleges.
This school has open admission, so most applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted.
Families earning under $30,000 pay about $6,535 a year on average, versus $12,855 for families earning over $110,000.
Pell Grant recipients completed within 150% of normal time at a rate of 19%, compared with 41% for all students, a gap of 22 points.
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities is the largest field of study here, at 41% of the degrees and certificates awarded.

Tuition and cost of attendance at MiraCosta College

Average net price (in-state)

$7,339 per year

Cost of attendance minus average grants and scholarships, for first-time full-time students receiving federal aid.

Estimate your own price with the MiraCosta College net price calculator ↗

Estimated total net cost

$29,356

Net price × 4 years, at today's prices and assuming on-time completion. Your actual cost depends on your aid.

Net price by family income

Average yearly net price for students receiving federal aid.

$0–30k $6,535
$30–48k $5,560
$48–75k $9,222
$75–110k $11,172
$110k+ $12,855

Where the sticker price goes· Cost of attendance $15,531

Tuition & fees$1,158
Books & supplies$1,062
Room & board$34,328
Other expenses$6,932

Tuition & fees (in-state): $1,158
Tuition & fees (out-of-state): $9,750

MiraCosta College acceptance rate and admissions

Open admission

The school admits most applicants who meet basic requirements.

Graduation rate and student outcomes at MiraCosta College

Graduation rate

41%

First-time, full-time students finishing within 150% of normal time.

Retention rate

89%

Full-time first-years who return the next fall.

Typical monthly payment

$95

On a standard 10-year federal plan.

Earnings vs debt

Median graduate debt$9,000

High-school graduate median (California)$36,976

Of graduates working and not enrolled, in 2024 dollars.

3-year loan default rate: 0%

Outcomes by student group

The Scorecard reports some outcomes separately for groups of students. A group is left out when it is too small to report. These are school-level figures and say nothing about any individual student.

Completion within 150% of normal time, by group

Share of students who entered in 2018 and completed within 150% of normal time (six years at a four-year college, three at a two-year college).

White students 48%

Black students 31%

Hispanic students 34%

Asian students 64%

Pell Grant recipients 19%

All students, same entering cohort: 41%

Group rates and the all-student rate come from the same 2018 entering cohort, so they can be compared directly. Groups at small colleges can rest on very few students. Data period: Entering cohort 2018 (IPEDS).

Earnings ten years after entry

All students who entered this college, whether or not they graduated, in 2022 dollars, ten years after entry.

Typical range: middle half of students

25th percentile $22,652 · median $43,845 · 75th percentile $64,861

Median by sex

Male students $48,522

Non-male students $41,122

This is not the same as the graduates' earnings shown above. It covers everyone who entered, including students who left without a degree, ten years after entry and in 2022 dollars. The graduates' figure covers only completers, four years after finishing, in 2024 dollars. Do not compare the two directly.

Data period: Students who entered in academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 (pooled), earnings measured in 2020 and 2021, 2022 dollars (Treasury).

Median federal student debt, by group

Median federal loan debt of students who borrowed, when they left school, by group.

By Pell Grant status

Pell Grant recipients $9,500

Not Pell recipients $6,300

By first-generation status

First-generation students $9,500

Not first-generation $8,250

By family income

Family income $0–$30,000 $9,500

Family income $30,001–$75,000 $9,500

Family income over $75,000 $4,359

By gender

Men $9,500

Women $9,054

Data period: Loans in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 (pooled, NSLDS).

What students study

The largest fields among the degrees and certificates this college awarded, grouped by two-digit CIP code (the federal Classification of Instructional Programs). Fields under 1% are left out.

Share of degrees and certificates awarded, by field

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 41%

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services 12.4%

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences 7.1%

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 6%

Health Professions and Related Programs 5.1%

Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services 4.9%

Psychology 3.9%

Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians 2.6%

A large share means many awards, not necessarily many students or higher earnings. Data period: Awards in academic year 2024-25 (IPEDS).

Who attends

A snapshot of the undergraduate student body as this college reported it to the federal government. Shares are shown as published; they can differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.

Race and ethnicity

White 33.4%
Black or African American 3.7%
Hispanic or Latino 44.7%
Asian 7.1%
American Indian or Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0.7%
Two or more races 7.1%
U.S. nonresident 0.7%
Race and ethnicity unknown 2.3%

Federal reporting categories. Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents are counted as nonresident, and students who did not report are counted as unknown. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).

Gender

Men 41.6%
Women 58.4%

Federal reporting uses two categories. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).

Students aged 25 or older

36%

of undergraduates

Many adult students work or have families while enrolled. Data period: Fall 2023 (IPEDS).

Students and campus

Undergraduate enrollment: 10,278
Part-time students: 57%
Receive Pell Grants: 27%
Receive federal loans: 2%
Students per faculty member: 18 : 1
Setting: Suburb

Similar colleges

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Where it ranks

This college appears in the top 50 of these TuitionScope rankings.

#39 Lowest Student Debt at 4-Year Colleges

Guides worth reading

Plain-language explainers that help you read the numbers on this page.

More in California

In California

National rankings

Lowest Student Debt at 4-Year Colleges

Frequently asked questions

How much is tuition at MiraCosta College?

For the 2024-25 academic year, MiraCosta College reported undergraduate tuition and fees of $1,158 for in-state students and $9,750 for out-of-state students. These are published prices before grants and scholarships; what you pay depends on your aid.

What is the cost of attendance and net price at MiraCosta College?

The average cost of attendance at MiraCosta College is $15,531 a year (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $7,339 a year. That is lower than 85% of public 4-year colleges.

How much financial aid do students at MiraCosta College get?

27% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. 2% receive federal loans. The average net price runs from $6,535 a year for families earning under $30,000 to $12,855 for families earning over $110,000 (2023-24).

What is the acceptance rate at MiraCosta College?

MiraCosta College has open admission: it accepts most applicants who meet basic requirements.

What are the graduation rate and retention rate at MiraCosta College?

41% of first-time, full-time students at MiraCosta College finish within 150% of normal time. 89% of full-time first-years return the next fall.

How much debt do MiraCosta College graduates have?

Graduates who borrowed have a median federal-loan debt of $9,000, or about $95 a month on a 10-year plan.

Who attends MiraCosta College?

Among undergraduates in Fall 2024, 58% are women and 42% are men. The largest race or ethnicity group reported is Hispanic or Latino (45%). About 36% are aged 25 or older.

What are the most popular fields of study at MiraCosta College?

By share of degrees and certificates awarded in academic year 2024-25, the largest fields are Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (41%); Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services (12%); Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences (7%).

Sources and data periods

All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (June 2026 release). Periods differ by measure:

Average net price: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
Acceptance rate: Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
Graduation rate: Fall 2018 or AcadYr 2018-19 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 pooled with previous years (# of total pooled years found in POOLYRS)
Median earnings: Treasury AY2017-18, AY2018-19 pooled cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Median graduate debt: NSLDS FY2020, FY2021 pooled cohorts

Some figures are blank because the school did not report them or the group was too small to publish. How we calculate things